Dexibel Bravo moved from Venezuela to Colombia about five years ago. Given rights to work and start a business, she became an entrepreneur contributing to Colombia’s economy – a better outcome made possible through an integration strategy implemented by the Colombian government. Read more about lessons the world can learn from Colombia’s experience in the 2023 World Development Report.
Transcript
PAUL BLAKE
It's the biggest movement of people in modern Latin American history.
Over eight years, more than seven million people are believed to have fled Venezuela, spanning out across South America and beyond.
PAUL BLAKE
For many, the journey begins here, on the Simón Bolívar Bridge that connects Venezuela with Colombia. The sheer number of people that have crossed this bridge since 2015 would threatened to overwhelm the services and upend the politics of countries far wealthier.
Yet Colombia currently hosts some 2.5 million Venezuelan migrants, implementing a range of measures, both addressing the crisis and creating opportunity for migrants and host country alike.
PAUL BLAKE
Bogota, home to nearly eight million people. In the Colombian capital, we met Dexibel Bravo at the beauty salon, she started after leaving Venezuela five years ago.
DEXIBEL BRAVO
One of the main reasons to migrate to another country was the situation - the economic situation.
I worked in education for 10 years, where I was responsible for overseeing the last two years of high school. Apart from that I was a chemistry and biology teacher.
My career was not enabling me to earn enough to maintain a decent living.
PAUL BLAKE
It's a big decision to move your life to a different country.
DEXIBEL BRAVO
Yes, it was very difficult. A very significant, very painful decision.
PAUL BLAKE
You arrive at this bridge. What did you think about what you saw there?
DEXIBEL BRAVO
I cried a lot. I cried a lot because I wanted to go, but I wanted to stay with my parents.
PAUL BLAKE
With seven bags, a five-month-old in her arms, and a 10-year-old in tow, Dexibel crossed
a bridge similar to this one, carrying everything to build a new life.
The first step, getting the children into school, accessing healthcare, and finding a job, all of which the Colombian government has worked to make possible for new arrivees.
DEXIBEL BRAVO
It was a little complicated at the beginning to find a place (for the kids to study). But then it was very satisfying. It was very welcoming where my daughter was. And with my son it was a little easier because the years went by and the government has made access to education and health easier for Venezuelans.
PAUL BLAKE
Because her teaching qualifications were not accepted at the time, Dexibel says she couldn't
accept multiple job offers to return to the classroom. But with permission to work or start a business, she became an entrepreneur, supporting herself and her family and creating jobs for others.
DEXIBEL BRAVO
And this job, it's not only about money. It's sentimental. Because I love what I do.
PAUL BLAKE
Latin America as a region has come to the fore to share responsibility for hosting Venezuelan migrants, an exercise in regional solidarity that has few, if any, global parallels.
Colombia is home to about one-third of all Venezuelans hosted across the region. In the face of the exodus, successive Colombian governments from different political backgrounds implemented a response that has been both pragmatic and visionary.
What began as an emergency crisis response evolved into temporary rights to work, access to services, and ultimately, medium-term status.
More recently, Venezuelans have been allowed to apply for 10-year protected status.
ALEJANDRA BOTERO BARCO
Everything, except the political rights.
PAUL BLAKE
Alejandra Botero Barco was on the frontlines of the migration response as a senior member of Colombia's government from 2018 to 2022.
During that time, she saw the migrant population evolve from individuals seeking short-term work to entire families staying to build a life there.
ALEJANDRA BOTERO BARCO
It definitely has a sense of permanence that maybe wasn't there before – 3, 4, 5 ,6 years ago
– when it was more temporary, just to find economic sustenance, and bring it back. Now, it has a more permanent nature.
PAUL BLAKE
That massive surge of migrants has put Colombia under tremendous pressure. I asked her why the government had not attempted to shut the border.
ALEJANDRA BOTERO BARCO
The frontier is so large that there's no way to close it.
We've always had that shared history. I mean, there are many children that are registered at school here and live across the border, or they come and go to the market here and then come back. That has happened for many, many years.
Then I think there's also this very important sense of solidarity because of that fraternal history that we share.
It was more of a question of how should the instrument be that is permanent enough that they can actually build a life and that is also going to help us as a country, economically as well.
PAUL BLAKE
In short, the government gambled short-term pain for long-term gain, footing costs upfront so that over time, Venezuelans could contribute to the Colombian economy.
To do that, many of the rights that citizens enjoy were extended to arrivees.
ALEJANDRA BOTERO BARCO
They can do everything except vote. They can have a job, they can have access
to the social healthcare system, they have obviously, access to the education system, to the social programs, everything.
I think that it's extremely positive, and I think it's a wonderful example for the rest of the world.
PAUL BLAKE
The success here shouldn't be discounted, but there have been problems and much remains unresolved.
Different governments have worked very hard to make sure that Venezuelans can stay here and work for up to 10 years. But what happens after that?
Must they return? Is there a pathway to citizenship or legal residency?
These are questions that are going to have to be resolved. Until they are, there's a lot of uncertainty hanging over migrants' heads.
PAUL BLAKE
In the meantime, Dexibel Bravo and migrants like her continue to benefit, even thrive,
under Colombia's migration policy.
DEXIBEL BRAVO
I want to expand my business. Something a bit bigger. Many more services.
PAUL BLAKE
Despite the challenges, the government recognizes that the short-term investment
in its holistic migration strategy could potentially provide long-term economic prosperity for everyone.