Just because I am a woman, and I am in a vulnerable situation doesn’t mean you can take advantage of me. It is time to worry about immigrant women and the situations they have to face.
Migration is a phenomenon that has always been present in humanity. It is a really interesting human phenomenon that has strengthened with society. Because the truth is that there can be a million reasons someone would have to move from a place to another. In fact, migration was a key survival element for humanity at the start. So, we all, no matter where we are, might be a result of migration processes from the past.
The thing is that, over the last centuries, migration has been related to a new kind of survival behavior. Humans are not running away from the environment and its changes. Since some centuries ago, humanity runs away from itself, or at least from parts of itself. Wars, dictatorships, corruption, armed groups, violence, and poor living conditions. So, yes, migration stills a survival behavior. And humans still running away from something when they migrate.
Nowadays, more than ever, migration is a huge thing. According to the United Nations on its official website, just in 2019, there were about 272 million migrants globally. That means that the number of people that live in a different country from where they were born is just raising. And in a chaotic and tense world, like the one we are currently living in, this can bring serious problems. One of the biggest problems is that the world is so divided that it is impossible to protect and guarantee human rights for all migrants.
Venezuelan migration
One of the biggest migrations in Latin America nowadays is the Venezuelan migration. And there are several characteristics of this migration. The chief characteristic is that those human beings are running away from one of the cruelest communist dictatorships. So, it is, in fact, forced migration and there are many reasons for that name.
Here are some reasons behind this forced migration or displacement:
- There is an entire and toxic humanitarian crisis in the entire country.
- The government is a regime in which thinking differently is considered a crime and is punished with torture.
- The population doesn’t count with access to health care systems.
- The country has the biggest inflation ever seen since Zimbabwe.
Now, if there is something that makes Venezuelan migration particular, it is the receiving countries. The main problem behind human migration is the fact that the countries that receive the population might not be prepared for that. And that is exactly what happens with Venezuelan migrants. Venezuelan migrants usually land in other underdeveloped countries, with their own problems. That is when things get tricky.
In addition, nowadays, it is almost impossible to guarantee the protection of the human rights of immigrants. That makes things even more worrying. This situation, along with the lack of a status of the immigrant in the receiving country, makes the immigrant a vulnerable human being. And a vulnerable human being is the perfect breeding ground for human rights violations.
The horror story of being an immigrant woman
If you ever have the chance to do it, I would personally like to invite you to search the word “venezolanas” on Google news. There are tons of reports and articles about a huge problem going on that many people seem to ignore. There are many horror stories from Venezuelan women who are now more vulnerable than ever. But, as a Venezuelan woman, I do have been listening to many stories about women from my country that trying to find a better life, got inside an actual nightmare.
A huge number of Venezuelan immigrant women has to face being vulnerable and displaced. Not only you are not in your own country, but you also have to face xenophobia from other women from the country you are at. Also, you have to deal with people, mostly men, taking advantage of your vulnerability. That is something that, as a woman, really breaks my heart.
How can we, the rest of the world, let this go so far away? Venezuelan immigrant women are more vulnerable to being victims of white slave traffic in Latin America. As they don’t exist or have a status in the country they emigrated to, they are most likely to be victims of sexual exploitation. Their pressure to work and survive in a new environment makes them more vulnerable to sexual assaults and rape.
And the truth is that, nowadays, Venezuelan immigrant women are just the faces of something that happens all around the world. Millions of immigrant women are suffering and are living horror stories, just for being in a vulnerable situation. Here are two horror stories from Venezuelan immigrant women, just as examples. But please keep in mind that I am sharing this with huge respect, and hoping somehow, we all, their sisters can join forces to help them.
Two real-life horror stories from Venezuelan immigrant women
- The first story is Jenny Meizas’ horror story. She was recently able to be rescued from a white slave trafficking network in the Bahamas. Jenny clearly was an immigrant woman on that island, and until now she hasn’t shared more about the story of how she ended up there. But she shared that she was taken to the island on a private flight, and her kidnappers were hoping to sell her on a ship that sailed that day. It was thanks to her bravery and taking the only chance she had that she is now alive and free. She could record a short video and post it on periscope, with all the information needed for her rescue. Hours later, she was lucky enough to get attention on social media, and the ambassador of her country paired with the island authorities to save her.
- The second horror story is a story lived by an 18-years-old girl. This Venezuelan girl emigrated with her mom to Argentina in October 2019 searching for better living conditions. In January of 2021, yes, less than a month ago, the girl postulated to a job offer posted by a man named Irineo Humberto Garzon Martinez on Facebook. She thought she was going to a job interview at a local restaurant to apply to a sales representative for a store. But she was actually going to a nightmare. Because somewhere through the interview he put something on the water she was drinking. So, this man drugged and raped this 18-years-old girl, and there was no job interview. The worst part is that the case is still opened, and the judge’s first verdict was to release him during the first part of the case’s study.
As I said before, this is something for all of us as women to ponder. The situation that many Venezuelan immigrant women are living in is just the faces that represent tons of cases unknown to us all over the world. We must fight for immigrant rights, and especially for the protection of immigrant women all over the world. This is a fight in which we all are together, and a war women must win! It is us against the world. Just because we are women, immigrants, and vulnerable, it doesn’t mean someone can take advantage of that.
It is time for us to fight for justice!
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