: Hypothermia, dehydration, and 5,000 km on foot: Venezuelan migrants risk their lives for a better future #IndiaNEWS #International Venezuelans desperate to leave the economic crisis in their country

Hypothermia, dehydration, and 5,000 km on foot: Venezuelan migrants risk their lives for a better future #IndiaNEWS #International
Venezuelans desperate to leave the economic crisis in their country are risking their lives in the hope of a better future, braving extreme weather, border crossing, and bandits along the way.

Jhonny, 26, along with his pregnant wife, Cribsel, 19, sits with their two children at a migrant reception centre in Chile. The 3,700-meter-high altitude and freezing climatic conditions have noticeably taken their toll on this young family of four. They are sunburned and gasping for breath.
The family trekked for five hours from Bolivia to Chile, but this was just the last stage of a two-month odyssey, taking in some 5,000 kilometres on foot, five border crossings, whilst evading dangerous criminal groups.
It was the first time we experienced cold weather. This part has been the toughest, Jhonny says, with split lips and cracked feet. We were not prepared with winter coats or blankets.
In Venezuala, he had been a construction worker, but he lost his job and covering basic necessities for his family became impossible. They decided to leave their hometown of Aragua with just 0 and a backpack of essentials, to venture upon the long walk across the Andean highlands, first crossing into Colombia, and later Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, sleeping rough on the streets throughout most of their journey.
Braving desert conditions and sub-zero temperatures
Their story is far from an isolated case. Often in small groups, exhausted people are on the move along one of the most extensive migration routes in the world, mainly embarking on foot with periodic intervals by bus, taxi, and other forms of transport.
For Venezuelans travelling to Chile, the last hurdle is the gruelling Atacama Desert, the driest and highest plateau in the world at nearly 4,000 meters above sea level and with temperatures dropping below minus 10 degrees Celsius.
Many migrants and refugees travel irregularly across these routes, confronting dangers such as robbery and the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse by criminal groups. Seven people have reportedly died since the beginning of 2022, either due to exposure to extreme conditions or due to health complications stemming from pre-existing medical conditions exacerbated by the inhospitable terrain of the Atacama Desert.

IOM/ Gema Cortes
Venezuelan migrants Jhonny, Crisbel and their two children arrive at an IOM shelter in Chile.

‘Our goal is to work and do something constructive ‘
Near the Chilean town of Colchane, and upon crossing the shared border with Bolivia at dawn, Jhonny’s family, alongside other migrants, are relieved to find much-needed life-saving humanitarian assistance.