Don't want to see Ads? Register for your free dotSUB account here!
Mujeres
Duration:
33 minutes and 22 seconds
Country:
Venezuela
Language:
Spanish
License:
All rights reserved
Genre:
Documentary
Producer:
SJR
Director:
Irene
Views:
140
(1
embedded)
Posted by:
curraco on Dec 20, 2009
Mujeres
Translate and Transcribe
-
Sign In/Register for dotSUB to translate this video.
Share
- Embed Video
- Embed normal player
- Embed a smaller player
- Advanced Embedding Options
-
Embedding OptionsSize:Language:Embed Code
- Embed transcript
- Embed transcript in:
-
Invite a user to dotSUB
Your invitation to join dotSUB was successfulThere was an error inviting that user to dotSUB
Video Transcription
Show in new window
- For the past five decades Colombia has been home to an internal armed conflict
- that has lead to the second largest humanitarian crisis in the world.
- The past 20 years of conflict have claimed the lives of
- approximately 70,000 people, the majority of them civilians,
- who were not taking active part in the hostilities.
- More than 4 million people have been internally displaced and others have "disapparead".
- The exact number of Colombians
- who have fled the country because of this war is unknown.
- At present, there are approximately 200,000 people
- who have crossed the border into Venezuela seeking protection.
- However, up until June (December) of 2009, only 13,983 (cambiar esta cifra) have oficially
- claimed refugee status before the Venezuelan state.
- Of those, only 1,421 (cambiar esta cifra) have been acknowledged as refugees.
- In Venezuela, women make up approximately 48% of the
- population claiming refugee status.
- Of these, 61% have more than 4 children and 28% have between 3 and 4 children.
- We never thought the paramilitaries were going to come,
- that they would force us to move.
- I never heard from him again.
- I have no idea if he is dead or alive, I just never heard from him again.
- The Border
- The main reason for leaving is this war, the constant war.
- You get used to living in fear and you just never know.
- Now they say that the small village I lived in is doing much better, but it's not true,
- a community that endures this will never be the same again.
- "My love don't leave me"
- One night here and another night there,
- then running off to a friend's house
- in some other village to see if people would help us out.
- Women in Refugee
- Testimonies from a Border
- As for me, I am a rural woman.
- I was brought up in a rural area, in fact,
- you can see here, I have animals and
- Nubia, Refuge Applicant, 2001
- I grew up among livestock, animals, cattle, chickens, pigs.
- We used to live well. I mean sure we lived
- in the middle of armed groups, on the fringes of society,
- but it wasn't until the paramilitary came when we were really that we were forced to flee.
- We had to abandon everything, leave all our land,
- everything we had
- and ended up displaced.
- Marta, come here for a moment.
- Where we lived,
- there were different types of people,
- Nancy, Refuge Applicant, 2002
- so if some armed groups came and asked us to collaborate with them
- by giving them water or food one never did it out of one's free will.
- We did it because we had to.
- Others would then think one belonged to that one group.
- and it was hard to know what to do because it wasn't out of free will
- but rather because we were forced.
- They accused him of collaborating with the guerrilla and that's why they took him away.
- This is the way it was. You would leave your house and wherever you went
- you would hear gunshots of the military battling the guerrilla.
- Lady, Refugee
- Then there were signs on the streets, or lists, and they would say,
- "let's kill the tattle tales". It was horrible.
- It's hard to know what to do or where to go.
- Unless one experiences this situation, I really think nobody understands what it's like to live through this.
- It's very tough!
- The paramilitary and the ELN (National Liberation Army) are the same.
- Argenis, Refugee Applicant
- You start seeing them coming into the villages, to the farms,
- winning people over but when they feel like getting down on people they attack everyone.
- We got to Botalón. It was also full of military
- and of the famous "elenos" (National Liberation Army soldiers).
- When they killed my boy,
- they killed him because he would not go with them.
- If they find the man's wife they will do the same.
- Sometimes women can away with it a bit more
- but if there are elder children in the family, they kill them
- when they can't find the father of the house.
- The first time they took him, they tortured him and then they let him go.
- The second time they didn't let him come back and I got a letter
- where it said that if I did turn myself in I would have the same luck.
- I got very afraid. I got sick because I could not eat.
- I feared everything.
- I made the decision to leave everything behind and came here.
- Almost all the families that claim refugee status here in the region of the Alto Apure
- come from rural communities, they are from the country side, they are families with limited material resources.
- There are many cases in which families have
- already been internally displaced,
- Angel Granja, UNHCR Coordinator in Guasdualito
- and have slowly lost a lot of their resources during the process.
- By the time they reach the border they are living in greater poverty.
- I come from the southern part of Bolivar where I first experienced being massively displaced.
- I mean massively because I was not alone, we all had to leave.
- After Bolivar, then came Santander.
- There I moved with my whole family fearing violence.
- I did not want to go to the meetings.
- It was not of my best interest to attend if I wanted to protect my family.
- Then from Barranca Bermeja to Arauca.
- Then I had to flee again because they would accuse those
- that left of "owing something".
- And it wasn't like that.
- Then they would come look for us and ask us why we were running away.
- We were not doing the things they wanted us to do.
- We opposed violence, the conflict, the war.
- From there I finally came here to Venezuela.
- With three small children I arrived at a small town where I didn't know anyone.
- My little girl was 5 years old,
- Jason was four and the my baby boy was only 13 months old.
- There weren't any family members, no friends, nobody, because those I was traveling with,
- were just like "Bye, we are leaving you."
- But I am a Colombian women and I know how to get on with life with my children.
- Coming here to Venezuela, was, like I said...
- On one hand, I missed my family, and on the other hand, it was hard to
- support myself as living alone was complicated.
- It was hard because my dad came
- but mom stayed back with us.
- You just didn't know what was going to happen.
- You just never knew if today you were going to eat,
- if you were going to go to bed alive and whether you would wake up alive.
- All days were the same, there was this sadness,
- it's like the sun comes out and it's all black.
- One does not think about what can happen...
- I don't even know how to describe it.
- I came with a gentleman in a truck.
- He saw the situation in which I was living.
- The river grew and I was living near the bridge
- and it was flooded.
- I had to keep my children over a mat
- because below that there was water.
- The man saw me and asked "Women, do you live there?"
- I said, "Yes, I live here." And he said, "Your children are going to die there."
- My little boy was sick in bed and the second one and the smaller one as well.
- I was also sick with shivers and a fever.
- In this area women are not majority.
- They constitute about half the population
- that arrives, however, women
- constitute one of the most vulnerable groups
- considering that at least
- statistically we have found
- that here in Venezuela within the population of
- Colombian refugees at least
- 60% of them are mothers with many children.
- Among them there is a great percentage of women alone, of women that
- lead the household by themselves and face an even more vulnerable situation
- compared to refugee men and biparental families.
- Let's say that one is not going to change one life for another because it's not that easy.
- It's not easy to live in Venezuela in the same way it is to live in Colombia.
- For example, it's not easy being Venezuelan
- and living in another country. It is difficult.
- In what sense? In regards to documentation.
- With proper documentation one wants to find a job in order to improve
- one's quality of life and give more to one's children.™
- Children fall in love with things and one does not have the means to buy these things for them.
- (one does not make enough...)
- I feel there are few difficulties when it comes to the adaptation process. Adaptation is actually quiet quick.
- There is one problem related to documentation
- Ingrid Bournat Psychologist JRS Venezuela
- that I feel is the most tangible.
- Well, if they don't have the Venezuelan paperwork, consequently,
- there are a series of situations that become more and more difficult.
- For example, as far as mobilization or having a job that will allow them to have access
- to social security, having access to education for their children,
- and more than access to education, it is about being able to obtain
- certified grades, in other words, all the required paperwork that is needed.
- To move from one place to another, for example, if I left
- to Cacaguita and I knew there was a military checkpoint there I would immediately hide.
- Even if my child was sick or if I didn't have food
- I would not leave the house.
- I thought to myself, "If those people catch me they will send me back.
- Me and my children. Who will take care of my children if I end up
- in jail or if they send me back to Colombia?
- What if once there I am forced to return to that small farm,
- where I used to live in South of Bolivar and it's on fire.
- It's so far. I can't take the risk. What should I do?"
- So I would stay home.
- Many times I suffered because I could not leave the house.
- Goodbye precious!
- The courses at the Sucre's Educational Program were about to end in September, I think,
- and we were starting university in October.
- So they were going to ask for
- our papers, they wanted to see all my certified school grades and documents.
- And I thought, "Dear God, help!". So I took my graduation certificate,
- my grades, everything I had, and went over to the university.
- Just for having participated in the Sucre's Educational Program I was going to be admitted.
- They said this and that.
- They said I could I submit these papers now but I would later have to have them legally certified.
- They accepted them temporarily.
- "Temporarily" has meant three years and I still have the same papers.
- "Temporarily" has been a long, long, time...
- During the second semester, we were in this one course. My God!
- I had to go and come back every morning.
- I would go to school and then at noon I had to return home and the university bus wouldn't drive us back.
- At the checkpoint they would ask me for my papers.
- I told them I didn't' have them and showed them proof of enrollment.
- The soldier would say, "I am not interested in seeing this. This means nothing".
- They would leave me there, one, two, three hours.
- They wouldn't let me get through. They would send me back.
- When I would go from home to school in the afternoon because I had class, they would make me stay at all the checkpoints.
- How annoying! That was just one of the problems.
- The process of claiming refugee status is quite slow.
- Merlys Mosquera, Former Country Director of the JRS
- In fact, the Jesuit Refugee Service has cases from 2001
- that have not yet received an answer from the Venezuelan state.
- So this issue has become one of the primary obstacles in the process
- of local integration considering the person has spent a certain
- length of time, more than 5 years,
- and still does not have a response from the Venezuelan state.
- Those claiming refugee status then up suffering from lack of protection.
- It creates anxiety and hopelessness
- although they continue to live their lives
- in a more or less natural manner.
- There are submissions from Zulia, Táchira, Apure
- Angelica Barrera (angelica es la abogada de la Secretaria Tenica regional para los Refugiados en Apure..no se..su cargo es largo)
- or the capital then it is only
- a group of 4 to 6 people
- that must make a decision in regards to all these cases.
- Even if you would like for things to be different it cannot be done quicker
- because we send submissions, Zulia sends submissions,
- Táchira and Caracas send applications.
- There are many cases for such a small group to evaluate them all.
- Refugee Claimant Procedure before the Venezuelan State
- Refugee Status Claim
- The person must formally apply for refugee status
- before the National Refugee Commission
- or if not possible before the Regional Technical Secretary.
- The case is opened.
- The person makes a declaration under oath of the reasons for entering the country.
- The government's foreign affairs institution
- gives a Provisional Document to the Refuge Claimant
- which is valid until the case is decided.
- The National Refugee Commission notifies the applicant of their decision.
- If Denied
- If denied (quitar if denied) the claimant has 15 days to appeal the decision.®
- (If) Approved♪
- The government issues a valid temporary ID
- for a year with the possibility of renewal.
- The Law establishes a period of 90 days for the National Refugee Comission
- to decide however in practice they take over a year.
- In many places the Venezuelans are the ones that welcome them the most.
- There are places where the owners of farms have given them a piece of land,
- Father Acacio Belandría, SJ
- have helped them build humble housing and this has been done by Venezuelans.
- By saying this I do not mean to say that their Colombian brothers
- have not been good to them, I just mean to say that it brings great joy
- to see this considering there is also a sentiment of generalized anger and discrimination towards Colombians.
- We are experiencing a beautiful sense of fraternity.
- Sometimes even here I am still afraid.
- I do not go out at night. Late at night I do not go out.
- I go from work to my home and back.
- There must be an emergency for me to go out at night.
- I will stay here. What will I do in Colombia?
- One lives in fear and there are those that will continue to make you fearful.
- One lives in a fearful state of mind.
- Not so long ago in Guasdualito they began to kill
- people openly. Who is killing them?
- Once they killed some people, they killed them right there next to a street vending kiosk.
- We had just finished work.
- It's difficult when you see who is killing them,
- how people feel when they know that any given moment
- they could come and get you because you were a witness and saw who killed who.
- And then again ones feels the exact same thing one felt in Colombia.
- Chimbilín, chilmbililonga, there is no shell that doesn't have it's ?
- The death of a man is not felt by everyone, it is only felt by his woman.
- Human rights have been violated in the same way as in other places
- but let's say that here with very special characteristics
- not only on by the guerrilla but also by the military,
- by parents, by teachers.
- It became a need to create an office here.
- It also became indispensable to create an institution to protect children and adolescents
- and of course it became urgent to establish the Jesuit Refugee Service
- here among us.
- I first heard through the radio that there were people
- willing to help those that were displaced.
- Beatriz Refuge Applicant- 2005
- So we found out and we first of the UNHCR office.
- A women we knew helped us and we went to the UNHCR office.
- From there, they told us to go to the Jesuit Refugee Service
- where they assisted us with the declaration certificate.
- There they told us we they could not give us documents
- because they could only wait for the Technical Secretary Office to do it.
- So we went ahead directly to the Technical Secretary Office
- in order to get a provisional document.
- Almost everyone here knows me and they ask me to wash, to cook,
- or to carry out any other task because I work kard
- and I am willing to deal even with a bull,
- whether he's tame or angry doesn't matter; I am willing to go for it.
- These are the materials I work with.
- These are the brochures from the Ribas Educational Program that I use to prepare classes,
- the books, the notebooks, the facilitator's manual, basically, my manual
- that I always have to read.
- These are all the study guides for presentations and papers.
- After three months of being here I began working at a hair salon
- and the JRS supported me with about US$400 and that is how I began.
- From there I bought the things I needed,
- the basic things to begin working at the hair salon.
- And then they gave me a credit and with the savings
- I had I bought the hair salon.
- I also sew, paint, make purses and many other things.
- Firstly, we did workshops organized by JRS and now
- I also teach the workshops and teach weaving and stone embroidery.
- The work that can be done in this country with women
- is incredibly relevant.
- I see it here when they come together to carry out small workshops.
- These workshops on small things, on handmade crafts,
- is what is going to give them skills so they can provide for their families. This is important.
- This is going to serve as a way for them to support themselves but even more important
- is the role, the purpose of these women who have suffered a lot
- while fleeing their country, their society, and trying to reinsert themselves in another society.
- They carry a great amount of human baggage.
- Let her cry, don't comfort here, people will say you do not love her
- Small dove in her nest, all know she is alone.
- Here there is a calmer atmosphere.
- At least on my block, I do not have any complaints, we all take care of each other.
- The neighbor goes out, spends one day away, two days, and the neighbor watches out for his house.
- We all take care of each other while a neighbor is away.
- I will not return nor do I think about returning. For what? To start from cero.
- I prefer staying here where, thank God, I have not been mistreated.
- I have many friends, at least I feel I have, many of them love me a lot.
- Yes, starting with the people at JRS, Iris, who has been very supportive of me.
- And the rest of them, workmates and others from JRS have been
- very supportive and have given me lots of moral and economic support.
- Thanks to them I have slowly overcome difficulties
- and I am where I am right now.
- Much better here. One lives in heaven, eats better, lives better.
- You can go to places, at least for me it's great.
- Security is much greater because here you never hear people shooting at each other
- or anything like that, nor a bomb, absolutely nothing.
- So I definitely feel safer here.
- I mean, imagine, after 18 years living in Colombia a scar is there,
- but I have already passed that test!
- Well I have nothing bad to say about Venezuela.
- In El Nula I have been treated very well but that also depends on how you are
- because if you are shy or fearful and do not move foward...
- with three children it's difficult but if you are going to move forward
- from here to there and stop, you will never overcome many of these things.
- If one is positive you will be triumphant.
- These are women that have suffered being dependent,
- have suffered having to leave their farms, their homes,
- to go to another "country" where they have to make a new life for themselves.
- Of course men carry part of the burden
- but the daily and constant burden,
- the psychological burden is carried by the woman.
- Who knows how to love like a woman?
- Who is capable of loving these people who are at times underestimated or ostracized?
- It has been women who have suffered this reality since they were little.
- Therefore women possess certain human elements,
- certain humanity that cannot be explained at a theoretical level but rather must be experienced.
- Nancy claimed refugee status in 2002 and obtained a favorable
- answer from the Venezuelan state 6 years later in 2008.
- She is now a refugee.
- She lost her hair salon because of personal reasons and is now pregnant.
- Beatriz
- Beatriz claimed refugee status in the year 2006 and a year later in 2007 she received a negative answer.
- The Jesuit Refugee Service appealed before the State in 2007.
- She received again a negative answer in 2009.
- Argenis
- Claimed refugee status in the year 2006 and has not yet obtained an answer.
- She no longer lives in Alto Apure.
- Carmen
- Claimed refugee status in the year 2003 and was granted refugee status 6 years later in 2009.
- She is a community leader in her neighborhood.
- Lady
- Lady claimed refugee status in 2004 and obtained it 3 years later in 2007.
- She is a refugee.
- She finished her undergraduate degree and majored in Education.
- She no longer lives in Alto Apure.
- Nubia
- Claimed refugee status in the year 2001.
- In 2007, six years later, her applicaiton was denied.
- JRS Venezuela appealed before the State in 2007 and has not yet obtained an answer.
- Her 19 year old was murdered in 2009 for unknown reasons.
- Father Ignacio Ibáñez, SJ
- Father Ignacio was a Jesuit priest who served his community, Guasdualito, on the Colombian-Venezuela border, during the last 20 years of his life.
- Here he spread love, peace, education, values, leaving behind what he could have done in other places.
- He lived a humble and happy life as a priest and as a journalist amidst people he considered his familiy.
- He suffered with them the difficulties of this often forgotten part of Venezuela.
- Ignacio was born in Logroño, Spain, on July 7th, 1930, and died in Caracas on August 19th, 2009.
- Thanks to the request of the community his remains lie in the Church of El Carmen in Guasdualito, State of Apure.


Report this video as offensive