The United Nations has said on Monday nearly 327,000 Venezuelan children are currently living as refugees and migrants in Colombia due to lack of education, healthcare, humanitarian facilities in economic-hit Venezuela.
“At a time when anti-migrant sentiment is growing worldwide, Colombia has generously kept its doors open to its neighbours from Venezuela,” said the director of communication at the UN children’s fund (UNICEF), Paloma Escudero, who was on a four-day official trip to Cucuta, the Colombian side of the border along with Venezuela.
In a report, the UN said the political and economic situation in Venezuela caused an estimated 3.7 citizens to flee the country and seek refuge in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and other nations in the area.
About 1.2 million Venezuelans are seeking refugee in Colombia, living in host communities with already-overstretched resources, the UNICEF said.
Escudero stated, “As more families make the painful decision to leave their homes in Venezuela every day, it is time for the international community to step up its support and help meet their basic needs,” according to ANI news reports.
She further added, “For most families, the decision to leave is only a measure of last resort.”
Power blackout in Venezuela, for which embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blamed the United States, has lasted for four days, leaving more than 70 per cent of the nation without electricity and pushing the government to shut schools and halt work, CNN reported.
However, opposition chief Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president of Venezuela, has blamed it to be a result of mismanagement by Maduro-leg government and of corruption.
UNICEF has said over 130,000 Venezuelan children were enrolled in the schools across Colombia today, uplifting from around 30,000 in last year’s November.