STUDIES FOR PEACE AND REFUGE: VIOLENCES SUFFERED BY VENEZUELANS IN THE ARRIVAL AND INTEGRATION PROCESSES IN THE BRAZILIAN SOCIETY

Abstract

The humanitarian crisis experienced in Venezuela has caused an increase in the number of asylum requests in Brazil. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), since 2014, more than 4.5 million Venezuelans have left the country, making this one of the most recent and biggest crises of forced displacement in the world. Since the Venezuelan state does not offer a means of dignified and secure survival, people are looking for ways to react. Refuge is the result of violent processes, and this type of displacement can be considered a risk and threat (securitization theory) or a necessity and a right. Although Brazil has several signed agreements and protection laws already in place, it is necessary to investigate whether the Brazilian territory, for Venezuelan refugees, is an extension of the violence experienced in Venezuela. In this context, this article discusses the processes of securitization and the various facets of violence (direct, cultural and/or symbolic) that involve these persons. The general objective of the work is to establish a reflection on the violence suffered by Venezuelan refugees in the processes of arrival in Brazil and integration into Brazilian society. The methodological incursion of this investigation is guided by qualitative research approaches and by an inductive method. The methodological procedure is bibliographic and documentary. As final considerations, it appears that, despite the existence of a migration policy that defends the human rights of refugees, some adversities are still present, such as the enforcement of legislation, which corresponds to structural violence; direct and cultural abuses can also be seen, when narratives are created to make life difficult and cause suffering for these populations.