Medellin, Antioquia
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced that 10% of The population of the capital of Antioquia is Venezuelan migrant with a vocation for permanence. According to the report, people of this nationality have chosen Medellín to stay and reside seeking protection, reception and greater opportunities.
There are 240,000 Venezuelans who currently reside in Medellín, which makes the city the second in all of Colombia with the largest population of this nationality. However, By percentage of population density, it surpasses Bogotá in first place.
This was detailed by Elisa Carlaccini, head of the UNHCR sub-office for the northwest region: “If we calculate the proportion of the entire population, it is the first in the country in terms of percentage of the population. It is estimated that more than 10% of the population in Medellín are immigrant refugees.”
According to UNHCR, people have been coming to Medellín constantly, but the numbers have increased in recent years due to the access to opportunities that have been offered to them in the capital of Antioquia, to be able to establish themselves and rebuild their lives in a better way. dignified and safe manner.
Employment, education and the economy have been the priority factors for which migrants choose Medellín to live, but also, for the articulated responses of the private sector and the public sector, hand in hand with international cooperation that can generate effective inclusion and lasting solutions.
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Risks and consequences
Although the migrant population is increasing in the city of eternal spring and this may generate some concerns among citizens, the UNHCR pointed out that this It does not have to represent a risk for the city or its inhabitants in terms of crime figures or decrease in job vacancies, which is why it explains that this migrant population must be welcomed, in the same way that other countries have done and continue to do with Colombians.
This is what Elisa Carlaccini expressed: “These types of xenophobic stereotypes must be avoided, let’s say, for people who in that case are finding in Colombia a host country, a country that can offer those opportunities to rebuild their lives, those people that they have left everything behind and that they have found in Colombia and in Medellín, in Antioquia in particular, a territory of inclusion.”
Additionally, it was reported that Antioquia is the second department in Colombia that receives migrants with 393,392 Venezuelan refugees and migrants. for reasons associated with the same reasons why Medellín is chosen to live.
