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Colombia’s Plan to Welcome Millions of Venezuelan Migrants

53 points| curtis | 7 years ago |theatlantic.com | reply

40 comments

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[+] siffland|7 years ago|reply
I applaud Colombia for this. I really hope international pressure does its job and gets Venezuela back on track. I understand Russian and China wanting to secure their investments in the country, but the cost is taking its toll. I dont know how someone like Maduro can really live with himself and his lifestyle when so many are suffering.I also have read that U.S. sanctions are to blame, i dont know if this is true or just government corruption.

I wish the US would do a fast track for Venezuelan migrants, or at least i hope we provide aide to Colombia to help with expenses.

And if Argentina is helping too they get massive kudos as well.

[+] guessmyname|7 years ago|reply
> I applaud Columbia for this […]

> […] i hope we provide aide to Columbia to help with expenses

Just so you know, the English spelling is “Colombia” (O instead of U) [1].

If you say “Columbia” (U instead of O) you are talking about the historical female personification of the United States of America, and a poetic name for the Americas [2]. I don’t know why people make this mistake so many times, even looking at this list [3] I cannot find any reference to “Columbia” as the name for the country.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombia

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_(name)

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia

[+] x3tm|7 years ago|reply

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[+] coliveira|7 years ago|reply
The US has worked from day one do destabilize any kind of government in Venezuela, having openly supported coups and now a blockade that is disrupting oil production, which is the main trading of that country. To say at this point that the economic and social situation of Venezuela is just the fault of Venezuelan leaders (whatever their problems might be) is baffling and a plain lie. The current US government is openly supporting an intervention to control Venezuelan's oil, so for me it is not a surprise that the people and the army forces of Venezuela are backing their government, the same way that I see no surprise that the Iran government receives popular support despite all its problems. The US and American people should do a mea culpa and stop what they are doing to destabilize the world.
[+] javagram|7 years ago|reply
Venezuelan oil production dipped dramatically before any serious US sanctions were introduced.

The nationalization of the oil industry and replacing professionals with incompetent cronies was the cause of Venezuela’s current crisis, not something the US orchestrated.

See https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2017/05/07/how-venezuel...

From a couple years ago. I saw a more recent graph somewhere and the problems have grown even more acute.

[+] dominotw|7 years ago|reply
> To say at this point that the economic and social situation of Venezuela is just the fault of Venezuelan leaders (whatever their problems might be) is baffling and a plain lie.

Its mainly the fault of ppl who failed to develop any other kind of industry and becoming too used oil wealth. The book "Crude Nation"is a pretty good writing on how things got to how it got to be. Did america tell them to give free oil venezueleans. Did america ask them cripple their own oil industres by nationalising and corrupting them. Did america stop venezuela from creating sovereign wealth funds like Norway and the United Arab Emirates.

Blaming everything on America is just boring and cliched.

[+] x3tm|7 years ago|reply
Describing this as 'radical' (in the actual title of the article!), 'impressive', etc. says more about the current worldview of western democracies on basic humanitarian solidarity than it says about Colombia.
[+] deogeo|7 years ago|reply
Isn't free travel within the EU just as 'radical'? And haven't western democracies already accepted many millions of migrants? The US alone accepts one million immigrants per year.
[+] maximente|7 years ago|reply
the government of Argentina has also been very welcoming and expedient with Venezuelan migrants, turning around documentation for the ability to work in as quickly as 2 weeks.

here's a decent presentation (english): https://robuenosaires.iom.int/sites/default/files/Informes/N...

[+] conanbatt|7 years ago|reply
Argentina is and always will be very welcoming of immigrants: it's in the introduction of our constitution.

"...secure the benefits of freedom, for us, our posterity and for all men of the world that wish to inhabit Argentinian soil..."

[+] Diederich|7 years ago|reply
That's interesting. I looked at the link and didn't see reference to 'ability work as quickly as 2 weeks'. Did I miss it, or do you have another reference? Thanks.
[+] noir_lord|7 years ago|reply
Meanwhile my country seems determined to wreck it's medium term outlook to get back powers it never have up because of a xenophobic reaction to immigration which was in total a net benefit.

It's damn embarrassing.

[+] mxuribe|7 years ago|reply
This is absolutely AWESOME! Kudos to Colombia; and any other country that opens their borders like this!

One of the coolest things that could happen long-term, is that these Venezuelan migrants start businesses, stay in Colombia, and contribute positively to the overall economy of Colombia...ultimately making their lives better, the lives of Colombians better, and showing the xenophobic parts of the world, that, yes, immigrants into one's country is a good thing!

[+] x3tm|7 years ago|reply
Agreed, though " [...] showing the xenophobic parts of the world, that, yes, immigrants into one's country is a good thing!"

We actually don't need a colombian experiment to know this. It's all over the history books.

[+] oh_sigh|7 years ago|reply
"if the best possible outcome happens, it will show all those xenophobes they were wrong".

Likewise, will you revise your viewpoints if the end result is less positive?

[+] agumonkey|7 years ago|reply
I wonder how easier it gets with populations of common roots. How different the languages and cultures ? the closer the easier.