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Venezuelan migrants affected by the coronavirus in Colombia 2:41
(CNN) - Venezuelans who once fled their homes to neighboring Colombia are now returning to their country.
As the coronavirus pandemic blocks Colombia's flights, borders, and economy, some Venezuelan migrants say they have no choice but to return home, where they may face worse economic devastation and ruined health infrastructure.
As of Monday, the deadly virus has killed 46 and infected 1,579 people in Colombia, which is under quarantine nationwide which is expected to end on April 26.
"We want these days, which are going to change daily life, which are going to alter our ordinary life, to serve to protect those who need it most," said the President of Colombia, Iván Duque, when he announced the quarantine. The country's most vulnerable residents, he said, would receive state support.
But many of the 1.6 million Venezuelans in the country cannot access aid. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, almost 60% of Venezuelans in Colombia have not registered with the government and therefore cannot access vital services. Those who work odd jobs find that their only income has been depleted, and some are so desperate that they collect their few belongings and begin the long and arduous journey home on foot.
Yormedis Quevedo, 21, was working in a café in Colombia's capital Bogotá for about three months before the virus hit the country. After the business slowed down, she was fired.
A week ago, she and her 2-year-old son lived in a hotel room. Now they live on the streets. Speaking to CNN by phone, Quevedo said he was debating going back to Caracas, the house he left more than a year ago. "I am thinking of returning to Venezuela, but I do not have the money to leave," he said. "I cannot walk because of my son, but the streets of Bogotá are hard and I have nowhere to go."
"I sold bags. I also made restaurant addresses because several people gave me that opportunity, but with the situation that is happening with the coronavirus, it is no longer the same, ”Paul Regales told Reuters while walking on the side of a road behind a light blue face mask.
"If there are no people on the street, how will we work?" He said.
LOOK : Covid-19: scenario and projections in Colombia
According to a statement by Colombia Migration on Sunday, almost 600 Venezuelans have returned to their country through the Simón Bolívar International Bridge in the border city of Cúcuta. More than 20 buses with children, women and men reached the border with "foreigners" who voluntarily decided to leave for Venezuela, according to the statement. According to the agency, his health was verified before crossing the border.
Venezuelan migrants wear protective masks while sitting on a bus that will return them back to Venezuela, in Bogota, Colombia, on Sunday, April 5, 2020. Venezuelan families made destitute by Colombia's coronavirus lockdown are traveling a thousand miles or more across the Andes to get back home. Photographer: Ivan Valencia / Bloomberg
But Venezuela can be an even more dangerous destination. With the country's health care system in a state of collapse and an economy in a constant downward spiral, local doctors fear that the virus will affect Venezuela. Lack of water, food, electricity and medical supplies, combined with skyrocketing inflation and crushing U.S. sanctions, have left the country largely unprepared for contagion. On Monday, Venezuela's Minister of Communication Jorge Rodríguez announced 165 cases of coronavirus and 7 deaths so far on state VTV.
On Saturday, President Duque called for solidarity between neighboring nations. "Colombia cannot fall into xenophobia or stigmatization of Venezuelan migrants," he said on Facebook, urging the country not to turn its back on those who are victims of a political crisis, and now victims of the pandemic.
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Despite the challenges caused by the spread of the virus, Duque promised to continue existing assistance programs to help migrants. But the pandemic has wreaked local and national economic havoc in the country, and Colombian citizens also need assistance.
“We cannot pay the rent; We are not paying Colombians, least of all Venezuelans. We have already paid for the food, we have already paid for the birth, we have already paid for the garden, we have already paid for the school, we have already given employment, ”the mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, said on Tuesday.
"Too bad the only thing we cannot cover is the rent," he said, and asked the national government to provide more funds.
Edyd Briceño, 29, of Maracay, Venezuela, told CNN by phone that since the virus hit, there has been no work, making his already difficult life even more challenging.
For months, he has survived recycling items and selling “tinto”, black coffee, on the streets of Bogotá. Today, he stands alongside Queveda and others, sleeping on the streets, debating when he should return to the place he once called home.
He has not been able to communicate with his family within Venezuela, but he hopes to discover how to travel by bus and avoid the journey on foot. "I wish things were different, really," he said with a touch of despair in his voice. "But with this virus there is nothing left for you."
CNNE's Daniel Silva Fernández in Miami contributed to this report.
Refugees
