Methodists in Boa Vista Welcome Venezuelan Residents

 

You may have heard of the story of the people of Israel, who left Egypt on a pilgrimage to Canaan. These people were led by Moses in the Old Testament. This story, told in the book of Exodus, goes back several centuries. The God-led departure for Moses was to seek something new. It is normal for people to migrate from one city to another in search of new opportunities.

In 2014, we witnessed the Haitians who arrived in Acre and from there embarked to São Paulo, Paraná and other states in Brazil in search of new opportunities because of the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2011.

Almost a year ago, the Christian Expositor addressed the issue of Immigrants and Refugees to warn the Church about this reality so present in our country. Now it is the Venezuelans who are arriving in Roraima because of the crisis in Venezuela.

The Methodist Church in Boa Vista, Roraima has awakened to this call to care for immigrants since November 2016 and has done an excellent job with the children and families living in shelters and plazas. Pastor Luis Augusto Cardias explains that the work of welcoming Venezuelans in Boa Vista started in a space provided by City Hall.

"We started inside the Pintolândia Shelter, given by the city hall to help shelter the indigenous and non-indigenous who were wandering around the city, sleeping in squares and on the street corners," said Pastor Augusto.

The initial intention was to bring snacks and some activities to about 70 children who were there, but the reality kept growing. "Every week more and more people kept coming. On average, about 150 people arrived and then that increased to 250, 450, and eventually 600 people, mostly from the Waraos indigenous tribe," said the pastor.

The enormous amount of people in the shelter made the work that was carried out by the Church of Boa Vista impossible. There was no other option but to take the project to the local church. "We met at the Council and approved the implementation of a Shade and Fresh Water Project, which would serve 60 children and 30 women three times a week." Then came the Re-criar-educar project, which takes place in the halls of the Central Methodist Church of Boa Vista. The project offers medical, psychological, recreational recreation, two meals, education, hygiene, music classes, literacy and Christian education. Women have craft classes and lectures on women's health and pregnancy prevention.

Service

In addition to the aforementioned actions, the Church was challenged by the Fire Brigade of the Military Police and the Civil Defense to provide support for a shelter in the Tancredo Neves neighborhood. There are hundreds of refugees in this space. "We managed to collect 675 kilos of food for these people in January alone. We took an American Methodist doctor from the city of Helena, Montana, who, in two days, served 475 people alongside Pastor Cleber France and a group from the Methodist Church of Barra do Piraí, Rio de Janeiro,” emphasized Pastor Augusto who has managed to create several partnerships to help deal with this reality.

The challenge really increased when Simon Bolivar Square, which, by irony of fate, is located on Av. Venezuela, in Boa Vista, began to house around 800 Venezuelans, without water, bathrooms or food. There are entire families sleeping on the floor with nothing- in a difficult situation to say the least.

Márcia Monteiro, wife of Pastor Luis Augusto Cardias, has published on her social media that they have received some help. "We have already received some tents, tarps, medicine, food and we take everything to the people to ease their suffering. The project in the Church continues to happen weekly, but parallel to it, we are doing what we can to meet the demands of these people. We took another step of faith on March 11, when we inaugurated our bakery, which will generate work for ten Venezuelan families."

In São Paulo, the Methodist Church of Jardim Colorado was challenged by one of the lessons in the Sunday School magazine to mobilize in favor of immigrants. Camila Abreu Ramos, wife of the local Pastor, Gabriel Prado, was already following the situation of her friend, Maria Berlyn Nel Milfort (on the left) who migrated from Venezuela. "We look at the sad situation in Syria, we want to help, and sometimes we forget that Venezuela is here, in need of help." Maria is a hairdresser, works in São Paulo and is in the process of bringing her child to Brazil.

The story of Maria is like that of so many other women who leave their countries in search of opportunities. Unfortunately she managed to bring only her eight-year-old daughter. Her son, Wesley Marck Nel, 14, is still in Venezuela with his grandmother. "I paid a lawyer in Venezuela to get my son out of there, but when they arrived in Barcelona (a city in Venezuela), ​​they did not let my mother go with him. The father of the two children left the country and did not tell me anything. I had to go to Barcelona and explain that I am the mother of the children. Unfortunately they only let me bring my daughter. I already went to the Consulate and they gave me a document giving power of attorney to my mother to enroll my son in the school, but in Venezuela they did not accept the document. My son is not studying," laments Maria.

Meanwhile, her son, Wesley, remains in Venezuela waiting for his mother. "My son calls me almost every day asking me if I'm going to come back and get him. It's very complicated in Venezuela. I talked to the principal of the school and they want me to come back to Venezuela to enroll my son and if I do not come back they will put him in custody of the State because they say that I am abandoning my son. I am waiting and leaving it in the hands of God. My mother said that the best way would be to go to Pacaraima in Roraima," she concluded.

The Methodist Church in Jardim Colorado continues to be in mission with the Venezuelans. Camila Abreu is one of the mobilizers. "I shared Mary's story with the local church and I referred to the Sunday School lesson. Soon, everyone began to collect food to send to her family. The trunk of my car is always full of donations. Church members and friends have already collected almost 100 kilos of food between rice, beans and powdered milk to send to Maria's family while the situation is not resolved.” she said.

Crisis

The situation is so serious that the Government of Michel Temer has signed a decree recognizing the "situation of vulnerability" in Roraima. The state is the main gateway for immigrants fleeing the food supply crisis, the collapse of public services and 700% inflation in the neighboring country. The president also issued a provisional measure that calls for emergency assistance actions for Venezuelan immigrants in several areas of the state, such as social protection, health, education, food and public safety. These actions will be coordinated by a federal committee composed of representatives from different ministries and conducted in partnership between the Federal Government, the state of Roraima and its municipalities.

Márcia Cardias Monteiro recorded a video of a Venezuelan who makes an appeal. "I'm here for help. My family is in Venezuela and they need my help. I'm looking for a job. I am a good cook, a mason, a specialized driver, but I am willing to do any work. " The video was published on Márcia's social network.

Together with Venezuelans crossing the border in search of refuge in Brazil, there are 180 children between ages zero and 14 years old. According to the Federal Police, 15% of refugees are in this age group. Added to them are children born to immigrants born in Brazilian territory. According to the State Department of Health of Roraima, every four hours, a baby is born of Venezuelan parents in Boa Vista.

Only in January of this year, there were 183 births, six times more than the 30 registered in the last two years, when the migratory flow towards Boa Vista was not so intense.

Support

Serving God with integrity demands fulfillment of Jesus’ commandments. Sometimes it is not possible to do the mission alone. Several churches in multiple Ecclesiastical Regions have supported the mission and care of the Venezuelan refugees. "Since the beginning we have had the support of various regions that have offered to help our work with the refugees. We have recently been informed that the project will receive the help of the National Social Action Offering. Our challenges are enormous, but we believe that God is at the forefront. We need prayers because this exodus will not end now," the pastor concluded.

Representatives of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) visited Boa Vista in the first half of March to learn about the situation experienced by Venezuelan migrant families, especially adolescents and children. The mayor, Teresa Surita, received the group in her office, where they discussed measures that will allow greater support to the actions being promoted by the municipality to the migrants.

Currently, there are about 40,000 Venezuelans, representing approximately 10% of the population of Boa Vista. In addition, 15% of the children in the municipal education network are Venezuelans. In the area of health, the concern is even greater, as there have been eighteen reports of cases of measles, six of which have already been confirmed.

Human rights

Pastor Welinton Pereira, Coordinator of the Human Rights Commission of the Methodist Church of Brazil, was in Boa Vista to see this reality close up and to also participate in the meeting with Mayor Teresa Surita. In his account, he points out that the picture is scary. There are men, women, young people and children in flight for the search of better conditions of life.

"We are facing a humanitarian crisis with a great immigration of Venezuelans who daily enter Brazil through the border with Venezuela in the city of Pacaraima. The picture is bleak," said the pastor, who believes that 800 people pass through the border of Brazil and Venezuela daily.

According to Pastor Welinton, what renews his hope is the work being carried out by the Methodist Church in Boa Vista. "Something that renewed my hope was to learn about the work of Pastor Luís Augusto Cardias, who, despite having only been in the city for two years, is already a great reference for Boa Vista and for all those who visit the situation of refugees," he said.

Citing biblical references in the book of Exodus, and when Jesus sought refuge in Egypt to escape Herod's persecution, Pastor Welinton makes an appeal: "As followers of Jesus, we need to welcome all who seek refuge in our country," he concluded.

Invasion

According to a local newspaper, Folha de Boa Vista, on March 19, residents invaded a shelter in Mucajaí, Roraima, a municipality located 50 kilometers from the capital, and expelled Venezuelans, in addition to closing the highway. The demonstration almost became a tragedy. The protest gathered hundreds of people who invaded the shelter of Venezuelans in the city, expelled the residents and threw their belongings in the street. Then they set fire to it.

The BR-174 highway, linking Boa Vista to Mucajaí, in the urban perimeter, was also closed by the protests, who called for an end to what they consider a "Venezuelan invasion" in the city. The atmosphere became even worse when residents gathered in the streets of the city in protest of the death of a Brazilian man, Eulis Marinho de Sousa, 49, who was beaten to death in the early hours of March 18, supposedly in a bar fight involving Venezuelans 

Demonstrators also used posters and banners to protest and complain about the so-called "Venezuelan invasion" in the city. According to the Folha Boa Vistanewspaper, Mucajaí is in chaos with the presence of thousands of Venezuelans invading the region. There is no longer any peace and violence has increased dramatically in recent months.

Originally published in Portuguese by Pastor Jose Geraldo Magalhães, Expositor Cristão
(http://www.expositorcristao.com.br/metodistas-de-boa-vista-acolhem-imigrantes-que-chegam-a-capital-de-roraima).