This Monday (9), the TV Brasil airs, at 11pm, a new edition of Caminhos da Reportagem that highlights stories of immigrants in Brazil. The “A home beyond borders” program reveals the lack of perspective and public policies for this population coming from different countries, such as Venezuela, Syria and the Dominican Republic.
In the far east of São Paulo, after the São Mateus neighborhood, a community made up only of Venezuelans was named Veneza City. Between dirt streets, makeshift houses made of plywood form the neighborhood.
Today around 300 people live there. Wendy Herrera is one of them. Fashion designer in Venezuela, she arrived in Brazil in 2020. And from crossing to crossing, she went to live in Venice City. “I don’t know why, one day I said: I’m going to live in São Mateus. My husband said: are you crazy? I said: well, I don’t know why, but I feel a good vibe there. I told my husband: I feel good energy there. And then I came here and got a shack.”
Like Wendy, businesswoman Carmen Noriega left Venezuela in search of better living conditions. Her son was one of the first to arrive in Venice City. She says he started selling products at traffic lights to supplement the family’s income. And now they have decided to open a little shop, next to the house where they live.
“Little by little I decided to sell eggs, ice cream, ice cream, sweets, sweets… and today we also sell potatoes, onions, garlic.” And he concludes: “We are fine here. But my dream is to return to my country.”
The area where Venice City was established is a public area that is currently under legal dispute.
In addition to Carmen and Wendy, Brazil has already welcomed thousands of other Venezuelans in recent years. According to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, from January 2017 to January 2022, 689,694 Venezuelans arrived in Brazil. And many of them are here to stay, as explained by Paulo Illes, coordinator of institutional relations at the Center for Human Rights and Immigrant Citizenship (CDHIC).
“I usually say that good immigration practice is a policy that minimizes the time these people spend in shelters as much as possible. Because immigrants don’t come to São Paulo, they don’t come to Brazil, to stay in a shelter. He comes because he wants to work, earn money and help his family.”
It is at this moment that immigrants come up against the lack of public policy aimed at permanent housing, as stated by Carla Aguilar, social worker and manager of the Migrant Support and Pastoral Center (Cami).
“Then, you say: oh, but it doesn’t even exist for Brazilians. So, it should work for everyone, as Article 5 of the Constitution says. We should all have decent housing regardless of nationality. And these people have a lot of difficulty renting a place, because they don’t have all the documents they ask for. There is no guarantor, there is no support network”, says Carla.
Without prospects, many immigrants end up living on the outskirts of large centers or in irregular occupations. This is the case of families living in the center of São Paulo, in the Jean Jacques Dessalines occupation.
Dominican Cliff Dante lives alone in one of the makeshift rooms. He defines the place where he lives as “a place where several people live who are in a scarce condition and who cannot pay rent. And we learn to live with others, but it’s not easy.”
The building is a private property and repossession was requested by the owner from the Court. The property’s debts with unpaid IPTU to the city of São Paulo reach almost 400 thousand reais.
If public policies aimed at housing are still a challenge, the city of Araraquara decided to institute a law aimed at immigrants. And one of the proposed innovations is to eliminate the deadline for granting social rent. Today, a person, immigrant or not, needs to prove that they have lived for at least two years in the municipality where they are requesting the benefit. In Araraquara it is different.
“When immigrants arrive in the city, they arrive in a state of social vulnerability. So, imagine him having to wait two years to be able to take advantage of this social policy. So, in this legislation, we remove this time, this temporal barrier, so that when the immigrant arrives in our municipality, we can actually welcome them”, explains Renata Fatah, Human Rights Coordinator at Araraquara City Hall.
Syrian Jadallah Al Sabah was one of the beneficiaries of social rent in Araraquara. THE chef chef says that the social program was essential for him to be able to settle in Brazil and bring his family. “Now I can pay my rent. I have work and everything is fine”, he says.
About the program
Weekly journalistic production TV BrasilCaminhos da Reportagem takes the viewer on a journey around the country and the world in search of special topics, with a different, thought-provoking and complex view of each of the chosen subjects.
On air for more than a decade, Caminhos da Reportagem is one of the most awarded journalistic attractions not only on the channel, but also on Brazilian television. To tell great stories, professionals investigate varied subjects and reveal the most relevant aspects of each subject.
Health, economy, behavior, education, environment, safety, service provision, culture and many other topics are covered in a unique way. Thematic articles provide content of interest to society on the public broadcaster’s small screen.
Current and controversial issues are treated with depth and seriousness by the channel’s team of professionals. The meticulous and well-executed work is recognized with several important awards in the journalistic world.
Aired on Mondays, at 11pm, Caminhos da Reportagem has an alternative time slot in the early hours of the morning for Tuesday, at 4:30am. The production makes special editions available on website http://tvbrasil.ebc.com.br/caminhosdareportagem and on the public broadcaster’s YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/tvbrasil. The previous articles are also on the TV Brasil Play app, available on Android and iOS versions, and on the website.
