by LUISA PASCOAERLI
(WNN) São Paulo, BRAZIL: Known throughout the world as a ‘welcoming’ country, Brazil in the last decade has opened its doors to more than 286,000 immigrants. They have come from a diverse group of global regions, all for different reasons, coming from the United States, Japan, Paraguay, Portugal and Bolivia, according to IBGE – Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. But when it comes to Latin American migrants lives, some refugees experiences are often filled with exclusion and hardship.
In a meeting in the city of São Paulo, Brazil held by Adus, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that “aims to seek new alternatives related to the integration of resident refugees,” the ongoing problems for refugees entering the region is process that includes discrimination. Helping refugees find dignity with a way out of poverty and a sustainable career is a challenge, in spite of the Brazilian Refugee Act Bill in 1997, an act of legislation that hoped to bring ‘integration’ in Brazil, but met with continued limitations to migrants that have come to Brazil from Latin America.
Rosa* is a Colombian migrant woman who came to Brazil three months ago seeking refugee status. Since her displacement in Colombia, where decades of fear and rural paramilitary conflict has caused ongoing destabilization, Rosa became part of the tide of migrants displaced by circumstances beyond her control. Since arriving in Brazil she has been looking for a job in Brazil to help support her family. But her efforts have not brought her luck to find what she needs.
“Female labour migrants are frequently confined to low-skilled jobs in domestic and care work, hotel and catering services, the entertainment and sex industry, agriculture and assembly lines,” says the OSCE – Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in a October 2010 International Organization for Migration report. “This includes many skilled or highly skilled women who face downgrading and deskilling in the country of destination,” continued the OSCE.
Through a one-on-one interview with WNN – Women News Network in São Paulo, Rosa shared her opinion that Brazil is “not as friendly” as she first thought. With a certificate in Culinary Arts and Gastronomy and experience as a food chef in Colombia, Rosa has had no luck finding a job despite São Paulo’s busy restaurant industry as the capital city in the richest state in Brazil.
“I took a step back and tried a [job] vacancy as a kitchen helper, but even with this I am not getting a chance,” outlined Rosa. “The employers here ask for experience in[side] Brazil and I don´t have it, despite having it in my own country,” she continued.
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