Forced Migrations 10-16-2023

Forced Migrations from Venezuela: Challenges of Departure and Asylum Seeking

October 16, 2023 | 6 pm

CCNY Downtown, 25 Broadway, 7th Floor (Valid photo ID required)

Registration Closed

Venezuela is the largest source country of forced migration in the Americas with more than 7 million people having fled repression, violence, and a complex humanitarian crisis. Globally the scale of exodus is comparable to countries in the throes of armed conflict such as Syria and Ukraine. While most forced migrants are hosted in neighboring countries such as Colombia and Peru, many have made the long, treacherous journey North. This panel event invites Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid (VIA), a nongovernmental organization founded by Venezuelan asylum seekers in the New York City area, to discuss the grave situation of their home country, perilous journeys, challenges to seeking protection in the United States and elsewhere, and their experience as advocates for the forcibly displaced. Dr. Susanna Rosenbaum, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Department of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, will join us as event discussant.

Niurka and Héctor are both from Caracas, Venezuela. They left their country with their only son in 2015.  They obtained their university degrees in Venezuela. Both describe themselves as citizens committed to their country and their community. Since their arrival in New York, Niurka and Héctor have volunteered at several organizations that help immigrants in the city, serving as guides and interpreters for members of the growing Venezuelan community who, like them, seek asylum in the United States.  In 2016, they founded Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid (VIA). As they define it, VIA is a 100% voluntary and community-based nonprofit that helps and builds bridges for forcibly displaced people and asylum seekers in New York to adapt and integrate into this country and its culture as quickly and safely as possible.

Sponsored by:
The Francis Patai Program
Division Committee on Inclusive Excellence
Division of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Center for Worker Education

In Collaboration with:
Human Rights Forum