Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Ministry Study: 25% of Venezuelans Who Return Home Do So for Family Reunification

According to a study carried out by the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Venezuela, 25% of the Venezuelan nationals who have decided to return home have done so to reunite with their families; 20% have returned due to job instability in the country for which they left; 12% because of health problems; and 9% due to economic difficulties and xenophobia.

Over the past three years, 5,174 Venezuelans residing in Ecuador have returned to Venezuela on flights enabled within the framework of the Vuelta a la Patria program, a humanitarian response initiative that is currently being reactivated by the Venezuelan authorities, after President Nicolás Maduro gave the order to reinforce it on October 7.

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A family returning to Venezuela through this procedure is that of Milagros Ponte and her husband Abelardo Aragort, who emigrated to Ecuador approximately five years ago. At that time, they were assured that economic expectations in Ecuador were quite high, which is why they decided to leave their homeland and undertake that trip.

Waiting at the Guayaquil airport, about to board one of the three Vuelta a la Patria flights back to Venezuela, Milagros recalled how as soon as she and her family arrived in Quito, the outlook became quite discouraging and that, with the passing of the months, the possibility of finding a stable job became an everyday challenge.

“I left because of credulity,” remarked Milagros, waiting at the boarding gate of the airport with her husband and their two children. “There is no quality of life here; in Venezuela I worked on my own and I never lacked anything. Here I could not even earn enough for a return ticket.” Along with Milagros and her family, 90 other Venezuelan nationals were awaiting their return flight enabled by the government of Venezuela, which has been facilitating the voluntary return of Venezuelans abroad for three years now.

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Milagros and her husband state that they have no doubts about their decision to return home. Among the reasons they have decided to return are the cultural differences they encountered in Ecuador that did not allow them to adapt there.

“We miss our people, our country; the emotional aspect affects you a lot and Venezuela is like a feeling, it is familiarity,” stresses Milagros, with emotion perceptibly showing in her face, despite the mask she had to keep on at all times within the airport facilities.

In this regard, President Maduro has given a message to expat Venezuelans: “To Venezuelans abroad wherever they may be, rest assured that you have here in Venezuela your homeland, waiting with opens arms to receive you when you wish to return to live in peace, without discrimination, without exclusions, without abuse, without persecution. So that you can come back to Venezuela, I have given the order to reinforce the Vuelta a la Patria program, to bring back Venezuelans who want to return… this is for you my brothers and sisters.”