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- Also available in French
GNA Ecuador: Refugee and local views
Global Needs Assessment, 9 October 2008
"After my husband was killed in Colombia I came to Ecuador and I had no options to make a living in this new country. In Colombia, my husband of sixteen years owned a mini-market and a restaurant where we both worked. I would say we were part of the middle class. My three children went to school and we had a happy life. One day my husband was assassinated in front of me while we were attending our business. I was paralyzed, shocked. My children, aged 10, 12 and 14 were also there at the time. After the shooting, I started receiving threats saying my husband owed money to a loan shark and if we didn't pay they would kill me as well. I sent my kids away to live with relatives in a distant part of Colombia and I left for Ecuador in June 2008. My oldest son was deeply disturbed by what happened and he keeps telling me that all he wants is to grow up to seek revenge for his father's death.
When I first arrived in Ibarra finding a job was difficult. Many people shut the door in my face when they heard my Colombian accent. I was offered a job in a restaurant for $80 a month. One day I was offered work in a brothel. I had never done that. The first time it was extremely hard. All I could think was that I needed to pay that debt that was looming over me so that I could bring my children to live with me. In Ibarra, the owners of the business did not pay me what was agreed so I decided to leave. A client offered to take me to San Lorenzo, Esmeraldas. He drove me to a new brothel where I have been working for the last two months. I can earn more than $500 per month in this business. Half the salary I make every month goes to Colombia to pay that debt. I have now started the process to become a refugee in Ecuador, and I have learned I will be able to stay in this country legally."
Miriam, 33, refugee from Colombia, now in Esmeraldas, Ecuador.
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"This whole community depends on rain water. Pampanal is a community located in the mangrove islands off the coast of Ecuador. Being so close to the border, the arrival of Colombians is an everyday thing in this community of 1,000 inhabitants. The greatest problem of this small town is water. It is not possible to drill wells for fresh water here. We depend entirely on rain water that we collect everywhere we can. Since propane gas for cooking costs five times more than on the mainland, boiling water is a luxury that nobody can afford. If you look closely in the tanks by the houses you may actually see larvae in the water. Another problem is the almost daily flooding of part of the town because of the tide.
UNHCR has helped the local school by building a water reservoir, improving the infrastructure and providing books and other equipment. UNHCR will help us treat rain water with chlorine. With help from UNHCR we are also starting the construction of a large boat for transporting fresh water from San Lorenzo. The water will be collected in new cement tanks we are building at the dock. If this works it will change our lives."
José Vargas, President of the Communal Board and school teacher at Pampanal, Esmeraldas, Ecuador
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"My family is scattered in Colombia and they don't even know I am in Ecuador. I arrived in Ecuador two years ago. I came after my husband was shot dead in Colombia and our small house was burned down. I originally arrived in a village right at the border. One day, when I was washing clothes in the river a lady approached and offered me a job washing clothes in San Lorenzo. That is how I arrived here. I came with two of my children (4 and 15 years old) but in total I have 10 children. One of them was killed a year ago when he was coming to meet us in Ecuador. Two months ago, I was surprised one of my daughters (20 years old) arrived whom I had not seen in years because she lived with another family in Colombia. She asked for me in San Lorenzo and since people know me by my nickname, she was able to locate me. She arrived with a little girl, the only granddaughter I know. We all live in this little house. My daughter has started to work in a restaurant. I am sick an unable to work for now. The refugee ID card has been a blessing for us; we can show it to the police and they see that we are legal in this country."
Maria, 40, from Nariño, Colombia, living in San Lorenzo, Ecuador.
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"I have been evicted already twice in the three months I have been here. I came with my wife and three children (ages 2, 4 and 7) only three months ago. In Colombia, I worked selling merchandise, clothes, tools, anything I could find. When I was able to open my own small store, an armed group took it over. They had threatened me to leave and at first I didn't listen. One day I was taken away. They tied me up for two days. When they let me go, I grabbed my family and we came to Ecuador immediately. I had heard it was peaceful, but I never imagined it would be so hard to find a job. People have been helpful and welcoming. In the neighbourhood they told me about the possibility to request asylum. I have not been able to earn enough to pay the rent ($30) and yesterday my landlord told me I had to leave tomorrow. If I had access to a small sum of money I could start my own business once again."
Nilo, 38, from southern Colombia, living in Esmeraldas city. He has started working as a mason on a project financed by UNHCR.
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