UNHCR’s Salih hears stories of opportunity and return in Latin America
UNHCR’s Salih hears stories of opportunity and return in Latin America
UNHCR's Barham Salih walks in the Petare neighbourhood of Caracas, Venezuela, with Andriuska Bello, who returned in January from Ecuador.
For millions across Latin America and the Caribbean, displacement has meant leaving behind homes, livelihoods and communities. Today, the Americas host more than 21.8 million forcibly displaced and stateless people – nearly a fifth of the global total. Yet on a recent visit to Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih encountered another side of the story: people rebuilding their lives through work, education and return.
During the trip, Salih met presidents, ministers, mayors, business leaders, humanitarian partners and refugees. He met the president of Peru, Keiko Fujimori, and the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, addressed Mexico's Senate and visited schools, factories and community centres. Yet some of the most powerful conversations took place with people building new futures after displacement.
For Daysi, that future looks like a home of her own.
For Yuliveth Jardín, it looks like a university degree and a career in science.
For Andriuska, it means rebuilding her life in the country she once left behind.
A dream within reach
When Daysi fled Honduras with her children, she was focused on keeping them safe.
Today, in the city of Aguascalientes in central Mexico, her son is studying engineering, her daughter is thriving in school, and she is working toward a goal that once seemed out of reach: buying a home of her own.
Through an integration programme run by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Daysi found a job in the country’s automotive sector and the stability that comes with formal employment.
“My work means satisfaction. Thanks to it, we have food, we rent a house, my children study, and what motivates me most is that I can begin the process of buying my own home,” she said.
Daysi's story reflects a broader trend in Mexico, where refugees are increasingly finding opportunities to settle and contribute. Through UNHCR's integration programme, more than 175,000 asylum-seekers and refugees have found employment with more than 650 participating companies.
After meeting Daysi and other refugees who have rebuilt their lives in Aguascalientes, the High Commissioner stressed the importance of UNHCR’s partnerships for creating the conditions for such success stories.
“Governments, civil society, academia and the private sector coming together to create opportunities and include refugees. That is not just good for refugees. It is good for Mexico too,” Salih said.
Building robots and a future
In Peru, Yuliveth Jardín is pursuing her own academic dreams.
The 24-year-old Venezuelan studies Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in the capital, Lima, where she helps build robots as part of her university's robotics team. After leaving Venezuela as a teenager, she worked for years to save money and prepare for university entrance exams.
Yuliveth and laboratory technician Freddy Penas in the robotics laboratory of the National University of Engineering.
Yuliveth Jardín, a Mechanical and Electrical Engineering student originally from Venezuela, stands outside the National University of Engineering in Lima, Peru.
Today, she hopes for a future where she can help advance knowledge in her chosen field. “I would like to contribute to science at some point in my career,” Yuliveth said.
Her story reflects both the potential and the obstacles facing displaced people in Peru, which hosts a large number of Venezuelans. While 44 per cent have completed higher education, only 8 per cent of those who did so in Venezuela have had their qualifications formally recognized in Peru.
For Salih, Yuliveth's experience offers an example of what refugees can achieve when given the chance to shape their own futures. “Their ambition and determination are an inspiring reminder of the resilience of young people, and of what education and opportunity can make possible,” he said.
The winding road home
For Andriuska, the next chapter in her family’s story began with a return home.
After years living in Ecuador, she went back to Venezuela in early 2026 with her husband and two children. Like many of the decisions she has made, returning was driven by a desire to create a better future for her family.
When Salih visited Petare, one of Caracas's largest neighbourhoods, Andriuska walked with him along the steep, winding streets of the community she calls home. Passing brightly painted homes, she spoke about raising her children, reconnecting with family and building a future in Venezuela.
Her children, who had never lived in Venezuela before, are attending school and discovering a country that previously existed only in the stories their parents told. “For me, being here is being at peace,” she said.
Like many who return home after a forced absence, Andriuska is focused less on the journey behind her than on what the future holds.
“Coming home is never simply about crossing a border,” Salih explained. “It is about what comes next: documents, work, security, schools, community, and the chance to imagine a future again.”
Andriuska and her two children ride in the back of a truck in the Petare neighbourhood of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
More than a place
While Daysi, Yuliveth and Andriuska represent different stages of the displacement journey – integration, inclusion and return – their aspiration and determination to build a better future is remarkably similar.
It also points to the rationale behind UNHCR’s 50 by 35 vision, which seeks to halve the number of refugees in protracted displacement who rely on humanitarian aid by 2035. This will be achieved by working with governments, development actors, the private sector and others to empower refugees, boost their self-reliance, and advance durable solutions including voluntary return.
The High Commissioner concluded his trip with a visit to La Guaira, north of Caracas, where he met Venezuelan communities affected by the devastating earthquakes in June, who are working to restore homes, livelihoods and a sense of normality.
Barham Salih (right) visits La Guaira, Venezuela, three months after devastating earthquakes affected thousands of families.
“Whether returning after years away or starting again after a disaster, home is more than a place. It is something that we rebuild through safety, opportunity, community and above all, dignity,” he said.
Their experiences, and those of Daysi, Yuliveth and Andriuska, are a reminder that while crisis may alter the course of a person's life, it does not define what comes next.
