Stranded Venezuelans build dirt camps in Colombia amid virus

Out of work, broke and left with few good options amid the coronavirus pandemic, a growing number of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia has set up a makeshift camp on a tree-covered patch along a highway outside the capital of Bogota.

Aside from 160 makeshift tents they've built out of black plastic and ropes strung between trees for shelter, they have no running water, bathrooms and electricity. They survive on charity of neighbours who bring food.

Crowded with up to six in each tent and no way to easily wash their hands, it creates a potential for the coronavirus spread, although residents say they haven't yet experienced any illnesses.

"We're living in a nightmare," said Cecilio Zagarra, an organizer and one of the hundreds in the camp. "As the days go by, it's worse for us."

In the last two weeks, Colombian authorities reduced the passage of Venezuelan migrants through the border city of Cucuta from 400 a day to less than a quarter of that because the Venezuelan immigration authorities only allow Venezuelans to cross three days each week. It's normally a bustling border crossing.

This has caused a bottleneck of Venezuelans trying to make their way home. The new shantytown just north of Bogota has become home hundreds of Venezuelan migrants. Many are children, pregnant women and elderly.

Most of the migrants do not have masks, and keeping a safe distance from others is nearly impossible.

The quarantine order has sparked a reverse flow of Venezuelans, who say they have no other choice but to return home, where at least they can live with relatives.

Roughly half of the Venezuelan migrants worked informally as street vendors and clerks, having no social net to help them survive life without going to work each day.

Colombian migration officials report that so far more than 72,000 displaced Venezuelans have returned to their native country, many walking up to 20 days carrying their belongings.