Sofa9a's journey from Venezuela to Colombia ^{CEFR B2}

The story begins with a departure on January 13, 2021, when a mother and her 12-year-old daughter crossed into Colombia and settled in Saravena, Arauca. Their move reflected larger forces: economic collapse, shortages of food and medicine, insecurity, and shrinking job and schooling opportunities in Venezuela. In 2021 about 1.84 million people moved to Colombia, and UNHCR projects that by 2025 as many as 7.9 million people may have left Venezuela seeking protection and a better life.

Upon arrival they paid 130,000 pesos per person (about USD 33) for a car ride across the Arauca River; later they learned the typical fare was around 40,000 pesos (USD 10). The mother worked informally as a street vendor without legal documents. Her health was fragile, the work was poorly paid, and in April 2021 she was admitted to an intensive care unit. They did not have free healthcare access and feared the costs; after many procedures, with only the daughter at her side, the hospital agreed to cover the expenses. They experienced both solidarity from kind people and acts of discrimination.

In 2022 the Temporary Protection Permit opened a path to health services and registration with a Health Promotion Entity (EPS). They completed the paperwork, but only the daughter's application was approved. As the mother's condition worsened, they returned to Venezuela in early 2023. Authorities, civil groups and some Colombians worked on awareness campaigns, human rights advocacy and peaceful coexistence programs, and the family remembers both the help and the hostility they met.