“My Heart Is Still There”: Family Reunification of Refugees in Brazil
Family reunification, a phenomenon often studied in developed countries, is necessary to guarantee the right to family life for refugees. Based on interviews of refugees living in São Paulo, my study highlights the different strategies refugees adopt in selecting a family member to join them in Brazil through the reunification process. Security, healthcare, financial situation as well as assistance in taking care of children already in Brazil are among the most cited reasons for reunification selection.
Family migration is the main form of documented migration in the world. For people fleeing persecution and recognized as refugees, the only possibility to access a family life involves bringing family members to the asylum country through the family reunification process. Most studies on refugees’ family reunification focus on developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and the European states. However, 84 percent of the world’s refugee population is in developing countries (UNHCR 2019).
Countries in Latin America are facing one of the biggest displacement crises in the world, heavily fueled by the economic and political crisis in Venezuela. In 2018, Brazil ranked sixth in the world for receiving asylum seekers. International organizations have recognized that family reunification is essential for the local integration of refugees. Local integration has been found as the most employed durable solution for refugees in developing countries (Stein 1986).
Legal Framework of Family Reunification
Brazil has developed legislation on asylum with an expanded definition of refugees including those affected by severe and generalized violation of human rights. By the end of 2018, the country had recognized 11,231 people as refugees of which 6654 were still living on the Brazilian territory (CONARE 2019). Most of these refugees come from Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Palestine and Pakistan. More recently, the Brazilian government also recognized 21,000 Venezuelans as refugees (HRW 2019).
Except for Colombians and Venezuelans, and nationals of some partner countries, all other nationalities from Africa and Asia need a visa to enter Brazil. Historically, the family reunification procedure for refugees initiated with a normative resolution in the framework of the Asylum Law in 2013 (Law 9474/1997). It was later consolidated in the form of a new migration law that recognizes the right to family reunification for all permanent immigrants in Brazil (including refugees) and elevates family reunification, as one of the core principles of the Brazilian migration policy. In 2018, this normative resolution was again modified with the inclusion of a new family reunification visa procedure.
In comparison to the restrictive family reunification policies adopted by some developed countries, the Brazilian definition of the family includes ascendants, descendants, partners and other family members that are economically dependent on the refugee. The family reunification procedure itself is facilitated and does not require the use of DNA tests or local integration requirements, nor maximum deadlines for family reunification or waiting periods. However, refugees in Brazil do face many barriers in trying to reunite with their family members. These include denial of visas with no information or no right to appeal, delays and lack of information on deadlines, costs of the procedures that are entirely paid by the refugees with no help, as well as other bureaucratic issues first in the Brazilian consular authorities abroad and after the family reaches the Brazilian territory.
Family reunification experience of refugees in São Paulo
Considering this complicated reality, I studied how refugees in São Paulo (the city where most refugees applied for family reunification) deal with the family reunification procedures to bring their families to Brazil. Between August and November 2018, I interviewed 20 refugees, who applied for family reunification, to understand how they deal with this procedure.
Most refugees arrive in Brazil alone. Refugees remain separated from their families for at least two years. This is the minimum time for an asylum-seeker to be recognized as a refugee in Brazil. This separation causes them to feel alone, sad, empty, and stressed. All interviewees worry about the safety of their family members that were left behind, given that they come from situations of conflicts, persecutions, violations of human rights or refugee camps. This preoccupation has physical and psychological effects on the refugees’ wellbeing. Some say they are unable to eat or sleep and they feel ill.
Technology seems to facilitate their communication with the family back home. All of them use the Internet and social media tools including Whatsapp, Skype, Facebook and Messenger to communicate with their family members. A small part continues to make phone calls, as well. Civil society organizations like Caritas are essential in providing information for the refugees on the family reunification procedure. They help the refugees in initiating the process and assist them when facing problems, such as a lack of answer and delays.
One particular challenge faced by the refugees is the cost of the family reunification procedure. Although studies have shown that refugees are more qualified than Brazilians, they have a hard time entering the labor market and occupy mainly low-paid positions. Most refugees in Brazil live in big and expensive cities like São Paulo. Hence, with low salaries, they must survive in Brazil, send money abroad to help their families and save to pay for the costs of the family reunification procedures (documentation, visas, and the travel to Brazil).
Considering the financial implications, many refugees adopt a selection of strategies to decide which family member they are bringing first. They use and mix five different strategies in their decision-making process: bringing people in need of (1) protection, of (2) healthcare, (3) people that can help take care of the children that are in Brazil (especially for refugee women), (4) people that can work to help send money abroad and to save to bring the persons left behind, and (5) other reasons, such as study and availability.
My research findings contribute to understanding family reunification in a developing country, namely Brazil. They highlight the importance of civil society organizations, especially Caritas, in helping refugees during the family reunification procedure, and in providing information and assistance in case of problems. Refugees rely on technology, primarily social media and the Whatsapp messaging application to stay in contact with their family members in their home countries.
As refugees are the beneficiaries of the family reunification policy, they are the experts of their own experiences. This conception should guide all analysis of asylum policies and public policies for refugees. Understanding how refugees react to family reunification procedures has the potential to inform decision-makers on how to design and implement better family reunification policies for them, not only in Brazil but also in other countries.
Policymakers should also recognize the family reunification as necessary for the local integration of refugees. Hence, family reunification procedures should be facilitated. The Brazilian government in cooperation with international organizations, such as the International Organization of Migration and others, could create programs to help refugees with the family reunification costs. This would prevent refugees from having to make hard choices on which family member to bring first.
Patrícia Nabuco Martuscelli has recently completed her PhD in Political Science at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil.
References:
– CONARE (2019). Refúgio em Números 4ª Edição. Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública do Brasil.
– Human Rights Watch (2019). Brazil Grants Asylum to 21,000 Venezuelans in a Single Day. Human Rights Watch Webpage. December 6th.
– UNHCR (2019). Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2018. Geneva: UNHCR.
– Stein, B. N. (1986). Durable Solutions for Developing Country Refugees. International Migration Review 20(2), 264–282.
