Interreligious Council of PERU Provides Essential Supplies to Venezuelan Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Migrants

The Interreligious Council of Peru (IRC-Peru) is Religions for Peace’s multi-religious platform with representation of diverse religious institutions and communities collaborating around shared concerns. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, IRC-Peru is working to provide approximately 8,000 vulnerable asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants (~2,000 families) with essential emergency response materials including food, hygiene kits, and rent vouchers.

IRC-Peru also convened religious leaders in a virtual prayer for the country’s health care workers, employees, law enforcement, volunteers and everyone impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. Martín Vizcarra, the president of Peru, presented the virtual prayer in a nationwide broadcast on 7 April 2020. The following video includes excerpts of the prayers.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are over 800,000 Venezuelan asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in Peruvian territory. Most Venezuelans left their home country in the last few years under very traumatic circumstances, including lack of access to food and medicine, violence and fear of persecution, among other factors. Today many of them are adjusting to a host country that has been unclear regarding its refugee policy and has unfortunately seen waves of xenophobia from all levels of society. In addition to this, most Venezuelans and 70% of Peruvians work in the informal sector, thereby increasing their vulnerability amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to this global emergency, the Peruvian government is taking extraordinary measures to prevent the spread of the virus, including a national stay-at-home order. The government has committed to providing financial assistance to over two million Peruvian families but has delegated all the support for Venezuelan asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants to UNHCR. Despite limited resources being made available, many asylum seekers, refugees and migrants are faced with humanitarian emergencies as they are unable to earn money or receive financial support from the government to cover their basic needs – including food, medicine and hygienic products needed to prevent the infection of COVID-19.

IRC-Peru and its subcommittee, the Interreligious Committee for Refugees and Migrants (CIREMI), are composed by 27 diverse faith-based communities, organizations and community kitchens serving the refugee and migrant communities in close cooperation with the UNHCR. These religious organisations are working to identify vulnerable individuals and families within their faith communities to receive food, basic hygiene packs, and rent subsidies for those at risk of losing shelter.

IRC Peru also convened an interreligious prayer for global health on 14 May 2020 in response to the “Global Interfaith Prayer and Initiative for Human Fraternity”. The prayer convened diverse religious leaders with President of the Republic, Martín Vizcarra, in the Plaza Mayor of Lima (which was empty of public due to the curfew. The interreligious prayer was broadcast live throughout the country and the world on public television at 10:00 pm EST.