Discrimination against colombian refugees in ecuador

Author: Maria Diaz, 2010

Discrimination against Colombian Refugees in Ecuador

Refugees have always been a vulnerable group through history because conflict and oppression have alwaysexisted. Most people think that the elderly, women, and children are the only ones needing help and protection, but they do not really think about refugees and the extra protection that they require.People living in under-developed countries and state authorities deny access to services, justice, and rights. They think that refugees come to their countries to break the law and take their jobs, butthey are generalizing. Unfortunately, few people know the reasons why refugees flee and leave their country of origin. Most refugees in Ecuador are Colombian nationals that day by day suffer in thisforeign country. In Ecuador, Colombian refugees are very discriminated against; in fact, Ecuadorians rarely respect their rights to work and education.
Discrimination against Colombian refugees isvery obvious and visible. Real-life examples show how Colombian nationals are discriminated against by Ecuadorian citizens. If a Colombian refugee goes to talk about renting an apartment to theowner, the landlord will ask what his nationality is. If the refugee says that he is Colombian, and that he is a refugee, the owner will often say that he already rented the apartment to another personeven though it is not rented yet. This shows the unfair treatment to Colombians who reside here, which is because of prejudice about nationality. A refugee after being discriminated against feels despairbecause he is not able to rent a place to live that will become his new home. Clearly, this shows the difference in treatment toward a Colombian refugee that is called discrimination.Ecuadorians do not recognize that a refugee has the right to work, so most refugees are discriminated against in the labor market. Jose Angarita[1] has been recognized as a refugee since early 2010. When he...