Guest Contributor

"I went to a job search site on Facebook and was offered to host a TV show. I played along, they were supposed to be a TV station, but they didn't even have an office. I told them to come to my office if they wanted to work with me. They stopped writing to me and then the profile casually disappeared," says Carolina (not her real name), a 31-year-old Salvadoran who participated in a session of the IOM's “Think Twice” Virtual Camp on Migration.

"I went to a job search site on Facebook and was offered to host a TV show. I played along, they were supposed to be a TV station, but they didn't even have an office. I told them to come to my office if they wanted to work with me. They stopped writing to me and then the profile casually disappeared," says Carolina (not her real name), a 31-year-old Salvadoran who participated in a session of the IOM's “Think Twice” Virtual Camp on Migration.

Currently, more than 5 million Venezuelans have left their country due to the complex socio-political context. Of those, at least 4 million are in Latin American and Caribbean countries, according to data collected from governments by the Regional Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V).

Originally published in English on the Caribbean Migration Consultation website.

As reported by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, human trafficking networks, as with other criminal groups, take advantage of people's vulnerability during a humanitarian crisis, such as COVID-19.

Since 1979, the IOM has supported some 1.3 million migrants across the world through its Assisted Voluntary Return Programme (AVR). The program focuses on migrants who wish to return to their country of origin but without the means to do so. Persons from the migrant population that can access this program include: rejected asylum seekers applicants, victims of human trafficking, stranded migrants, and other vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied minors, among others.

Any legislation, policy or practice aimed at preventing the unnecessary detention of persons for reasons related to their migration status, can be considered as an alternative to migrant detention, whether formal or informal, according to IOM.

In cases of forced displacement, extortion is often mentioned as one of the main causes. However, extortion is located within a cycle of violence, such sexual violence, murder, etc., and it is difficult to identify a single incident of extortion as the sole reason for leaving a country.

The current outbreak of COVID-19 is primarily a health issue. However, it is also having an unprecedented impact on mobility, both in border and migration management, and on the situation of all people on the move. Past epidemics, such as Ebola, have provided experience and knowledge on how to address the crisis. However, to address a situation of such global magnitude that we are currently facing requires coordination among all actors, the close monitoring of medical developments, and an element of creativity.

Migrating usually involves a series of changes and adjustments for migrants and their families. Migrants need to adapt to new languages, cultures, traditions and social systems. These changes can cause a temporary increase in stress levels, that normally regulates itself with time as the individual adapts to the new circumstances, routines, and lifestyles of the destination country. However, when a crisis situation impedes migration, this adaptation process becomes much more difficult, which can lead to negative psychosocial consequences.