Refugees living in the country consider Brazilians to be supportive and welcoming, but many report having suffered discrimination because of their nationality or race, especially those who come from African countries, according to a survey that evaluated the perception and difficulties experienced by these immigrants.
The survey, carried out by the NGO Meus Refugiado with Instituto Qualibest between January and September 2021, interviewed 503 refugees or asylum seekers.
The sample is not representative of this population, but it has a profile similar to the average of these immigrants, with the majority having come from Venezuela (61%) and living in Boa Vista (39% of the total) or in São Paulo (34%). The others are Angolans, Congolese, Syrians and from countries like Colombia and Cuba, and the time they are in Brazil varies from six months to seven years.
Asked about the positive and negative points of Brazilians, most said they considered them supportive (62%) and welcoming (59%). More than 40% say they do not see any negative points, but among the others, the most associated defects were relapses (23%), quarrelsome (19%) and prejudiced (18%).
Overall, 47% said they had suffered some form of discrimination in the country, especially related to nationality and race. Among African refugees the percentage is much higher: 64%.
The two biggest factors cited as motivating to migrate were the economic crisis –especially in the case of Venezuelans– and political persecution or wars.
They say they chose Brazil as a destination mainly because they have relatives or friends in the country and because of the idea that it would be easier to find work (23%), something that is not always confirmed in practice: half of the interviewees consider it difficult or very difficult to find work in Brazil, and this was the main factor mentioned by them among the biggest problems they face.
In addition to the lack of available vacancies, they cited the fact that they did not know anyone (35%), problems with the language (33%) or having their diplomas revalidated (28%) as obstacles to their placement in the job market (28%), in addition to discrimination against immigrants by employers (25%).
Half of the respondents have completed or incomplete higher education, 7% have postgraduate degrees and 29% have secondary education, which confirms previous studies that show refugees as more educated than the national average.
Many refugees (48%) said they learned Portuguese on their own, on a daily basis – more than 70% said they had a close relationship with Brazilians. Those who took the language course studied, on average, seven months.
Only 30% of them had no help when arriving in Brazil. Among the others, most were served by NGOs, churches or mosques. The predominant feeling upon arrival was missing the family (49%), followed by relief (33%), joy (30%) and fear (29%).
More than 75% of respondents said that their greatest desire is to give their children a better life and 30% do not want to return to their country of origin even temporarily.
