Exploring Crisis Migration Experiences of Venezuelan Parent-Child Dyads in Colombia

Background: Crisis migration refers to the mass movement of individuals triggered by catastrophic events such as wars, social unrest, economic instability, or environmental disasters. Unlike voluntary migration for economic or personal reasons, crisis migration involves urgent and often unplanned departures driven by safety or survival concerns. The term encompasses various migrant categories, including refugees, asylum seekers, and those fleeing climate change or violence. The Venezuelan diaspora illustrates this phenomenon, marked by rapid and large-scale migration due to a combination of economic collapse, political repression, and violence.

Understanding crisis migration involves examining multidimensional experiences across pre-migration conditions, departure circumstances, and post-migration aftermath, including factors like material hardship, danger, guilt, and worry. As such, the present qualitative study focuses on understanding the crisis migration experience of Venezuelan parent-child dyads relocated to Colombia. Guided by the concepts from the Crisis Migration Experiences Scale (CMES), we sought to understand the experience of material hardship, desperation to leave, physical danger, and the nature of departure of parent-child dyads before migrating to Colombia.

Method: Participants were parent-child dyads of adolescents (ages 12-17; N = 32) and adult migrants from Venezuela (ages 18+; N = 32). They participated in individual interviews lasting between 30 and 60 minutes and conducted in Spanish. Interviews assessed the experience of the crisis in Venezuela before migration to Colombia and the process of deciding to migrate. Thematic analysis was conducted following a 3-step coding process. First, initially meaning units were selected and renamed to describe the participant's experience. Next, through open coding of quotations a codebook was developed. Codes were then grouped into higher-level conceptual categories which informed our themes by the four core concepts from the CMES.

Results: The study findings highlight the contrasting experiences of crisis in Venezuelans between adolescents and their parents. Parents provided detailed accounts of hardships such as hunger, widespread shortages, and insufficient wages, while adolescents described a shielded existence, protected by their parents from the harsh realities of the economic crisis. Parents emphasized the difficult decision-making process to leave, driven by desperation to escape scarcity and hunger. While neither parents nor adolescents reported direct experiences of danger or political repression, they noted that individuals critical of the government faced such risks. Additionally, the migration narrative revealed a phased approach, with parents often migrating to Colombia first to establish stability before bringing their children, reflecting the complexities of their migration journey.

Conclusions: Insights into the nuanced experiences of crisis migration among Venezuelan families underscores the need for tailored interventions and advocacy efforts. Practitioners working with crisis migrants must recognize the differential impact of crisis events on parents and adolescents within the same family unit. Advocacy efforts should center on amplifying the voices of crisis migrants and addressing systemic barriers to their resettlement and integration, including access to essential services, legal protections, and mental health care. By acknowledging and addressing the multifaceted needs of crisis migrants, service providers and advocates can play a vital role in promoting the well-being and resilience of Venezuelan families in the diaspora.