Venezuela: Information on the Arab or Syrian community, on the attitude of the state towards this community, and on police protection available to it

The information that follows was provided in a 12 September 1995 DIRB telephone interview with the information coordinator of PROVEA (Programa de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos de Venezuela), a leading human rights organization in Venezuela to which the DIRB was referred by both Human Rights Watch/Americas and the Andean Commission of Jurists as a primary source of information.

Members of the Arab community in general, which includes persons of Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian or other Middle Eastern ethnic origin, are not subject to any particular treatment, nor do they face any particular circumstances due to their membership inthat community. No political party or institution currently known in Venezuela advocates or practises a particular treatment of members of this group, which includes numerous persons in most walks of life throughout the country, nor is there a popular ideology advocating any such treatment.

However, many foreigners, as opposed to persons of foreign ancestry, is that, due to their relatively vulnerable status stemming from the potential of expulsion and the lack of a support network of relatives and contacts, etc., may suffer some form of abuse from any authorities that they have to deal with. Immigration or police authorities, for example, may be harsh or abusive to foreigners because of their vulnerable situation. This, however, would not likely be a situation faced often by persons born in Venezuela who do not face any real or perceived risk of losing their residence status. The abuse that may be faced by a foreigner is not the result of a generalized or systematic attitude or policy; it occurs in specific, individual cases where a person in a vulnerable situation has to deal with authorities that happen to be abusive and want to take advantage of the circumstances. Foreigners who happen to face a tense situation with the police may also face such a scenario; for example, in a raid where ten persons are detained and only one happens to be a foreigner, the foreigner is likely to be subject to more thorough scrutiny or interrogation.

Foreigners, irrespective of their nationality, may encounter instances of personal or very localized prejudice or discrimination. However, there are no known cases in recent years of inter-ethnic or racially-motivated violence in Venezuela.

The only case known to PROVEA of foreigners actually being treated in a particular way by government authorities as a result of an official effort or policy is that of Basque citizens visiting or residing in the country. Some Basque citizens have been subject to close scrutiny and have been followed, due to their possible connection with the Basque terrorist group ETA. Background information on ETA can be found in previous Responses to Information Requests, available through the Refinfo database.

The source added that there has been a recent increase in xenophobic feelings towards Colombians as a result of a number of events. Among other things, Colombia recently published a map presenting features that offended Venezuelans, such as the misnaming of the Gulf of Venezuela, and Colombian guerrillas have been responsible for numerous incidents on the Venezuelan side of the border, including the kidnapping and killing of Venezuelans. However, these incidents and the increased animosity towards Colombians have not resulted in any acts of xenophobic violence.

The information that follows was provided by a Venezuelan political scientist and visiting scholar at Harvard University's Committee on Latin American and Iberian Studies during a telephone interview with the DIRB on 12 September 1995.

Although the source stated that his field of expertise was not racial or ethnic issues, he stated that Venezuela is not characterized by ethnic tensions. There are no problems that are specific to any particular ethnic group, except perhaps for some indigenous tribes in the south of the country that face unique economic and social circumstances at present.

To his recollection, the only recent incident of conflict in which members of the Arab community or people of Middle Eastern descent were involved took place last year in a city in the interior of the country; the source was unsure of the exact location. The conflict involved a consumer protection agency and a group of businessmen, the latter of whom were mostly of Arab origin. Although the incident may, at some point, have been perceived in ethnic terms by the media or the general public, it is not surprising that many of the businessmen involved were of Arab origin, since many merchants and businessmen throughout the country are of Arab origin.

The source recently authored a book on Venezuelan politics which explained, among other things, that social tensions have been increasing in Venezuela. The source stated that resentment and animosity or hate between "haves" and "have nots" has become increasingly widespread, mostly due to the deteriorating economic conditions of the country, although these feelings are not linked to or aimed at any particular ethnic or cultural group.

Finally, an on-line search of news articles yielded an article that refers to emigration from Lebanon as a result of the armed conflict in that country (The Times-Picayune 10 Sept. 1994). The report states that approximately 900,000 Lebanese left their country between 1975 and 1990. According to the source, approximately 40 per cent of them settled in the Americas, their largest communities being in Canada, the United States, Venezuela and Brazil (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below a list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Professor of political science and visiting scholar with the Committee on Latin American and Iberian Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.. 12 September 1995. Telephone interview.

Programa de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos (PROVEA). 12 September 1995. Telephone interview with information coordinator.

The Times-Picayune. 10 September 1994. "500,000 Die in War: Beirut, Lebanon." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International Report. Yearly.

Andean Newsletter [Lima]. Monthly.

Country Reports for Human Rights Practices. Yearly.

Encyclopedia of the Third World. 4th. edition.

Ethnic Preference and Public Policy in Developing States. 1986. Boulder, Co.: Lynne Rienner.

Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly.

Lettre du Groupement pour le droit des minorités. Monthly.

Minority Peoples in the Age of Nation-States. 1989. London: Pluto Press.

The Minority Rights Group Reports. Various dates. London: La force des faibles. 1987. Paris: Larousse.

World Directory of Minorities. 1990. London: Minority Rights Groups International.

World Minorities in the Eighties. 1980. London: Quartermaine House.

Note:

        This list is not exhaustive. Country-specific books available in the Resource Centre are not included.