“Migrar es como morir para renacer en otro lugar”: la experiencia de venezolanos en Perú

Abstract

This paper explores the concept of “suffering” in the migratory experience of displaced Venezuelans in Peru in three moments: in the context of their departure, during the journey to Peru, and in the context of their arrival. Through a mixed methodology of participant observation and interviews, this paper aims to understand the signification of the concept of suffering in the different phases of the process. In the analyzed case, it was found that to each phase corresponds different motives and types of suffering, and that others are maintained in the three stages. Although the concept of suffering is implicit in many recent academic contributions to the phenomenon of migration, an adequate theorization of the suffering of Venezuelan forcibly displaced has been lacking. This article thus contributes to the literature on migration and suffering, and at the same time to the emerging literature on Venezuelan forced displacement across Latin America.