Imakaquitane Warao /A travessia Warao: o processo de acolhimento de indígenas venezuelanos refugiados em Nova Iguaçu, Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

This work aims to record and reflect on the process of welcoming and assisting a group of Warao indigenous people who are in a situation of refuge in the Municipality of Nova Iguaçu, Baixada Fluminense of Rio de Janeiro between the years 2020 and 2023. We carried out the research in different stages, namely: literature review; field visits with observations and conversations with Warao families hosted in the municipality; in addition to participatory observation in meetings held by the Intersectoral Working Group of the Municipal Network of Nova Iguaçu, created to support the specific service of the Warao group. We chose the conversation methodology (Moura and Lima, 2014) because it is participatory and qualitative, making it possible to research everyday life in order to bring us closer to the subjects, creating bonds of friendship and partnership with them. Our theoretical framework is based on cultural studies with Hall (2003 and 2005), as well as the critical and decolonial (Walsh, 2019) and intersectional (Collins and Bilge, 2021) intercultural perspective. Initial data from the research points to the need for public policies, also at the municipal level, that guide and hold different sectors of public management accountable for guaranteeing the rights of the population in refugee situations, especially those who recognize themselves based on their indigenous identity. We also realize the need to reformulate conceptions, from a position of greater sensitivity, listening and construction of strategies that value the active participation of those involved in reception in order to create routines and procedures that respect cultural and linguistic differences.