World Refugee Day: Venezuelans top asylum seeker list in Spain

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Spain is a top European entry point for refugees, along with Greece and Italy. Yet, despite what many people may think, most of those who seek asylum in Spain are not Africans, but Venezuelans. Filio Kontrafouri reports from Madrid on the soaring number of Venezuelans seeking refuge in Spain.

It's been nearly two years since David's only son was killed by security forces during a demonstration in Venezuela. For him, it wasn't the lack of food, medicine and security in his country that forced him to seek asylum in Spain. He became a human rights activist to, as he says, seek justice for his 22-year-old son. And that placed his own life in danger.

DAVID JOSE VALLENILLA LUIS VENEZUELAN ASYLUM SEEKER "I had an office where I used to work as a lawyer, and one day it got assaulted, they took my computer and everything. After all this situation, my family was really worried about me because I was never silent, I was also a victim of a few assaults in the street."

One in three asylum seekers in Spain is now from Venezuela. According to the Ministry of Interior, through May of this year, nearly 17-thousand Venezuelans applied for asylum in Spain. That's almost double the applications received during the same time in 2018. And they come despite Spain's comparatively low rate of acceptance.

ESTRELLA GALAN, GENERAL DIRECTOR SPANISH COMMISSION FOR REFUGEES "Just one out of four people that request asylum in our country get protection. That rate is below the average of the European Union, that rate is 40% in Europe. The system has failures that need to be fixed."

Many Venezuelans expect their applications to be rejected. Yet, it's one of the limited options they have to legally stay in Spain.

FILIO KONTRAFOURI MADRID "Spain is Europe's top destination for Venezuelans. The UN Refugee Agency recently urged countries to allow them into their territories because now it considers that the majority of those fleeing Venezuela are in need of international refugee protection."

According to the United Nations, some four million Venezuelans have fled their country in recent years to escape a worsening political and humanitarian crisis. Tens of thousands, like David, paid over one-thousand dollars, a difficult sum given Venezuela's hyperinflation, for a one-way plane ticket to Spain.

DAVID JOSE VALLENILLA LUIS VENEZUELAN ASYLUM SEEKER "I remember going outside and saying to myself 'I might not come back'. It's so insecure right now in Venezuela that you can get killed just because you didn't have anything valuable to steal from you. Having a mobile phone or shoes can be mortal. They kill people just for that, the insecurity there is staggering."

For now, David wants to get a work permit in Spain and find a job until his asylum claim is processed.

His hope is for change in Venezuela and his future wish is one shared by most refugees from countries around the globe. To one day go home. Filio Kontrafouri, CGTN, Madrid.