Surviving Overlapping Precarity in a 'Gigantic Hellhole' UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS, TROCHAS AND PRECARIOUS BELONGING Before the pandemic, migrants and forcibly displaced Venezuelans were already known to take irregular routes into Brazil. According to a December 2020 Situation Report by the Organization of American States (OAS), there are an estimated 500–700 Venezuelans leaving the country each day through trochas (irregular paths) or dangerous sea routes. 19 These paths often leave them vulnerable to traffickers, smugglers or armed groups. 20 With closed borders, Venezuelan migrants have reported that their migratory routes are more dangerous. 21 Our surveys with three young trans women who crossed the Brazilian border irregularly in early 2021 have revealed that the situation in Venezuela was so dire that they were forced to flee amid a pandemic. They came through a trocha and hitchhiked and walked their way to Manaus. Since they are undocumented, they do not qualify for the Government’s emergency benefit. They arrived at Casa Miga, the only LGBTQI+ refugee shelter in Latin America. But due to some conflicts, the women were asked to leave Casa Miga in April 2021. Thus, despite finding a shelter that is meant to be a safe space, the situation of overlapping precarity pushed these trans women to rule breaking, which led them to be forcibly displaced once again. RECOMMENDATIONS FROM LGBTQI+ ASYLUM SEEKERS AND UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS The majority of respondents believed the Brazilian Government’s approach was inadequate, very inadequate, or completely inadequate (see Table 2). The following section highlights the respondents’ suggestions for improving the lives of refugees and asylum seekers during the pandemic. Table 2: How would you rate the Brazilian Government response to the pandemic? Response Number of Respondents (n=19) Completely inadequate 3 Very Inadequate 2 Inadequate 5 Adequate 4 Perfectly adequate 3 Prefer Not to Answer 2 19 20 21 ‘Situation Report December 2020: Venezuelan Migration and Refugee Crisis’, Organization of American States (Report December 2020) 2 <https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/OAS_Dic20-crisis-of-Venezuelanmigrants-and-refugees-situation-report.pdf> (‘Organization of American States’). ibid 3; Marta Martinez, ‘Women Fleeing Venezuela are Being Targeted for Abuse Amid Pandemic Border Closures’, CNN (online, 22 Nov 2020) <http://www.cnn.com/2020/11/22/americas/colombia-venezuela-border-womenintl/index.html?fbclid=IwAR02xpjom_Yfxnq9XSEaZXpeUaeoxFX1yYGZyFGaVNDHeSfdPaQTV_sfEY>. John Costa do Santos and Thiago Riberio Costa, ‘Gender and COVID-19 in the Context of the Refugee and Migrant Population in the City of Manaus–Amazonas (Gênero e Covid-19 no Contexto da População de Refugiados e Migrantes na Cidade de Manaus–Amazonas)’ (2020) 11(4) Mundo Amazónico 62, 65; Manuel Rueda, ‘Venezuelans Brave “Brutal” Migrant Route Made Tougher by Pandemic’, BBC (online, 7 Oct 2020) <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-54418542>; Martinez (n 20). 159