Paola crossed a bridge with a back pack, her little child and no way back. She left her home, her job and her town to stay alive. Like her, thousands of people arrive every year at the border between Colombia and Ecuador, running away from threats, violence and fear. They look for safety, a break, and a chance to start anew.
In Rumichaca, this border crossing journey entails huge risks, such as gender violence, forced recruitment, trafficking and exploitation. There, humanitarian aid can make a difference between being stranded outdoors or getting immediate help.
To support refugees and displaced people like Paola, the European Union and UNHCR are working on both sides of the border, offering them access to protection, essential services, and legal ways to regularise their situation.
Paola is one of the thousands of people from Colombia that are living in Tulcán, in the north of Ecuador. Threats from armed groups forced her to move up to 5 times within Colombia, until she eventually crossed the border to Ecuador. Now, at least, she can sleep without fear.
‘When they see a single mother, they want to force her into a relationship with them. I had to go away’, Paola says.
After crossing the border, she first found help at a Space of Integral Support, backed by UNHCR and co-funded by the EU. She received clothes, food, temporary shelter and legal advice to apply for asylum. She also received some financial aid to cover basic needs, another step towards autonomy.
A long dangerous border
There are hundreds of informal crossings along the over 500 km long border between Colombia and Ecuador. Only in 2025, more than 123,000 people crossed irregularly from Colombia. In the border department of Nariño there were 33 humanitarian emergencies affecting over 12,000 people.