VENEZUELANS : *FLEE TO BRAZIL*

NOTHING but misery awaits.

Manuel and his wife never stop coughing but they're happy : at least their baby doesn't have measles anymore.

They are grateful for small mercies these days, but just a few years ago they were part of oil-rich  Venezuela's middle class.

Today they live with hundreds of others who fled political and economic chaos to seek refuge across the border in Boa Vista, Brazil.

The escapees have transformed the once sleepy town of Boa Vista, capital of Roraima state.

Last year a shelter was opened at a gymnasium but it could not hold the the out-of-control influx of Venezuelans seeking refugee wherever they can - in squares, parks and street corners.

At the Tancredo Neves gymnasium shelter the refugees live in hammocks, or little huts. Clothes hand everywhere and you're considered lucky if you get a mattress.

There's space for 180, according to the UN refugee agency, but an estimated 600 people are now resident there.

About 400,000 Venezuelans are scattered across the state, the Boa Vista's mayor's office says.

Most are from eastern Venezuela, while more than half a million have fled from the west of the country into Colombia, hoping for a break from the violent unrest and economic meltdown plaguing the country under President Nicolas Maduro.

The smell of wood smoke fills the gymnasium, where many cook, using tins as improvised pots.

Some get rice, pasta and vegetables but those who cannot buy food go to charity kitchen where donated food is served.

The dirt and poor ventilation are just overwhelming.

[Agencies]