This bust of Simón Bolívar, “El Libertador de América” sits poised on a column at the entrance of the Venezuelan embassy in Port-of-Spain. Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Ponte Palacios y Blanco (yes all of this is his name!) a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Bolivia to independence from the Spanish Empire.
As I delivered a copy of my book, CARICOM: Buenos oficios, Buenos vecinos, to the outgoing Venezuelan Ambassador, I was struck by the number of Venezuelans sitting around the courtyard waiting their turn to be called inside. I was told most of these persons were applying for a Venezuelan passport to be able to return to their homeland by legal means. I wondered what Bolívar would say about the current crisis that motivated millions of his countrymen to flee his blessed birthplace.
According to UNHCR, at last count there are 16,000+ registered Venezuelans in Trinidad and Tobago who were identified through the government registration and amnesty exercise which began in 2019. Regardless of how they entered into the country, via legal or illegal means, the opportunity was extended to Venezuelan migrants to access a national identification card which could be used to seek employment, access health service and register their children in the nation’s schools.
While opinions may vary about the true motives of these migrants, whether they are economic migrants or politically persecuted, the fact remains that they made a tough decision to leave their homeland to seek a better life elsewhere. In some cases, they may have left their family members behind with the promise of sending resources as soon as it became possible. Sometimes, families travelled together which meant finding accommodation and food for several persons while trying to secure a job. Regardless of the scenario, migrants have had to make tremendous efforts to get acclimated with a new country, a new culture and a new language while attempting to eek out an existence in uncertain times.
After Covid-19 struck, many migrants made the choice to return to Venezuela because they could no longer sustain themselves in this foreign land where jobs were difficult to come by. Thousands of locals lost their jobs due to the closure of businesses. Likewise, Venezuelan migrants were also impacted by the closure of businesses and the restrictions on the informal sector.
Are you a migrant?
Where are you from? Where do you live now?
Have you ever interacted with migrants? If so, how would you describe these exchanges?
