Economy will collapse with too many refugees

THE EDITOR: On Thursday, for the very first time, I saw a Venezuelan man who fitted the description vagrant. He looked to be of Spanish descent, spoke no English, carried all his possessions in bags, his clothing and boots were dirty, his beard and hair appearing unwashed. He seemed disoriented and was singing to himself.

There are many, clean, well-dressed Venezuelan shoppers walking and driving about Alyce Glen and Morne Coco Road. This vagrant is most likely unique in being the first distressed visitor to the Valley.

On Morning Edition (TV6) there was a Venezuelan journalist insisting that TT is a legal border (UN) and that we should not be closing our borders. He indicated that there are more TT families living in Venezuela than there are Venezuelans living here.

It would likely have been over 100 years for the amount of Trinidadians in Venezuela to be arrived at and the comparison is silly. And, wait for it, TT has accepted the UN money of over US$1.3 million to treat with Venezuelans arrivals.

When told of complaints about, drugs, guns, gangs and prostitutes, the journalist said that surveys had been done throughout the Caribbean and sex workers insisted that they only moved to territories where clients begged for their services.

I believe that most refugees will be the poor and distressed and some will be professionals. Our economy will collapse if millions of refugees suddenly arrive, entrepreneurs included or not. Where will they live if not in refugee camps? Who will prevent refugees from escaping the camps? Worst case scenario, UN troops will have to be admitted to TT to restore order.

Left to me, I would gladly return the UN money. It is grossly unfair to the suffering Venezuelans to expect humane treatment that cannot be delivered to no more than a few thousand people. It is unfair that our tiny democracy should collapse into oblivion.

What is the penalty for removing a country from the UN treaties? I resent the feeling of being put on a guilt trip, strict Methodist upbringing or not.

LYNETTE JOSEPH, Diego Martin

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"Economy will collapse with too many refugees"

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