What Trinis, Venezuelans share in common

VEDAVID MANICK

I HAVE NEVER seen TT in a state of uncertainty as it is in these days. The issue of Venezuelan refugees seeking the protection of our shores has genuinely tested us. Many embraced them openly, but others have been quite vocal about protecting our rights as citizens. Permit me to attempt to make sense of the whole situation.

To me, Venezuelans and Trinidadians share a universal evil: poor governance. Venezuelans face a failed attempt at socialism that now plays out globally, beyond any intervention our small island nation can provide. Unless some critical international response takes place, it seems unlikely that a solution is forthcoming.

Venezuelans are not only fleeing to our shores, but they are seeking refuge in any domain they can. The Venezuelan plight is testimony to the fact that politics does not satiate hunger or quench thirst. It is food, water, financial, and social security that matters most.

They come to our shores seeking those exactly. But for a small island country once blessed with the wealth of oil and gas, the sad state of affairs is that the struggle for food, water and stability is the daily struggle of many citizens. Now Trinidadians will compete in the markets for food, jobs and will have to fight for that rare bed slot in an overcrowded hospital space.

It is natural to feel hurt when non-citizens are coming to our shores and seemingly given opportunities that we struggle for but are entitled to. And no one, be it government or the mainstream media, has the right to belittle these legitimate feelings of citizens. They are human and justified.

It is justified to feel hurt, but from where I stand, it needs to aim at the real source. Xenophobia is a word thrown about a lot recently, the second time in recent history. Before now those infamous “Calcutta ship” statements would have blotched our memories.

Ironically, many who use this word now were silent then, while others who felt hurt from those statements practise the same now. Venezuelans are not the problem; our democratically elected government is.

It is hard not to be political about this, but the Government is the real villain in this issue. It failed us miserably from day one.

Months ago, everyone knew things were not right in Venezuela. We saw her citizens seeking refuge here and elsewhere. We saw the political crisis escalating. Instead of our government taking steps to ensure that we do not become a “refugee camp,” it kept silent.

It first denied there was a crisis. It made deals with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. It claimed neutrality while sending our Foreign Minister to felicitate him. It alienated us from the rest of the world by taking a “neutral” stance on the issue but not behaving like such. It failed to secure our borders when we needed to. It has articulated to this day no thought-out policy on how we are going to deal with a refugee issue.

Today we have zero clarity as to where our Government stands on anything related to Venezuela. Allow me to ask the questions that seemingly have no answers.

What is our current national policy on Venezuela? Are we still accepting Maduro as the legitimate leader of the Venezuelan people? By taking Venezuelans into our shores, have we gone in open defiance of Maduro?

Is our official government position that there is now a crisis in Venezuela? If we have now accepted that there is a crisis, what steps are we taking at an international level to seek help and remedy the situation? Have we “closed our borders?” What needs to be done to secure our borders?

What is being done to cater for the increased needs of Venezuelans who are now within our country? Will there be enough food, jobs, education opportunities? Will Venezuelans be working under the same terms as Trinidadians? What is in place to ensure that both Venezuelans and Trinidadians have equal opportunities in the job market?

What is being done to ensure that unscrupulous employers are not taking advantage of our Venezuelan brothers and sisters, eg by paying them below minimum wage? Are Venezuelans going to pay taxes? If not, why are they being allowed to live in Trinidad, use the facilities like every other citizen and not pay taxes?

The list goes on.

The Prime Minister is on record stating that TT will not become a refugee camp. Too late sir. You and your government, in open contempt of your duty, allowed it to happen. Today we have no more clarity on what your position is and what you have meaningfully done compared to two years ago. I do not expect you to change things in Venezuela like major global powers may be able to. But as a citizen I expected you to act in the interest of TT when the time was right.

Beyond the poverty of governance, there is one other way that Venezuelans are similar to us Trinidadians. They are human beings – slaves to hunger, thirst, fear, and struggling like everyone else. So while I agree that TT cannot handle a refugee crisis, we must never be devoid of the humanity of human suffering, which goes beyond race and nationality.

It is hard to divorce politics from this issue. I fail to see how people can continue to favour our leaders when there was a dereliction of duty on their part. The most that we can hope for now is that when the time comes for our responsibility, we do not fail ourselves.

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"What Trinis, Venezuelans share in common"

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