V’zuelans at Puzzle Island need help

Roxsys Rincones, her husband Jose Rodrigues, and their children Roniel Rodrigues and one-month-old baby Ronialys Rodrigues lost everything in flooding at Puzzle Island, Penal.  - Vashti Singh
Roxsys Rincones, her husband Jose Rodrigues, and their children Roniel Rodrigues and one-month-old baby Ronialys Rodrigues lost everything in flooding at Puzzle Island, Penal. - Vashti Singh

Having fled their home country owing to the socio-economic crisis, about 20 Venezuelans migrants including two babies sought refuge by a neighbour in Penal after floodwaters inundated their apartments.

The unrelated newborns, both one-month-old, spent Friday night on the kitchen floor of the upstairs apartment of another Venezuelan family.

Newborn Ronialys Rodriguez slept peacefully in the arms of her father Jose Rodriguez, 34, at Puzzle Island as he pondered the future of his family. His wife Roxsys Rincones, 37, said while she experienced the effects of a country in a political turmoil, they never experienced such a natural disaster.

Speaking in Spanish, Rincones said: “While the water was rising, cockroaches were running out from all directions in the house. Everything from our clothes to mattresses, to food, are wet. The toilets were flooded so faeces are all over in the water.”

Touching the baby’s face, she repeated the word “plagas” meaning insects which bit her face.

Her other child Roinel Rodriguez, 10, stood nearby. Rincones said since Wednesday the flood left them stranded in the area. Fearing for their safety as the water rose to waist-length, the family went by the neighbour.

On the brink of tears, she said: “We need food, baby supplies, clothes, anything. We are hungry. We have nowhere else to go.”

Marciela Navarro holds her one-year-old Samuel Velásquez alongside her son Christhofer Pineda, six, in an apartment where she gave shelter to two families during flooding at Puzzle Island, Penal. Photos by Vashti Singh - Vashti Singh

Rafael Valderey, 57, and his wife Damaris Vargas, 45, took their one-month-old granddaughter Nahomi Valderey and slept by the same neighbour. They also slept on the kitchen floor.

Vargas said the family put their fridge on a truck tyre and the floodwater rose above it.

The ordeal was too much for her to recall. She said, “Thank God we got help from the Catholic Church.”

The neighbour is Marciela Navarro, 30, a mother who is taking care of her two sick children.

She was not directly affected by the flood but is pleading for help to buy medicine.

Holding her one-year-old son Samuel Velesquez, the worried mother said he has the flu.

“My other son, Christhofer, is six-years-old and he has asthma. I have no medication and no money. I don’t know what to do. Rent is due and my husband is not getting regular work. Please help.”

Mother of two Gennesis Romero, 31, wept as she cleaned up her apartment. She lives with husband Ali Marcano, 23, and their one-year-old son Aliangel Marcano, in Penal. Her mother takes care of her other son, nine, in Venezuela.

Romero said: “I send food and they are looking forward to it. They are expecting something, and I cannot send anything. We pay a monthly electricity bill of $200 plus rent. We have no money and lost everything.”

Rafael Valderey holds his granddaughter, one-month-old Nahomi Valderey at Puzzle Island, Penal. - Vashti Singh

Romero is unemployed but worked as an administrative clerk in Venezuela.

Since Wednesday, when heavy rain began, the Ministry for Migrants and Refugees (PMMR) of the St Dominic’s RC Parish in Penal have been distributing relief items to the affected migrants.

PMMR’s member Cristina John said it became critical on Thursday when she and other members used a dinghy to drop off food and water.

John said, “We could not reach them directly as the water was too high. It was a critical situation. At 7 pm, I was in distributing food. The Penal/Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) lent us the dinghy and we thanked them for that. We also thank all the parishioners who help.”

Parish priest Fr Robert Christo and deacon Daniel George co-ordinated the drive. The ministry, John said, seeks to alleviate problems Venezuelan migrants face in TT.

The water receded some inches and on Saturday she returned to check on the migrants.

Sunday Newsday learnt that owing to the number of people affected, many did not receive food from the corporation.

At Suchit Trace in Penal, local Saara Baboolal, 33, said floodwater destroyed her home.

She lives with her common-law husband Kevin Roopchan, a labourer, and their two children.

“We lost everything. In trucks passing, the floodwaters came crashing against the (wooden) house. What did not float away, they were mashed up. We spent Friday night by a sister, but she does not have much for herself. I have nowhere to go.”

A short distance away, pensioner Dhanraj Rampersad, 82, said he spent two nights in a car with his daughter and her husband as water flooded their home.

Rampersad said, “We experience floods in the past but nothing like this. I am tired of bailing water from my room. No one helps us.”

PDRC’s chairman Dr Allen Sammy told Sunday Newsday that up to 5.40 pm, on Saturday, the corporation had not received any help from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM).

Sammy said, “We have not received one mattress, or one food hamper or a bottle of water from the ODPM. “

He said the corporation has been distributing food items to all flood victims.

“My people went to Puzzle Island up to an hour ago. We are helping everybody.”

The National Security Ministry via a media release on Saturday denied Sammy’s allegations that the ODPM has not been assisting residents and said the agency has distributed food and relief supplies.

It said the Rural Development and Local Government Ministry on Thursday contacted the ODPM for assistance in co-ordinating the evacuation in the area.

The ODPM in its role as the national disaster co-ordinating agency immediately contacted the TT Defence Force which expeditiously dispatched teams to the corporation.

“These teams joined with the Disaster Management Unit (DMU) of the corporation, the Fire Service, and Police Service and together, they tirelessly evacuated families from water-logged homes to safer ground,” the release said.

It added that Defence Force personnel were also deployed into the Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation areas to conduct similar operations.

People from several parts of south Trinidad spent Saturday cleaning up in the aftermath of the flood.

Owing to erosion, the bailey bridge between No 2 Scale and Carat Hill in Barrackpore was temporarily closed to all vehicular traffic until further notice.

The Rural Development and Local Government Ministry advised citizens to utilise alternative routes.

Repair works are expected to start from Monday by officials of the Works and Transport Ministry with the assistance of the PDRC and the Princes Town Regional Corporation.

The Ministry of Social Development and Family Services (MSDFS) also advised that the Local Government Ministry and the ODPM are two of the key first-responders in any natural disaster.

Relief items such as bags, tarps and mattresses, are usually distributed through the ODPM and the DMUs in the municipal corporations, based on immediate needs assessments conducted, the ministry said.

Its role, following clearance from the first responders, is to provide financial support to disaster victims via grant funding, food support and psychosocial support, including counselling services as required.

For further information on disaster relief funding and food support, people can call the ministry’s toll-free hotline at 800 – 1MSD.

People in need of psychosocial support, including counselling services, can contact the National Family Services Division at 623-2608 ext 6701-6707.

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