FPATT head: Migrants deserve the same respect as us

Family Planning Association (FPA) offical Ava Rempersad, left, responds to questions at the JSC on Social services and Public Administration in Parliament yesterday as Dona Da Costa, executive director, FPA, looks on. PHOTO BY JEFF MAYERS
Family Planning Association (FPA) offical Ava Rempersad, left, responds to questions at the JSC on Social services and Public Administration in Parliament yesterday as Dona Da Costa, executive director, FPA, looks on. PHOTO BY JEFF MAYERS

Migrants are not numbers, emphasised the executive director of the Family Planning Association (FPATT) as she called on stakeholders to collectively address the issues of the minority group, considering the influx of Venezuelans.

"They too are human beings deserving of the same respect and human rights that we justly fight for, for ourselves," said Dona Da Costa Martinez. "It is only through strategic partnerships, relationships, and meaningful collaborations we will be able to address the health needs of migrants in TT holistically."

She spoke at a webinar titled The Protection of Refugees and Migrants in TT: Exploring Legal Frameworks, Human Rights and Justice. The faculty of law at UWI’s St Augustine campus hosted it on Friday with support from the Pan American Development Foundation and the US government.

Martinez spoke extensively about the sexual and reproduction health concerns and service uptake among the TT migrant population.

She said humanitarian work is much more than ensuring respect for international humanitarian and human rights norms.

"It is also about working with people to identify and develop ways to help protect themselves and realise their rights to assistance, repair recovery, safety, and redress," Martinez said. "People in need of protection are not just objects of state power but subjects of their own productive capabilities."

From October 2018-June 2020, FPATT attended to 1, 893 "unique Spanish-speaking migrants," of whom 431 were males and 1,462, females, she said.

The services provided to them include birth control, dietitian consultation, HIV services, paediatric screens, Pap smears and dignity kit assessments and distribution.

FPATT is a member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

Martinez identified several general factors that inhibit effective service delivery, including stigma preventing clients from utilising services and lack of commitment from stakeholders, gatekeepers and national agencies.

"As a civil society organisation we are well positioned to continue serving the migrant population. However, it must be realised the greater efforts are needed to provoke a national significant impact," Martinez said.

FPATT, she said, gets reports from many Venezuelans saying they are victims of crimes like rape and other sexual assaults. The migrants do not want, in many instances, to report issues to the police, saying they fear law-enforcement officers know the suspects. Many migrants complained to FPATT staff that when they make reports, police did not give them receipts.

Martinez acknowledged that FPATT cannot support all migrants' needs and so it liaises with other organisations and makes referrals.

"Unfortunately, some of the migrants' jobs present less than human conditions and time off is not easily obtained. To bridge the demand for access to our services, we created special times, after work hours, for them to access our services."

She said the WHO contends that there is a common perception of the association between migration and the importation of diseases, particularly infectious disease.

"But there is no systemic association. In fact, migrants' health problems are similar to the rest of the population," Martinez said. "However, the rates of some of these health issues may present with higher prevalent among migrants because they now live in a host country and under more vulnerable conditions."

Other officials at the webinar included Rochelle Nakhid and Ganesh Rampersad of the Living Water Community, and UWI’s Rose-Marie Antoine, dean of the law faculty.

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"FPATT head: Migrants deserve the same respect as us"

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