There are, it would appear, nearly 6,000 registered Venezuelans here, and according to Minister Winston Felix, an unknown number of unregistered ones. These are not small figures for an economy the size of Guyana’s, which is not geared to absorbing even Guyanese fully within the workforce, let alone providing the range of necessary services at the level which is required.
Yesterday we reported the new US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, as commending this country for its humanitarian efforts in relation to Venezuelan refugees, and furthermore indicating that Washington was prepared to hold discussions on the matter of providing assistance. She mentioned specifically the effect the influx would have on the areas of employment and healthcare, and advised that Guyana would have to monitor the situation.
The number of Venezuelans here has almost doubled from six months ago, so given the continuing deterioration in the situation in the neighbouring republic, there is every expectation that that number will continue to increase. Given, as the Ambassador pointed out, that many of the refugees have not had access to a proper healthcare service in years, and given that the quality of healthcare offered to resident Guyanese leaves a lot to be desired in many areas, the Government of Guyana should be open to accepting assistance from the United States. Disease is no respecter of borders or nationalities, and the administration should be anxious to alleviate the burden of imported health issues, particularly infectious ones.
The matter of employment is a more complex one. “You don’t want them [Venezuelan immigrants] to be idle and not working,” said Ms Lynch, and indeed she is right. Last month Mr Felix adverted to the fact that when migrants cross the border, they seek to travel to Georgetown. There was the case on March 20, for example, when 140 Venezuelan immigrants arrived in the city after travelling on the MV Barima, which had departed from Kumaka in Region One the day before. They were processed by the police and about half were released into the care of acquaintances or relatives, while the others were accommodated at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary.
The Minister was at pains to emphasise that government’s arrangements never intended that Venezuelans who crossed the borders into regions One and Seven should enter George-town, and “that is one issue we have to address.” Exactly how it is to be addressed has never been disclosed, and it would be helpful if the Ministry of the Presidency could give the public some idea of what plan of action it intends to put in place.
It is all very well to say that the migrants should stay in Regions One and Seven, but what exactly is available for them to do there? Those who want to sustain themselves or earn money so their families can eat, will naturally gravitate to an urban area, which in our case is likely to be Georgetown. Leaving large numbers of refugees in the Cuyuni especially, in addition to Region One may well be to invite far greater problems than if they were allowed to come to the city, where they could be better managed.
The border zones are mining areas, and Cuyuni in particular is Wild West country. Guyanese miners already face major challenges from criminal gangs known as Sindicatos, which some opposition Venezuelan commentators have alleged have links to the Caracas government. Be that as it may, these heavily armed gangs have targeted Guyanese mining operations and Guyanese vessels on the river, and as far as one can discern from Georgetown, our army and police appear not to have been able to confront the situation in any effective way. One would have thought that the last thing one wanted was idle, penurious migrants tempted by easy money being lured into banditry. Even if that were not the case, surely Mr Felix does not believe that he can transform urban dwellers into farmers overnight?
Regions One and Seven are also Indigenous areas, and the Ministry of the Presidency should not be in such a hurry to expose villages to large numbers of strangers.
It is likely that a fair number of Venezuelans coming here already have connections with Guyanese locals dating back to the 1980s, when the exodus was in reverse. It might be noted that about half of the 140 migrants who landed off the MV Barima referred to above were discharged into the care of relatives and acquaintances. It may be too that a fair number of unregistered refugees fall into the same category. What Mr Felix might find useful is to establish how many of those coming here already have connections with the country.
Education will also prove another challenge, not least for linguistic reasons, although the children of those with connections here conceivably might be bi-lingual. In any event, first the government must have a settlement plan, before it can address the issue of schooling for minors.
In the meantime, it should not be reticent about exploring discussions with the United States on assistance for Venezuelan migrants taking refuge here, particularly in the area of health.
