Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, says that developed countries need to play a greater role in tackling migration.
Teixeira was that time speaking that the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)-Guyana event to commemorate the World Refugee Day.
World Refugee Day is an international day organised every year on June 20 by the United Nations. It is designed to celebrate and honour refugees from around the world.
The day celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.
In 2023 the World Refugee Day focuses globally on solutions for refugees and the power of inclusion. The event’s tagline is: “Hope Away from Home, a world where refugees are always included.”
Just like many other countries, the UN Guyana Office hosted its event, where Teixeira was listed as the main speaker. In her speech at the Marriott Hotel, she noted that for years, the situation of having to deal with migration has been a major issue, mostly in the developing world where resources are limited.
Also, in some instances the developed countries are adding to the problem.
“It’s sad what’s going on globally. The majority of refugees, migrants fleeing, displaced persons, are really in small and undeveloped countries because the developed countries can control the situation better than us in the developing world. And so, when you see a flagrant human rights violations where refugee boats are turned back by certain countries, they send them back to shore; these are flagrant international human rights violations but the world seems sometime to be impotent to stop it,” Teixeira said.
She added that people are becoming immune to what is happening in countries where persons are forced to flee. Further, although other countries witness these horrors, they are not sufficiently moved to do something about it.
“We see the horrors that take place in countries around us where people are force to flee. Most people are happy the way they are. There will be people applying for visas and through a legal process, but when people flee with barely anything, with no documents and trying to protect their children; it’s sad in a sense that the world does not feel anger as we should because we know how the refugees are already treated in many countries”, she said.
In Guyana, Teixeira noted, there are approximately 20 to 40, 0000 Venezuelan migrants who were forced to flee a country that was crippled by economic instability. The minister posited that while this is a manageable number, other countries which are in receipt of millions of Venezuelans are finding it difficult.
Guyana today has an open-door policy for migrants who are allowed to access public services and can either stay and become citizens or return home.
It is this policy which the UN continues to applaud Guyana for.
