Venezuelans Leaving T&T: Cost of Living Too High

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By Neil Gosine

VENEZUELAN migrants came to Trinidad and Tobago seeking a better life, but are now returning home as the cost of living here is just too high for them to survive.

Imagine what it’s doing to our citizens as well!

Since Trinidad and Tobago reopened its borders on July 17, 2021, thousands of migrants have left of their own free will because they just can’t survive here. With the cost of living rising daily, and now the cost of fuel, they are packing up and going back home or to other islands that are not killing their citizens with inflation, harsh treatment or unaffordable cost of living.

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The borders were closed since March 2020 as one of the measures to prevent the Covid-19 virus spread however, migrants kept coming because of the harsh economic fallout in Venezuela.

We all must admit that T&T is a beautiful country, but unfortunately the state of the affairs here now, under the Keith Rowley-led Government has made it increasingly hard for our citizens far less the migrants.

Venezuelan migrants feel that T&T is getting like Venezuela and they rather go back home and face the pressure there than live in a foreign place that has such poor facilities to assist migrants.

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The legal situations they face daily, the hardship to get their children into schools and the lack of answers for their children’s education, including accessing adequate medical care are forcing them to go to other countries to run away from T&T or just go back home.

Legal support and social support for Venezuelans are virtually none existent in T&T. Although some of them have had identification cards for several years now, they can not get work permits, can not access bank accounts locally or get drivers’ licenses and their children have it even harder. They cannot get into schools to study or get proper medical consultations in public administered systems. The treatment they receive is harsh and oppressive and they just can’t take the pressure anymore.

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It is incomprehensible that a migrant child, who is not to blame for their circumstances and how they reach here, cannot even receive education and health care.

The National Security Ministry has granted an extension to December 31, 2022, of the validity of work permits for Venezuelan nationals who registered between March 8 and April 9, 2021, however a lot of them are not waiting around for the expiration. They are leaving in droves. Permits were granted to 16,523 Venezuelans in May 2019. In August 2020, they were extended until December of that year as a result of the pandemic and a further extension now to December 2022.

As the trend continues, Venezuelan migrants who had sought refuge in T&T are returning to their country. Last year there were several repatriation exercises and joint efforts between the Venezuelan and T&T governments that saw hundreds of Venezuelans voluntarily return to their homeland. As far as the migrants are concerned there is “No help” for migrants here and this has caused a fast exodus.

T&T’s own People need jobs and food. The cost of living is increasing exponentially, rent is also very expensive, far less for the payment of wages, so imagine what migrants face daily in this economy and being underpaid for their labour.

The main reason for most migrants returning to their countries of origin has been the rising cost of living here, the rising cost of transport and many of them are just unable to meet basic needs including food and rent.

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The state of affairs in T&T and the lack of social and economic help under this oppressive Government have forced many to leave and return to their home country or to move to other countries such as Guyana, Colombia and Brazil where they hope to get access to better living conditions, better working opportunities, better pay and education for their children.

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It’s really sad to see the state of where we have reached in the last seven years. It never ceases to amaze me the lengths that politicians are often willing to go to get into government or stay in government but when it comes to effectively doing their job, they fail terribly at it at every turn.

Unless we make a change soon we may find ourselves in a situation that will remain untenable for decades to come. The government and their cohorts continue to demonstrate their unsuitability and unpreparedness for the running of government efficiently.

Neil Gosine is an insurance executive, the North East Regional Coordinator of the United National Congress and a former chairman of the National Petroleum Marketing Company of Trinidad and Tobago. He also holds a Masters in Business Administration. The comments and opinions expressed by him in this column are not necessarily those of AZPNews.com, a division of Complete Image Limited

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