Trinidad & Tobago
Venezuelans seek refuge
Port-of-Spain – A Joint Select Committee on Human Rights and Diversity heard last week more and more Venezuelans are arriving illegally on the southern shores of Trinidad, with many seeking refugee status.
According to Chief Immigration Officer Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews, there has been a growing increase in the number of Venezuelan applicants applying for refugee status.
Said Gandhi-Andrews: “The number of Venezuelans who applied for asylum has gone from five in 2016 to over 2,000 [as of last week], and daily those numbers are being added to.” She noted the situation was complex since more and more Venezuelan nationals were entering the country illegally.
“Our figures show that the numbers arriving at a legal port of entry and via air have decreased significantly since the situation in Venezuela developed; and more and more are arriving by sea. At least 150 to 200 nationals arrive by boat every week,” she said.
Asked by JSC member Esmond Forde how many Venezuelans had entered the country between 2016 and now, Gandhi-Andrews said she could only speak for those who come at a legal port. In 2014-2015, over 60,000-plus arrived at legal ports. However, she said from 2015 this number drastically declined, with just 28,000 Venezuelan nationals arriving at legal ports in 2017.
“Of course, I have no figure for those who entered illegally. I could only surmise on the numbers we are picking up who entered illegally. We can safely say that larger numbers are arriving in Trinidad and Tobago illegally... and quite a number of them have applied for asylum. When they come in, they go to the Living Waters Community and apply for asylum, and they are then referred to the Immigration Division,” she said.
Gandhi-Andrews said 90 percent of the Venezuelans at the Detention Centre were persons who entered illegally, or have a criminal conviction, mostly for the possession of drugs or arms and ammunition.
“Most of them are no longer coming with a travel document. Some may come with a cedula, some come with nothing at all, and we (have to) rely on the Venezuelan authorities to interview these persons and issue some kind of identity document. We had a nice system where they (Venezuelan Embassy) was doing it quite frequently. Now it is not so forthcoming. In fact, there are only certain days that the officers can go to the Venezuelan embassy to get any kind of information on their nationals,” she said.
She said the challenge now was identifying Venezuelan nationals, which had to be done before repatriation. Gandhi-Andrews noted it was not so easy to get Venezuelans repatriated, which is done by purchasing either boat or plane tickets.
“Some of them don't want to go by boat to Tucupita or Pedernales because they say it is far from the city in which they live. And [Caribbean Airlines] does not have a daily flight to Venezuela,” she said.
Questioned by JSC chairman Nyan Gadsby-Dolly whether detainees had a choice in how they were repatriated, Gandhi-Andrews said: “We have to try to be accommodating to the individuals. We are talking human rights... Some come with no money and they are leaving with no money. So, we try as far as possible to contact their family members through the Venezuelan Embassy.”
For those seeking asylum, Gandhi-Andrews said while there was no provision in law, there was a Cabinet-approved policy of 2014. She said since then the Immigration Department had been working closely with the Living Waters Community and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on a system of facilitating persons who are in fear of returning to home countries.
However, she said a number of persons at Detention Centre were interviewed by UNHCR and were deemed not to be refugees, so they remained at the centre.
She noted the UNHCR is the body that makes the final determination on refugees, and once a person is recognised by that body as a refugee, they are immediately released from the Immigration Detention Centre.
She said the Immigration Department was working with the Ministry of National Security on putting such persons on a minister's permit, which is the only thing under the current Immigration Act that can be used to facilitate such individuals.
Gandhi-Andrews added draft legislation was currently before the Legislative Review Committee under which some temporary immigration status could be accorded to such persons, and it was hoped this legislation would be enacted before three years.
The society was founded 35 years ago by Trinidadians working and visiting the sister island seeking a place for worship, and who has since formed the organisation.
According to Pundit Ramdath Mahase, the members came together to practice their religion, culture, and traditions, but there was no space for them to do so.
In 2014, the previous THA administration granted the society four lots of land at Old Government Farm, Signal Hill, for the temple and cultural centre.
The members were encouraged to revive the Tobago Hindu Society and since then they have worked tirelessly to promote the Hindu Dharma and Indian culture in Tobago.
An annual Indian Arrival Day function and Divali celebrations are hosted by the organisation. The group will now be able to conduct its religious and cultural activities on its own ground.
On March 10 the society held a cultural fund-raiser in Couva to collect funds for the temple's construction.
“Words cannot describe,” an excited Pundit Mahase said, adding: “I read the Ramayan and I can only say it's like when Hanuman went into Lanka and found Bhibishan in his mandir, the only one in Lanka. I know God will be happy and pleased with this effort. That is all I can say before I cry, it's a happy and joyful thought.”
“Trinidad and Tobago has been used as a base for extended apparent criminal conduct around the world,” he said, and the evidence being collected abroad suggested that individuals in Trinidad and Tobago’s political arena, and possibly in a government of Trinidad and Tobago, had worked with foreigners to access information that was private, personal, and protected by law, on TT citizens.
He said such an invasion of citizens’ privacy, where all of their personal interaction with the Internet, some embarrassing, became raw material for the conduct of an election campaign in Trinidad and Tobago.
“If that is confirmed, as witnesses are confirming abroad, we in Trinidad and Tobago need to pay attention as to what laws, if any, were broken in Trinidad and Tobago, and who did what, when, where and how, and to what extent taxpayers’ resources were used in this shenanigan,” he said.
Rowley said people like himself, who had been in politics, now have a window onto this issue which he described as “frightening”.
Said Rowley: “I recall as Opposition Leader coming under tremendous personal attacks which only became clearer to me as the infractions and criminal conduct of Cambridge Analytica became available on international television, and their role in Trinidad and Tobago became admitted.”
Rowley said his government is in touch with external entities by mutual legal assistance treaties.
“It is the intention of the government to bring this matter for Parliamentary debate and ventilation at the earliest opportunity. This matter will also form the basis of a thorough investigation by the JSC of the Parliament chaired by Minister Fitzgerald Hinds, the National Security JSC, where persons both local and foreign can and will be summoned to explain their involvement in this scandal,” he said.
Also, it is also a clear indication Rowley continues to have full confidence in his ministers, including Darryl Smith, despite his being embroiled in sexual misconduct allegations.
Analysts Dr Winford James and Indera Sagewan-Alli on Monday said the only course of action Rowley had was to fire Smith given the controversy around him. However, the decision to move Smith from the Sport to Housing Ministry shows Rowley continues to have confidence in him.
It was something that should upset all women in this country, Sagewan-Alli said: “If the Prime Minister was responding to the issues that has to do with the allegations of sexual harassment then the only acceptable course of action would be to remove Smith as minister until such time that is cleared. The fact that the Prime Minister has only removed him from one ministry to another suggests that he is trying to deflect attention from the minister and hoping that this will blow over,” she said.
Sagewan-Alli added this is not the kind of message that is appropriate to the country, and moreover to women. She noted the reshuffle will do nothing to boost public confidence because Rowley has simply reshuffled the same pack of cards.
She noted that Rowley himself has made some serious missteps in the language he used with respect to women.
“It seems that the Prime Minister is suggesting to the women of this country that this is acceptable, and that, to me, is not. The Prime Minister needed to act,” she said.
Sagewan-Alli made reference to Rowley's victory speech following the 2015 General Election when he said the buck will stop with him, and he would hold people accountable by being fearless in taking action.
“We have not been seeing the kind of action that is required,” she said.
She added that the country is plagued with several issues from Tobago and the seabridge, crime, and the economy.
Sagewan-Alli said the reassignment of Shamfa Cudjoe from Tourism to Sport indicates she was not performing, but questioned what makes the minister capable of performing in another ministry when she has failed in one.
James said Rowley has to make decisions based on whatever facts he has, and not by newspaper reports.
“[Rowley] has decided that, according to the information he has, that Darryl Smith is blameless; that is why he has kept him. Remember he said he has confidence in these guys, now if he was convinced of the truthfulness of these reports, he has only one course of action – to revoke. But apparently he has not been so persuaded, so he is keeping him on,” said James.
James noted that merely shifting a person around does not remove him from a position where he can abuse others.
‘So I have to assume that the Prime Minister is not impressed by such reports,” he said.
He said the reshuffle could also deflect criticism from some of the negative tides.
“There have been serious criticisms against those people and to move them you are hoping I would imagine that criticism will be deflected from them since they are in new portfolios,” he said.
James added: “What we have to ask ourselves is whether Smith is able to bring value to the government, to the goals of the ministry by being transferred there. He has been embroiled in scandal and that scandal is not easily going away, and what I can say is that the shift of Smith from one Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs to Housing could probably be regarded by some as an attempt by the Prime Minister to discipline his minister even in the absence of any charges,” said James.
James said the population would be critical and sceptical, but would hope that things are run better.
The vessel was scheduled to undergo its final sea trial last Wednesday when the cooling water pump was discovered to be faulty. A previous fix to a malfunctioning radar system had delayed the ferry’s return to service.
“They are working on that at the moment… I have no further information but hopefully next week we will be doing a joint media briefing or release to inform the public as to its status,” George said.
As for the T&T Express, the other passenger ferry which was taken out of service in mid-February, George said that it would not return to the domestic seabridge for a while.
The new replacement vessel, the Galleons Passage, is now en route to Trinidad an Tobago. Last week it remained docked at Honolulu, Hawaii. George said there had been a delay to enter Honolulu as the vessel waiting in line to enter US territory.
“Yes, it stopped off at Hawaii and is there in dock undergoing (fuel) bunkering. What would have happened was that when it arrived at the edge of territorial waters… they were seeking permission to enter so the vessel was queued for entry and that took a while,” George said.
He added: “Eventually, they got the clearance to enter the territorial waters and then took some time again because they had to go through US Customs, so it is still in Honolulu, and it is docked there for bunkering.”
The vessel will proceed from Hawaii to Acapulco in Mexico for refuelling, then transiting through the Panama Canal.
“So far… the Galleons Passage is on time for its arrival in early May but when it has to go through the Panama Canal it would take a while as there would be a line for it to go through the channel. So, at that point, we cannot say for sure how long it will take but if any issues arise the public would be apprised,” George said.
After the vessel passes through the Panama Canal it will stop-over in Cuba for alterations over a 10-day period. These alterations include a full canopy over sundeck, installation of canopies on over-exposed sections of vehicle deck and installation of washroom facilities at sundeck level – all in accordance with details as agreed to with the buyer.
The vessel was purchased for (US) $18.2 million and was scheduled to arrive in Trinidad and Tobago by the end of April.
