Guyanese should be a little more accommodating to migrants – Foreign Affairs Minister

Aug 29, 2019 News

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karen Cummings is encouraging Guyanese to be a little more accommodating when it comes to dealing with the migrant situation in the country.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Karen Cummings

Commenting on the topic recently, Minister Cummings noted that given that Guyana’s population stands just below one million people, there is capacity to accommodate more people.
“We need to share the pie,” Minister Cummings said.
She alluded specifically to the era when Guyana was known as the bread basket of the Caribbean.
“We had all kinds of people coming here to look for work and so on…in this time we can probably use the skills some of these people possess. For instance, the Venezuelans can possibly help to build our capacity in oil and gas.”
She noted that the Foreign Ministry is always looking for avenues on how Guyana can capitalize on developing its skills particularly for the emerging sector. “This is possibly one of the ways we can do so.”
According to Minister Cummings, a recent visit to the region revealed some of the conditions which Venezuelans fleeing their country are faced with.
“They are basically struggling to rebuild their lives. I recently visited some of the settlements in the region and distributed food and other items to help support the Venezuelans. As you know, there are a number programmes on to support those persons. There are schools which help to cater to the influx of Venezuelan migrant children and so forth.”
The Minister stressed that the hardships Venezuelans face are universal.

Venezuelan migrants in Region 1

“Guyanese experiencing hardships have left these shores in search of a better life, elsewhere and so we have to show a little bit more hospitality to those seeking refuge here at this time. They are struggling to rebuild their lives after fleeing economic hardships in their country and maybe one day they will hopefully be able to return to their country.”
As of February 2019 the Immigration Department recorded a total number of documented Venezuelan migrants to be at 5,123.
It is believed to be over 6,000 now.
At that time, the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) announced that it will be rolling out a pilot sustainable livelihood programme at Yarakita and White Water, Region One.
This initiative will benefit both the local residents as well as the migrant population; providing them with tangible and technical agricultural support so that they can become self-sufficient. This project is being funded by the Australian Government.
The IOM had reached out to organisations such as the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the National Toshaos Council (NTC) to finalise the details pertaining to implementation.
With regard to finding housing for the migrants, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and the IOM has engaged the Catholic Church and Guyana Relief Council to find alternative accommodation for those persons.
Additionally, the Ministry of Social Protection was engaged to ensure that returning Guyanese are registered at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) so that they can be issued national identification cards, which will enable them to benefit from public assistance, once the relevant criteria are met.