topic: | Refugees and Asylum |
---|---|
located: | Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela |
editor: | Ellen Nemitz |
Last week, the intention of a group of people, among them 16 children, to flee the violence and poverty of Venezuela ended up in a dangerous journey trying to reach Trinidad and Tobago, from which they were soon deported. Not only once.
The group was sent back to its country and spent 48 hours at sea, lost and in no condition to survive after the boat’s engine was damaged. Besides facing hunger, dehydration and the fear of storms and dangerous seas, once back in the country the refugee seekers were separated – even children from their parents – and detained.
On the eve of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ anniversary (adopted on December 10, 1948), this particular case (one among many more) violates the treaty regarding the “right to life, liberty and security of person” and also, “to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.”
The Commissioner of the Organization of American States Secretary General for the Crisis of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees, David Smolansky, tweeted on November 25 that it was urgent to guarantee that children would "find their families, get protection and be free." Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, echoed Smolansky's criticism: "The authorities must now reunite the returned children with their families without delay, grant them access to apply for asylum, screen to determine if they have been trafficked, and provide them with medical attention.”
However, what happened next was not the expected. Alleging Covid-19 as a reason to close the border for asylum seekers and carrying out a migration policy of no tolerance – Trinidad and Tobago was one of the countries to require a visa for Venezuelans; a broader deportation of 160 people was announced on November 28 by the Ministry of National Security. "They were unable to deport 16 children during the week, thanks to pressure from society and the international community, but now they use a "revolving door" of deportations from Trinidad, agreed together with the regime," said Smolansky on Twitter.
Amnesty International noted that Trinidad and Tobago is a signatory of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, "which requires countries to act in their best interest and refrain from detaining them [asylum seekers] or deporting them to situations where they could face ill-treatment or danger.” This commitment would not be compatible with denying aid to citizens of a country in a worsening crisis, affirmed the institution.
The Prime-Minister of the Caribbean island, Keith Christopher Rowley, seems to maintain the intention to keep the borders largely closed for migrants and refugees, and referred to the children travelling with them as “tools" to force the country to accept a refugee agreement. According to the BBC, it is estimated that 24 thousand Venezuelans live in the country, half in illegal situations, with the deportations having begun in 2018. Amnesty International, though, pointed out that "Trinidad and Tobago must find ways to grant legal residency for Venezuelans through re-opening the registration process, or passing national refugee legislation, which would facilitate its compliance with international law."
Image by Bonnie Ferrante