The family of the Venezuelan migrant baby fatally shot by Coast Guard officers at sea over the weekend wants the Ministry of National Security to grant them permits to stay in T&T.
The brother and cousin of the dead one-year-old child have retained the services of attorneys at the CJ Williams Law Company to make the application on their behalf.
The child, identified as Ya Elvis Santoyo Sarabia and his mother Dari Elvis Eliagnis Sarabia were among 17 adults and 10 children entering T&T on a pirogue on Saturday night.
They were reportedly coming from Tucupita.
The Coast Guard reported that Coast guardsmen ordered the pirogue to stop but the captain of the boat reportedly refused.
The Coast Guard, in a release, stated the officers implemented protocols to stop the pirogue by taking out its outboard engine after which it was discovered that the mother was shot and her baby wounded. The child died in her arms, a report said.
Speaking on the family’s behalf, attorney Blaine Sobrien said, “Presently our clients are refugees and there are relatives of the baby in Trinidad and Tobago that cannot return to Venezuela as some of them were members of the armed forces and if they return they can face jail time or killed and the rest of the family are also at risk should they return as of many Venezuelan nationals in Trinidad and Tobago seeking refugee status in this country.”
The lawyer said his clients are seeking permits from the Minister of National Security pending the investigation with regard to the minor on the boat which is an extremely unfortunate and unprecedented event.
He said his clients will also want the United Nations Refugee Agency UNCHR to facilitate their mandate and speak with them and ensure that they are permitted and facilitated their safe travel to another country where they may not be persecuted and that their lives may not be in danger.
“We would like to see this family reunited and reunification of this family in line with international principles and all UNCHR principles as well currently we are enlisting the International Parliament of Human Rights in this matter and we are simply seeking to have the Sarabia family united once again,” Sobrien said.
He added: “These people are feeling very vulnerable and at any point, they may be deported and they may not have safe haven in Trinidad and Tobago they are refugees and right now here in Trinidad and Tobago we are not doing anything to address the situation as refugees are being deported with the risk of being killed or sent to prison for life.”
Sobrien said lawyers would reach out to all the relevant bodies to ensure that the family can stay and be resettled in another country as refugees.
Brother of the dead baby Joel Sarabia, speaking with the assistance of a translator, told Guardian Media that he spoke with his mother and that she is resting at the Sangre Grande Hospital, out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
He said his family in Trinidad and Venezuela are very concerned and worried because now that they are now in the spotlight their life can be at risk.
Many Venezuelans in T&T are also now calling on the Government to assist them with finding family members on board the pirogue on Saturday night.
Cousin of Darie Elvis Eliagnis Sarabia told Guardian Media that the family came to T&T due to Government pressure in Venezuela because his family openly protested against the current regime.
He said he loved T&T and felt safer here than his home country.
He is also asking for the option to be in T&T for the investigation of baby Ya Elvis and for his family to be settled elsewhere.
The attorneys for the family are expected to deliver letters to all the relevant agencies to assist the family and to also get information on the incident at sea. —Reporting by Otto Carrington