Two Roman Catholic priests have renewed the call for more spaces to be made available for Venezuelan migrant children in the local school system.
A total of 23 Venezuelan migrant children started school in the new academic year out of over 200 applications and there are plans for more to be integrated into the school system.
Speaking after a special Mass in honour of Our Lady of Coromoto at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Port-of-Spain yesterday, however, Father Harold Imamshah said the country must now look to schools beyond those that are Roman Catholic to help integrate migrant children into the school system.
“I’m not sure how we will make more spaces available because seats in any primary or secondary school are prime. Maybe we can even have different schools or different buildings, even the government-assisted schools, even the government schools to help them. I also pray that we do whatever we can to help them integrate,” he said.
Fr Imamshah co-celebrated at the Mass, which Father Jorge Amundarayn, a Venezuelan priest working in T&T, presided over.
In a conversation with Guardian Media, Fr Amundarayn supported Fr Imamshah’s call.
“Children are innocent, all children. They need to have some type of right in terms of education, so I would like to see that forthcoming in the future to keep that thought process that they only have that sense of innocence and they have the need to learn and that’s a process that they need to respect greatly,” Fr Amundarayn said.
Other Venezuelan migrants attending the Mass also hoped that more children would be integrated into the public school system.
Rafael Martinez said, “Education is a basic value and it is of paramount importance for all children to have a right to receive a proper education.”
Meanwhile, Ruth Albornet, who has been living in T&T for the last 22 years, said, “It is not going to take too long... The children will never have a problem to adapt, maybe at the beginning, but these children have been waiting for so long they already know the language so I don’t think they will have any problem.”
Albornet also urged her fellow Venezuelan migrants to steer clear from a life of crime in T&T.
She said, “We have always been having these types of problems. Remember, when you migrate, not only good people come. The good ones and the bad ones. We know that affects us and we feel the rejection. “Trinidadians love us to be here but at the same time they are afraid that these kinds of things are bringing a lot of problems but what we want them to understand is that not all of us are like that.”
The Mass came after a dramatic week which saw Venezuela detain six people, three US citizens, two Spaniards and one Czech national, on suspicion of plotting to destabilise the country. The US has rejected the claims. This as there continues to be turmoil over the result of the recent presidential election which returned Nicolas Maduro to power. The opposition says it has information which shows its candidate, Edmundo González, won the election while the court has upheld the result, although the election commission is yet to show evidence of Maduro’s win. González has since fled to Spain fearing for his life.
Fr Amundarayn said he is hopeful for a peaceful resolution between both nations for the sake of peace. He is hoping both parties can meet and speak about the issue at hand.