While over 15,000 Venezuelan migrants have been registered to work in T&T for up to a year, those who have been here for months lamented that employment is hard to find.
It may be the Venezuelan culture to seek out help for their fellow countrymen, but several of those who have been here for months said they face stiff competition finding work. Maribel Moya, 36, said that after paying US$200 for the journey from Tucupita to Trinidad in search of employment back in May 8, she has found that jobs are hard to find.
The single mother of a 20-year-old daughter said that because of the number of Venezuelan migrants in T&T, there are only so many employers that will hire them because of the language barrier.
"It is hard to find a job because there are a lot of Venezuelans here in Trinidad. It is competitive and very hard for us because we have to help out our families back in Venezuela,” Moya said.
She was among several migrants who spent the night outside the Achievors Banquet Hall registration centre in Duncan Village, San Fernando. Police said that immigration personnel finished registering migrants at 4 am today. Meanwhile, those who were left out on Friday evening will have to report to the Immigration Department in San Fernando on Monday morning.
Moya and Yeliannis Medina sat on chairs under a tent, tired and in need of washroom facilities. They brought with them a change of clothes as they did not have money to travel to their home in Chaguanas, so they spent the last three nights sleeping outside the registration centre. At midnight, they were given the approval to stay in T&T. Someone was expected to pick them up at midnight but did not and they did not have a phone to call. Since coming to Trinidad weeks ago, their families have not even heard from them, not knowing whether they made it safely across the dangerous Serpent’s Mouth.
"I feel happy because I actually have my papers. I can now look for work to maintain my daughter and family back in Venezuela. I need to work now because my family over there are depending on me to get work in order to maintain them. My children go to school. As it is now, sometimes Monday is school and Tuesday may not have because of the situation, but they are depending on me. I am a single mother and want to work.”
It was not too long ago that Edward Jesus, 22, was studying at university to become an engineer. The Tucupita native arrived in Trinidad two weeks ago and showed up for registration on Wednesday. He and his friends got their approval around 2 am and were waiting for a fellow migrant, who got a job in Trinidad, to pick them up around 2 pm.
Jesus’ parents remained in Venezuela while his sister went to another country in search of work. Neither he nor his friends found jobs. He said Venezuelans have to compete with each other for jobs. He said Trinidad was closer to Tucupita as it took an estimated eight hours to reach as opposed to a day’s journey to a South American country.
While the Government believes the registration went smoothly, Ravi Balliram said his girlfriend arrived in the country legally this week and attempted to register online. However, he said that the online system was not working properly and by 11 am on Thursday, it had completely shut down. Despite having documents, he is concerned about what happens to those who were not allowed to register last night.