Human Rights activist Yesenia Gonzales describes Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds’ comments about Venezuelans’ “antisocial” behaviour as irresponsible, saying it can bring hate upon a vulnerable subpopulation.
Speaking at a Rotary Club of Port-of-Spain luncheon Tuesday, Hinds said 70,000 Venezuelans were in T&T, significantly higher than the 16,000 registered under the Government amnesty programme in 2019. Hinds said the migrants were entering the country with “usual cultures” and that the Ministry of National Security saw elements of antisocial and other behaviours. South Western Division police told Guardian Media that there was a heightened awareness of Venezuelan migrants entering T&T illegally during COVID-19 when the borders were closed to control transmission. Despite police moving focus to more violent crimes, the illegal migration never stopped as traffickers used numerous rivers and cut new trails in forests along the South Coast.
Gonzales was surprised about Hinds’ comments, saying it was discriminatory. She said Hinds told her that his grandmother grew up in Venezuela, and he loved the country and visited often. Gonzales wants to know if Hinds meant all Venezuelans show these behaviours. As a Venezuelan in T&T for the past 40-plus years, she does not consider herself antisocial. She said there are varying behaviours among all ethnicities, including antisocial characteristics.
Gonzales is aware of the perception that Venezuelans are involved in crime, but she said this is a minority. She said people should look at how often the news reports a Venezuelan’s involvement in a crime. She said without migrants, T&T would still have crime problems.
She said that once people hear about a Spanish-speaking criminal, they think Venezuelan. However, they could be Cuban or from other Latin-American countries.
“You are creating a problem in a country where they would probably hate and see us as criminals. It is the same thing as saying that all the Venezuelans coming here are prostitutes because they wear skimpy clothes or are working on the streets or by themselves. They call them prostitutes if they see them in a party or they see them dancing with somebody,” Gonzales said.
She said many people label the women as prostitutes without sympathy and the understanding that many were human trafficking victims. Gonzales said there was always prostitution in T&T.
“They are not prostitutes. They are victims of human trafficking because there are a lot of victims of human trafficking in T&T: Venezuelans, who they steal and capture. Right now, I am talking to you, and I will tell you there are approximately 15-20 girls right now, captured in a place, and the police are not going there to rescue the girls.”
Gonzales said she and a family reported the business, but it continues operations. When the Counter-Trafficking Unit rescues sex workers, she said the criminals get bail the following day and get another group of girls and women. The victims are also terrified to testify in court as their pimps roam the streets freely. The victims prefer to get on a boat and flee the country, fearing human traffickers would return for them.
Gonzales said victims get abused and forced to have sex for $500 and dance naked in clubs. She is seeking a meeting with Hinds, saying 1,000 girls get trafficked yearly in T&T while the State treats migrants poorly.
Gonzales does not believe Hinds’ figure is accurate as the State has no control over people entering and leaving T&T.
“Every day, people are coming into Trinidad: Venezuelans coming through Tucupita and Guiria because they are running from the situation in Venezuela: the persecution and the economy. Everything is so bad that they are running here to get asylum because they feel Trinidad can protect them from harm as their lives are in danger.”
Gonzales said Government does not recognise international human rights policies to protect people seeking refuge.
