–and not a moment too soon, says Pascelli Phillips

HE left Guyana in his late teens, and for Pascelli Eugenio Phillips, moving to Venezuela was a gamble he took along with his siblings and several cousins some 32 years ago.
Today, he has returned to these shores and while he is still trying to adjust himself, he believes his return was well-timed.

Over the past several months, dozens of Guyanese, persons of Guyanese parentage and Venezuelans have been travelling to Guyana in search of better living conditions.
While there are no official statistics to determine exactly how many persons have returned, the populations in communities close to the country’s borders and neighbouring areas have increased.

Two weeks ago, during a visit to the villages at Moruca in the North West District, Phillips was making his way home from work when he spoke to this publication about his return.
He said when he left Guyana, “things were a bit hard.” He said he travelled to the neighbouring country along with his siblings and cousins. Phillips said his first job saw him working at a ranch in the Bolivarian Republic, and that after a while, some persons took him to San Felix, an area close to the border with Guyana and while there, he worked with a block-making firm.

He said he did that work for several years, after which he went into the mining sector. “I was a diver,” he said, noting that it was the job he settled with for 15 years.
Phillips said that in 2014, “things started to get bad in Venezuela.” He said the change of the presidency in that country brought woes to the family, and this is what prompted them to return to Guyana.

He said after making several trips back and forth, he decided to permanently return to Guyana after more than three decades. “I use to work in the mines when I came back,” he said, but would later manage to get a job as a security guard at Moruca with the regional administration. He rather likes this job, Phillips said, given his recent experiences across the border.

Phillips said he knows of many Guyanese who are returning to these shores to find a better standard of living, as life in Venezuela is tough these days.
He said that he feels “very comfortable here.” He explained that he did not experience much of the “hard times that most people experiencing” in the neighbouring country, as he noted that he made a timely decision to return to these shores.

“Right now my salary comfortable for me to live on,” he said. Phillips said that his two children, who are adults, are also adjusting to living conditions.
With a giggle, he said that he is single and at some point he plans finding another wife. “So right now, I’m searching for one,” he said with a smile as he walked to his home.