— International Organisation of Migration

By Gabriella Chapman

THE International Organisation of Migration (IOM) has said it is working to ensure migrants here are integrated and become productive members of society.
In an interview with Guyana Chronicle, IOM’s Regional Coordination Officer for the Caribbean, Robert Natiello said the organisation has been implementing a methodology called the ‘Displacement Tracking Matrix’.

This methodology, he said, is essentially the conducting of interviews with Venezuelans in the country, to assess their migration intentions.

From their findings thus far, Natiello said a large percentage of the migrants are here seeking temporary refuge due to the growing socioeconomic and political crisis in their country. For a vast majority, their intention is to return home after the crisis comes to an end.

As such, they believe that the migrants can be given temporary aid to be contributors to society, until their situation at home is resolved.

He lauded the Government of Guyana for being welcoming to the migrants.
“It is important to recognise the solidarity the government has taken to assist Venezuelans because there are other countries in the Caribbean which have not been so open, and are involved in detaining persons from Venezuela and deporting them,” Natiello said.
However, despite the efforts of the government, persons from various communities being directly affected by the inflow have been complaining of threatening behaviours and expressing various concerns.

This led to the suggestion of identifying a particular area in the country in which the migrants will be housed.

“We have formed an inter-ministerial committee, which is led by the Minister of Citizenship. We meet on a bi-weekly basis and there have been discussions about what they call a ‘humanitarian settlement’. The committee has identified a place called ‘Papaya’… I personally do not believe that the situation in Guyana merits a ‘humanitarian settlement’,” Natiello said.

BOOST CAPACITY

He said the better option would be to boost the capacity of the country to facilitate migrants as opposed to moving them to one location.
The idea of a humanitarian settlement is going to be a costly enterprise and has to be well thought out, Natiello said.

“There are a lot of complex issues that you need to look at. You have to ensure that there is access to health services there, that people can be gainfully employed, that children can go to school, that there is adequate water and sanitation, appropriate shelter, etc…. Having a settlement will create a dependency, which will cause the government to have to provide everything for them,” he explained.

IOM has brought a camp coordination and camp management specialist to Guyana, who provided training to the government on what they what need to take into account before establishing a settlement.

Natiello said the advice to government is to build the settlement as a last resort.
He noted that several United Nations agencies have been working in collaboration with the government to ensure the country reaches the capacity to facilitate migrants.

“… migrants are productive members of society, generally. Albert Einstein was a refugee and there are a lot of migrant success stories. Migrants contribute to society. So we will try to strengthen the capacity of host communities and integrate migrants and support the government,” Natiello said.

UN Resident Coordinator, Mikiko Tanaka pointed out that with the number of migrants recorded compared to the overall population in Guyana; it is still a relatively manageable scope.

Tanaka said persons ought to look at the issue from a larger picture and see how it can strengthen the country.

“Amidst our efforts, we want to seize opportunities to improve the government’s own services. And if they are stronger, the capacity for them to deal with migrants will strengthen. Today might be Venezuela, tomorrow might be something else, because you know if Guyana is going to have all these oil revenues, I’m sure it is going to attract many more people coming from outside. So the more robust Guyana becomes the capacity to do that will increase. And that’s the larger picture,” Tanaka said.
She noted that the efforts being made by the UN are not parallel but are in support of the national efforts.