-Min. Teixeira says
WITH thousands being forced to flee their homeland because of detrimental phenomena such as oppression, war, economic instability or natural disasters, Guyana remains “A Hope away from Home,” as the nation is striving to provide security and betterment for migrants.

These sentiments were expressed by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, in her address, on Friday, at the Marriott Hotel, during the observance of World Refugee Day.
According to her: “What we have to do is to work harder on how we are able to create synergies and collaboration between different sectors and agencies such as the UN and the government and other funding agencies, so that we’re all working in sync.”
The minister, in her heartfelt speech said, as humans we should be disturbed by the grave situations that refugees undergo in order to attain improved conditions for them and their families, referencing the recent Greek migrant boat disaster, which left at least 78 people dead.

Emphasising that humans need to take a humanitarian approach, she related that Guyana is working diligently to create synergies and collaboration between the government and international and regional organizations.
While noting that migrants are more than statistics, Minister Teixeira stated: “Sometimes I get very worried about what is happening in the world,” explaining: “We have a moral obligation as a people.”
She noted that Guyana is on the move to provide all the necessary support for those who have left their country, with sometimes just a shirt on their back.

“We offer free public healthcare to all those who are in need whether illegal or legal, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion….” she disclosed.
Among several other promises to those in need, she said: “We will continue to work, to ensure that people coming in are not exploited, not abandoned, not being used by traffickers and others.”

BUILDING BRIDGES, NOT BARRIERS
With more walls being built instead of bridges, Guyana’s Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), George Talbot, said that the plight our fellow humans endure should not be ignored.
Underscoring the fact that migrants undergo harsh treatments even after migrating, the Ambassador said: “We must remain committed to addressing these challenges.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Henry Sylvain Yakara, stated that the rise in the number of migrants is a cause for concern.
Highlighting the hospitable nature of Guyanese, Yakara said that he has seen tremendous resilience and a drive to foster inclusion from the Amerindians in Region One (Barima-Waini) towards Venezuelan migrants.
Approximately 30,000 migrants from Venezuela are presently residing in Guyana.
The number of people who were forcibly displaced increased to 108 million last year, according to a 2022 UNHCR Global Report, with the majority of these people being hosted by low- and middle-income nations.