Government to keep track of Venezuelans seeking refuge in Guyana
Several reports have surfaced in the media regarding the strain the recent influx of Venezuelans is causing the Region One Administration, and Citizenship Minister Winston Felix visited Mabaruma on Thursday and declared that Venezuelans who have entered Guyana through legal ports of entry or by illegal means need to be registered, so that Government can compile a record in this regard.
He noted that Government is not intent on deporting the Venezuelans, because “we are very humane in our treatment of people arriving here in difficult circumstances.”
During the process of being registered, migrants will have to provide basic information, such as their names, date of birth, and the names of persons who will be accommodating them. This information will be used to keep track of migrants in
A makeshift shelter for Venezuelan migrants at Khan’s Hill
the event that they relocate to another part of the country.
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Public Health Ministry have been engaged in the registration process, and in ensuring that the necessary health checks and medication are administered to the migrants.
The Citizenship Minister disclosed that while migrants are being accommodated by persons in the village, “the Government would like to take it a stage further than that.” He noted that migrants need to be “placed in conditions where they can enjoy a reasonable state of comfort.”
It was announced that the team is “seeking to find a way to have Government control the inflow of Venezuelans, and the Minister announced, “We can settle them in a given area.”
Minister Felix explained that Government would have a better control of the situation if the Venezuelan migrants are all placed in a designated area, as opposed to being scattered across the nation, and being accommodated by hospitable residents.
