UNHCR says 23,000 Venezuelans believe living in Guyana

THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) ESTIMATES THAT THERE ARE SOME 23,000
VENEZUELANS LIVING MAINLY IN FIVE REGIONS of Guyana by the end of last year.
Registration and Identity Officer for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
Guyana office Ms. Suenanica de Rozario admitted the figure might appears high because it is an
estimated number.
Venezuelan migrant/refugees began arriving in trickles in Guyana in 2018, but since then the
number of arrivals began to swell and the UNHCR responded by establishing a local office to
help the Guyana government cope with the myriad challenges associated with the growing
phenomenon.

“They started to trickle in since 2018. Since then, we have where a number of persons were
returning to Guyana owing to the ongoing situation in Venezuela,” de Rozario said.
She said while they are headquartered in Demerara/Mahaica (Region Four) they also have a
presence in Barima/Waini (Region 1); Cuyuni/Mazaruni (Region 7); Potaro/Siparuni (Region 8)
and Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo (Region 9).
The UNHCR local representative said the global institution has linked up with some government
ministries and agencies to help lessen the stress migrants/refugees experience routinely. Among
them are the Ministry of Education to reduce the language barrier in Region One.
“We have worked with the Ministry of Health in joint health outreaches (and) the Immigration
Department” to solve some of the issues dogging those visitors, the UNHCR official said.
“We have also been supporting civil society organizations as well e.g., the Civil Defense
Commission (CDC) of Guyana. As many may know that Guyana is currently experiencing
severe flooding in most of the hinterland regions and we have been working very closely with
them in trying to provide flood relief support,” de Rozario said.

A published study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Mental Health
last year observed that: “[f]orced migration is likely to continue to grow in the coming years due
to climate change, disease outbreaks, conflict, and other factors. There are a huge number of
challenges to maintaining good health, and specifically good mental health, among migrants at
all stages of migration.”
The UNHCR body here is also collaborating with the Sex Workers body and the Pan American
Development Foundation and other institutions to provide relieve to migrants’ challenges
including threats by the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic.
The UN officer said recently some 80 participants from various Regions of Guyana joined forces
under a UNHCR/CDC initiative to produce face masks made from cloth.
“We engaged the participants to produce the facemasks which was then donated back to the host
community as part of the COVID 19 and also as part of the flood relief response,” de Rozario
explained.
Apart from the language barrier, migrant/refugees also have a tough time accessing local
services and securing employment. When they do, they are invariably forced to accept
unskilled jobs, de Rozario explained.