European Union Delegation to TT

Statement on the occasion of World Refugee Day 2021

As the world continues to battle covid19, it is easy to forget about the vulnerable in our midst who struggle the most. "World Refugee Day" is an opportune time to acknowledge and reflect upon the hardships of one such community - migrants and refugees. These groups, who typically deal with an array of difficulties and obstacles in their host countries, have lately found their struggles compounded by the social, economic, medical and psychological difficulties caused by the pandemic.

Since 2015, over 5.6 million Venezuelans have left their homes, with over 4.6 million remaining in the Latin America and Caribbean region. The continuous cycle of economic deterioration leading to violence and insecurity inside Venezuela, made worse by the lack of access to food, medicine and essential services, has accelerated this mass displacement. The countries and communities in the region, including TT, that are hosting this displaced population have been under increased pressure as they each also wrestle the social and economic challenges caused by the covid19 pandemic. This country has seen a rapid influx of migrants and refugees from Venezuela, leading to the 'Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela' (R4V) projecting that for 2021 the refugee and migrant population in TT will be an estimated 31,000 people.

Urgent support is therefore needed, both for the migrant population and for the countries and communities who continue to welcome and integrate them into their societies.

For years, the European Union and its member states have been supporting Venezuelan refugees and their host communities. In TT beginning in 2020, as part of our Team Europe global response to covid19, the European Union Delegation to TT and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands have been providing support to the local migrant population who lack access to the social protection measures implemented by TT government. The 18-month project, which is being implemented by the TT Red Cross Society, provides immediate humanitarian assistance to migrant families including food, mental health and psychosocial support, and basic health screenings for children.

Another project for Euro 2.7 million (nearly USD$ 3.3 million) has recently been approved to provide protection, education and healthcare for Venezuelan refugee and migrant children in six Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries, including TT. Further, the European Union will implement another regional project with a budget of Euro 16 million (approx USD$19.23 million) entitled 'Fostering local communities of solidarity for refugees and migrants from Venezuela,' which in TT will include the city of Chaguanas among nine other cities in LAC. The project, implemented by UN Habitat, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), is designed to show that migrants and refugees can make positive contri

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