THE REFUGEE CRISIS

It is a truism that problems cannot be solved with the same level of awareness that created them in the first place. And to say that we in good old T&T remained blissfully unaware of the very real problems that Maburro et al were creating in Venezuela is sadly true. The leaders of our own Government were happy to join conga lines and dance with the Venezuelan dictator while professing "neutrality" in the crisis that was engulfing that unhappy South American nation. Although some of us were trying to point out that the problems next door were serious and could come back to "bite" us our local media happily ignored the problems being created by the Donkey and continued to support our Government's neutrality.


But then, all of a sudden, people began to notice that there was a very large number of Venezuelan refugees here (mostly) in Trinidad. I have seen no reliable numbers as to how many Venezuelan refugees are over here ... I've seen estimates of 40,000 on the low side all the way to 80,000 on the high side. What is correct, I haven't a clue! All I do know is that our little country simply can't cope with the numbers coming over in what feels like droves. We are being overwhelmed. And it is going to get worse ... much worse!


But wasn't this predictable? And if it was (and I believe that it was) then why didn't our Government realize this early o'clock and deal with the root cause of this humanitarian disaster? Because, make no mistake about it: the root cause is the complete and utter failure of Maburro & Co. to run their country in an honest and effective manner. We (i.e., T&T) would have been better off calling on Maburro either to go or to hold HONEST and FAIR Presidential elections and siding with all those who refused to support him until he allowed the people to choose fairly. But we didn't! Instead, we effectively gave the Donkey critical support in the rather stupid and unrealistic hope of getting the Dragon Gas deal through the Opposition dominated National Assembly. And we 'cussed up' the United States, our largest trading partner, in the process. Really smart! Really in our country's best interests!


And now we have  a terrible crisis on our hands. It is inhumane to send the refugees back. But we simply can't afford to keep them here! No matter which way you turn the problem, people are going to suffer ... greatly! The only solution that I can see is a verrrryyyyy long term one: first, you have to get rid of the dictator... and the sooner the better! He and his cronies are the root cause of everything and the problems won't get better as long as they remain in power. In fact, they'll only get worse. Then you have to rebuild the country ... and that's a 20 year project. But we don't have the luxury of 20 years! And finally, we have to recognize that in everything, T&T must come first and it is not always in our best interests to be 'neutral'.


But we also have to be honest with ourselves. We are in this mess now because we were happy to pretend that the problems next door were not ours and therefore we shouldn't interfere when we could have and should have.