PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — The Social Economic Council (SER) Sint Maarten and the University of St. Martin (USM) teamed up last week Thursday, 19 th September, to provide the government, civil servants and the general population with information on the ongoing Venezuelan migration.
The public lecture titled, The Venezuelan Migration: Problem or Opportunity, was delivered by special guest and keynote speaker Professor Gerardo González of the Central University of Venezuela and the Center for Public Policy of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Administration (IESA), Caracas. González, a Ph.D. candidate at Leiden University, is an expert on Venezuelan populations in the Caribbean part of the Dutch kingdom and as a sociologist has spent the last three years looking at migratory patterns in Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
Close to 5 million people have left Venezuela since 2014, due to economic hardship, political instability and violence. “I wish I had better news but the situation in my country is not good…and people will continue to leave”, said González. After visitors from the US, Venezuelans formed the second largest group of tourists to visit the ABC islands, now they are arriving in desperation wanting to stay.]
“Now they appear on St. Martin, either by claiming asylum in the French territory or by being invited to work on the Dutch-side”, González stated. Venezuelan newcomers can be found mostly in the field of construction but also in other sectors, working formally and informally.
SER Sint Maarten took on the initiative to invite Professor Gerardo González to Sint Maarten as a follow up to the Joint Symposium on Migration and Socioeconomic Development, held earlier this past May in Curaçao. The joint symposium was organized by the Social Economic Councils of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten in order to gather international experts and civil servants in structured dialogue, especially around the increased number of Venezuelan migrants to the region. On August 29th SER Sint Maarten submitted its report concerning labor migration to the Honorable Prime Minister Leona Marlin-Romeo.
“This is a perfect moment to reflect and think about the ongoing Venezuelan migration, and the status of migrants in general on Sint Maarten. The purpose of the lecture was for the community to express its ideas and concerns to government, on the increasing presence of Venezuelans in our country, said SER Secretary-General Gerard Richardson. “Just like with all our activities, our purpose is to inform the government and the general public as we give advice based on informed opinions and policies. Together with the High Councils of State, each institution must accept its role and responsibility not only to the government and parliament but also to the community of Sint Maarten.”
The lecture was accompanied by opening remarks from the Honorable Prime Minister Leona Marlin-Romeo, and an introduction to the evening given by USM President Dr. Antonio Carmona Báez, who outlined the precarious relations between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
“I am very excited about this collaboration between USM and SER Sint Maarten, and I hope that this will be one of many lectures and joint activities in service of country Sint Maarten”, Carmona said. This was the second collaboration between SER and USM.
The crowd of over 100 people at USM also heard the testimonies of two Venezuelans nationals currently living in Sint Maarten. Dr. Diego Ramos, a urologist, and Hector Díaz, an engineer, talked about the harsh conditions in Venezuela and their reasons for being in Sint Maarten.
“In 2017 many of us were forced out of Venezuela, and in that year Hurricane Irma struck St. Maarten, causing the need for construction workers to contribute to the recovery. I see this as a great opportunity,” Díaz said.
Following the Q&A, moderated by senior policy advisor of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Patrice Gumbs, the Chairman of SER Sint Maarten, ir Damien Richardson, thanked all participants for their input and support of the SER-USM lecture. Next year the SER and USM plan to collaborate on other topics of socio-economic matters which are of concern to the people of Sint Maarten.
