Local authorities are moving to deal with issues concerning a group of Cubans - hoping for asylum in the US - after the group yesterday moved onto the United Nations’ property at Chancery Lane, Port-of-Spain.
Officials at the UN building called the police for the Cubans yesterday, but they did not budge at the end of the day.
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi has called a meeting for today with the UN office, Cuban Embassy in T&T, Living Waters and the T&T Police Service to ascertain the facts of the issue involving a 25-plus group of so-called Cuban “dissidents.”
The Cubans have been demonstrating on the pavement outside the UN’s PoS offices for most of the year, seeking assistance to obtain asylum as “political refugees.” When they first began months ago, the demonstration was confined to less than a handful of men sitting on the pavement near the office, holding a sign stating, “We Are Cuban Dissidents.” They appealed to the United National High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help them.
The UNHCR is mandated to protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people, and assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. The UNHCR works via the local Living Waters community.
Over the year, the group’s numbers have grown, including women and children. Recently they settled into the Chancery Lane area, building small shelters with tarpaulins and boxes of possessions.
Yesterday, group spokesman Yusnel Reyes indicated security personnel attempted to move the group, which comprised 19 adults and five children, including babies. However, Reyes said they fled into the UN’s yard, staying there until late evening.
Last night, UNHCR protection officer Reuben Barbadio said the UN called the police yesterday morning as the group wasn’t complying with certain rules where invading private UN property was concerned. He said the group had peaceful right of demonstration “until now.”
“It’s been challenging, but it’s our responsibility to engage with them and ensure they don’t, for instance, put the children at risk. We kept on engaging them and they’ve now left (UN’s premises),” Barbadio said, admitting to a “stressful day.”
“We do our best to support them and help Government comply with UNHCR obligations.”
Reyes and other females in the group said they’d been demonstrating seeking UN assistance to be relocated to the US, since as dissidents they couldn’t return to Cuba.
One woman said they weren’t seeking resettlement here since they were aware T&T doesn’t offer political refugee asylum.
“We want to go to the US or Panama, Canada, Mexico,” she added.
Addressing the issue last evening, Al-Rawi said he’d called for a meeting today with the UN, Living Waters, Cuban Embassy and TTPS to get full particulars on this issue.
“Inconsistencies have emerged in some media reports. We know T&T is a point through which this group is passing and they want to move to the US. It’s a very interesting situation,” Al-Rawi said.
Barbadio, however, said some of the group want to integrate into T&T, but noted they have to go through a process with UNHCR to say why they came to T&T.
“They came to T&T for a series of reasons. We can’t grant visas for other countries - US, etc - our job is to help Government and Living Waters improve their situation while here.”
After dialogue, the NHCR will inform Government who’s been rejected or accepted as a refugee and who deserves protection or not.
However, he said UNHCR has some limitations, since T&T has no legislation for refugee asylum seekers and they’re only subject to T&T’s immigration law.