WILLEMSTAD - Curaçao has been complaining for some years about the negative consequences of the large influx of Venezuelan migrants. But nobody really knows how big the problem is, not even the government. As a result, a good approach is missing and Venezuelan women, among others, suffer from it.
The latter appears from a study by three students from the University of Maastricht into the living conditions and well-being of undocumented Venezuelan women on the island. They draw the conclusion: “Start registering. In a way that the safety of Venezuelan migrants is guaranteed.”
The Minister of Management, Planning & Services, Armin Konket, acknowledges that it is “necessary” to collect information. “I dare to say that nobody knows how many Venezuelans there are on the island and where they are staying.”
Yet the question for this research did not come from the Curaçao government, but from the Fundashon Famia Plania (Planned Family Foundation). This provides information about family planning and prevention against sexually transmitted diseases. The foundation has for a long time seen a sharp increase in the number of Venezuelan women who are forced to work in the "trago business" (drinking ladies) where can include prostitution.
“Registering undocumented Venezuelans would be a step in the right direction,” says Marisela Flemming, director of Famia Plania. “Venezuelan undocumented migrants must also have access to health care, housing, the labor market and education.”
The research focused on the health and well-being of women, the socially influencing factors on their health, their survival mechanisms and the effect of the migration and prostitution policy of Curaçao on health. The students conducted interviews with the women and the Red Cross, the Venezuelan interest organization Venex, Human Rights Caribbean and the free health clinic for migrants Salú Pa Tur (Health for all).
The registration of Venezuelan migrants should, according to researcher Maartje Muskens, put an end to the question of how big the problem really is on the island. According to the Red Cross Curaçao, the number of undocumented Venezuelans is a rough estimate "between 6,000 and 16,000, which can go up to 21,000 by the end of 2020".
CBS Nederland collects data in Curaçao
“To be able to make the right policy, the government must collect more data. This data can help to map the social issue," says Robert Hermans, Director of Development Regional Data Centers of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) in the Netherlands.
Together with CBS Curaçao, he is carrying out a project to ensure that the ministries within the government work more data-oriented. “At the moment we have not received a specific request from the Curaçao government to specifically obtain data about this problem. But we are already investigating the possibilities,” says Hermans.
Minister Konket responds that it is not he who decides when Curaçao will start with this. According to the minister, this issue falls under several ministries. Konket agrees that the collection of this data is necessary: “If we know the extent of the situation, we can formulate problems better and then you will also be able to take action to solve the problems.”
