THE HAGUE - The barracks in Curaçao where undocumented Venezuelans are being held have impressed Dutch Members of Parliament. They want to see action quickly and keep a watchful eye on the island.

Curaçao has not signed the Geneva humanitarian treaty and therefore does not recognize the refugee status of the estimated 15,000 to 25,000 Venezuelans who are now illegally hiding on the island. As a result, if they are caught, they are locked up in the SDKK prison until their deportation.

Disconcerting

“I have been a public prosecutor for years, but what I saw there is really shocking,” responds CDA MP Chris van Dam about his visit to the SDKK prison.

“People have nothing in terms of privacy and you sometimes have to sit there for eight months. They are two large rooms, with very basic bunk beds. A mattress with a blanket. You can't sit anywhere, because there are no seats. The windows are open, so all mosquitoes also fly in and out.”

“No books, no games to get through the day. The shower area? I am a camper so I am used to it, but I was absolutely shocked when I saw these showers.”

Scabies

D66 MP Antje Diertens also finds what she saw moving. “What I also found very sad was to hear that someone had scab. Coincidentally, a Curaçao member of parliament was present who could also see that.”

According to Diertens, it was impossible to say whether the prisoner got scabbed in the Curaçao prison. “People are entitled to medical assistance. The slowness there is not good for that.”

Similar to prison in Nigeria

And how bad are the barracks in Curaçao compared to other countries? “There is a place that comes to mind,” says the director of Amnesty International Eduard Nazarski. “I was in Nigeria for a number of years and there were 45 men in a much too small cell.”

It is striking that the barracks just before the visit of the MPs are not nearly as full: many Venezuelans have been deported just before the visit. “There were eight men in the barracks and three women in a separate section,” says Van Dam.

Respect autonomy or intervene?

The ball is in Curaçao’s court, because it is an autonomous country. What is striking is that the CDA is now openly increasing the pressure on Curaçao and the Kingdom Government in The Hague.

“We don't have to wait until the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg appeals to the Kingdom,” says CDA MP Van Dam. “If Curaçao as a country does not resolve this, I will certainly address the Council of Ministers.”

“Mind you: even the PVV, which is normally reluctant about the islands, finds the situation degrading there.”

SP: “My view of the matter has changed slightly.”

“It is an urgent situation and what struck me,” says SP Member of Parliament Ronald van Raak, “is that there are mainly labor migrants in the barracks and not so much refugees.”

“Most migrants are sent back and make a new attempt. It is a very small group that wants to stay longer hoping for a permit. My view of the matter has changed slightly, especially due to so many labor migrants.”

Scale up crisis relief

Coalition party D66 would prefer that a crisis organization is now established, “in case it gets worse” with the influx of Venezuelans. The governments of Curaçao, Aruba and the Netherlands are now dependent on this.

“As my colleague Paul Rosenmöller said: we should not get a Groningen syndrome, that an entire island feels abandoned. It should not be too late and there is no help yet,” said D66 MP Antje Diertens.

“We must try everything to help people who are in need and not look away. That is why we continue to ask questions from the Chamber.”