The compassion and warmth of Central businessman Churchill Azad Akaloo has brought tears of joy to the 78 Cuban refugees who recently made the news for their protest seeking asylum outside the UN House in Port-of-Spain.
Akaloo has given up one of his warehouses as a temporary safe haven for the refugees and their families until arrangements are made to move them out of T&T by the United Nations (UN).
Speaking to Guardian Media yesterday, Akaloo said he was moved to tears when he first realised the plight of the Cuban nationals, who are seeking asylum in other countries and had made the desperate decision to brave the elements to protest outside the UN House to be heard.
He said during that time he went daily to at least provide hot meals and water for them as they kept up with their 24/7 protest over a three-week period. The same group was arrested by police on November 16 and charged for obstruction of the pavement. After initially pleading not guilty initially, they changed their plea to guilty when they re-appeared before Magistrate Sanara Toon-Mc Quilkin in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court on November 20 and were sentenced to two days in jail.
However, when they were released from prison the Cuban refugees had no shelter and decided to seek out Akaloo for help. One of the refugees called Akaloo and she tearfully begged him for help.
It was at this point Akaloo said he quickly began to think of a means of helping them.
“The only thing I could have come up with was this warehouse that we kept items in for storage and for recycling. I asked them if they would be willing to clean it and fix it up and do whatever that needs to be done to make themselves comfortable and to transform it to a ‘liveable’ condition and they agreed,” Akaloo told Guardian Media.
The refugees, who all have their refugee certificates and other relevant documents, moved in last Friday and worked tirelessly in the clean up the property. Over the past few days, they have moved from sleeping on cardboard, as several other Good Samaritans have also chipped in to provide them with other items, to mattresses.
Yesterday, during a visit, some of the skilled Cubans were seen doing concrete and block works as they moved to quickly construct an annex to the warehouse, which will accommodate a main kitchen and laundry room for them. Some of them were also seen doing electrical work in two separate rooms of the warehouse.
Speaking with Guardian Media, refugee Andris Moiset, 42, said he, on behalf of his fellow refugees, had extended their gratitude to the businessman for his kind and unselfish deed.
“We were sleeping on the pavements and no food and he came and brought food and water for us. Today, his heart became bigger when he opened this place for us. He is our father…a nice guy…he buy toilets for us and paint for us. He only help us, nobody else.”
Moiset added that their Christmas wish is for the UN to pull through for them.
“We need to be taken out of this country to another country where we can have work permits and homes for our lives to be back to normal. We pray for this. This is very important and we are hoping that this is done soon.”
Akaloo said compassion is lacking in T&T, from the Government, to the businesspeople like him and those who can afford to lend a helping hand.
“I do this genuinely from the heart. These people are humans too and they have needs to be taken care of and I could not stand to see them in the street suffering. I had to help.”