Prague, April 5 (CTK) – The Senate has asked the government for help with the return of the Czechs living in Venezuela, facing unrest and a protracted recession, the chairman of the Senate commission for Czechs living abroad, Tomas Grulich said, on Thursday, adding that 239 of them want to do so.
Grulich (Civic Democratic Party, ODS) said the plea was based on the information from the Czech diplomatic office in Havana that also covers the Czech affairs in Venezuela.
“Given the worsening situation of the Czech community in Venezuela, the Senate is asking the government to deal again with the transfer of members of the Czech community to the Czech Republic in keeping with the government policy in relation to the resettlement of the foreigners with a proven Czech origin,” he added.
Grulich said the interest in the aid had been shown by 239 persons, 146 of whom have Czech citizenship.
The rest are usually persons with Czech roots and their family members, he added.
Grulich said since these were educated people, their integration into Czech society would pose no problem.
He said the foreign and interior ministries were ready to help, but they needed to be prompted to do so by the upper house.
Venezuela has been plagued by a recession for five years. Millions of people suffer from shortage of food and medicines.
Critics say the government incompetence and corruption are to blame, while President Nicolas Maduro warns of the hostile attitude of Western countries and the fall in the oil prices.
According to Czech Radio, the Czech community in Venezuela has roughly 300 persons. Some of them came there before World War Two already.
