Teaching is much more than a profession for Cruz Delis Rivas Zorrilla—it is her passion.
However, she willingly admits that while teaching can be tremendously fulfilling, it also has its challenges.
Zorrilla, who teaches English and Spanish, has been living in T&T for six years and since migrating here from Venezuela she has been teaching children in her migrant community who don’t have the opportunity to attend local schools.
However, the mother of three has put her vocation and passion on hold as her contract with an organisation she worked with for several years recently expired and she doesn’t know if it will be renewed.
“I’m a person who prefers to serve than to be served. I love helping others, especially migrants since I know what it feels like to be obligated to leave your country and to try to survive in a foreign country,” she said in an interview at her St James home.
“Life is not like before here in Trinidad. Things are getting a little difficult but I always think positive, give my best and try to be a good person in society.”
Zorrilla, who is originally from Guiria in Sucre State, Venezuela, studied English for five years at the Libertador Experimental Pedagogical University in Maturín, Monagas State. After completing her degree, she moved to San Juan de Unare where she taught English and Spanish at a public high school.
It was a job that she loved and she was reluctant to give it up but eventually had to leave when the social and political turmoil in her country resulted in her salary not being enough to survive on.
She said her data and years of work experience have been eliminated from Venezuela’s education system and she could face legal problems if she returns to her homeland for what the current government of Venezuela calls “betrayal of the country and abandonment of work.”
In Trinidad, Zorrilla has been active in the migrant community, assisting with translations and other services, in addition to her teaching stint.
Along with her three daughters, Genesis, Waleska and Schenelle, she has also been involved in El Puente, a project directed by Raquel La Roche that promotes the sharing of T&T and Venezuelan culture.
Through the project, her daughter Genesis had the opportunity to participate in the Burrokids category of Kiddies’ Carnival last year. She placed second and had the experience of dancing on stage with artistes such as Machel Montano, Destra Garcia and Patrice Robert at the 2023 Dimanche Gras.
However, she admitted that adjusting to life in T&T has been difficult at times, particularly because of the xenophobia and racial discrimination she and her family have experienced.
Zorrilla said she has faced verbal, physical and psychological abuse, and has experienced exploitation which she believes is because of her status as a Venezuelan migrant.
One of her worst experiences was when one of her daughters, just two years old at the time, was beaten at a daycare facility. Although Zorrilla and her husband filed a complaint with the relevant authorities, none of them paid attention to the matter and it went unpunished.
“This thing about xenophobia in this country is something that I have never understood since we are all human beings and we are all children of God,” she said.
“And just as I am a migrant here at this moment, anyone in this country can be a migrant somewhere else and they can face all the situations that we have been through too.”
Despite all these bad experiences, Zorrilla and her family have met good people in this country who have helped make their lives better. She said they inspire her to also do her part to help make other lives better whenever she gets the opportunity.
Zorrilla is also hoping she will be able to continue to pursue her passion, teaching.
