Venezuelan Islander pleas for special measures to allow family to come to Jersey after brother killed in earthquakes - Jersey Evening Post
by Elen Johnston · Jersey Evening PostPosted inNews
Venezuelan Islander pleas for special measures to allow family to come to Jersey after brother killed in earthquakes
by Elen Johnston 2 July 20261 July 2026
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A VENEZUELAN Islander, grieving the loss of his brother who died in the recent devastating earthquakes, has issued a plea to the government to consider special measures to allow his family to come to Jersey for their safety.
Mariano Antonio Ferreira Correia, who works in a barber shop in St Helier, has launched an appeal for donations to help the aid efforts in his home country, while grieving the loss of his 36-year-old brother Javier as well as other loved ones.
Now, following aftershock earthquakes in recent days, Mr Correia said he is deeply worried about the safety of his family members who have survived, who have lost their homes and have been living on the streets.
He has asked the government to help his half-brother – Raymer Gabriel Plasencia – remain in Jersey after his work permit runs out in August as he has no home to return to, while also hoping to bring his relatives to the Island for safety.
Javier, a former Jersey café worker, was killed in the earthquakes which have devastated the country. Mr Plasencia said he previously worked alongside his late-brother at La Petite Baguette, where the pair were well-known to customers.
Mr Plasencia is hoping his mother and 85-year-old grandmother, as well as their dog Protos, will be allowed to come to Jersey. The family all miraculously survived their building collapsing.
Mr Plasencia said: “I lost my home. We don’t have any other place to live. I am now trying to renew my permit, but I ask the government to look into their hearts and help.”
He added that while working with his brother at the café, the pair always tried to cheer people up who had “had a bad day”. While Mr Plasencia no longer works there, he has a work permit until the end of summer.
Mr Correia said: “When his permit finishes, where is he going to go? There he has nothing. I understand there are rules, but people who make them can make new ones to help.”
Desperate to find a way for him to stay and bring his relatives to the Island, Mr Correia said he went to the migration office but was told Jersey does not have an agreement with Venezuela.
He was advised that his family could apply for a tourist visa, but said that this would only be a temporary solution. Mr Correia added that it had been suggested to him that they could try to apply for a work visa for Mr Plasencia’s mother, but this would not be suitable for his grandmother.
“His mum is young – she can work. But the grandmother can’t work, she is 85 years old, and we need to bring her here,” he said.
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