“Starting over” shows the conditions and life stories of some of the refugees, migrants and asylum seekers in Trinidad and Tobago, more specifically, in the Chaguanas neighborhood. Qualified as a ‘hub of inclusivity’, this neighborhood is home to the majority of the nearly 60,000 people seeking refuge and better opportunities in the Caribbean country. 

The dilemma these people face lies in the obstacles they encounter when they arrive in the country in the hope of finding a job, barriers that include wage gaps, insecurity, language, legality, or lack of skills to meet the country’s labor demand. As a result, many people end up working in jobs that are far from their areas of expertise and even farther from their salary aspirations. In this regard, the country’s justice system tried to determine the difference between how a refugee and an asylum seeker are viewed, the answer was less than encouraging, as it was established that these vulnerable groups are viewed in the same way as an economic migrant, that is, excluding during their consideration the factors that cause the inequality of refugees and asylum seekers. 

As for the role of institutions, although refugees, asylum seekers and migrants feel that more robust support from government entities is needed, 16 thousand temporary work permits were granted by the Trinidadian government in 2019; additionally, the Inclusive Cities, Communities of Solidarity project has been one that has provided vocational technical training to learn about entrepreneurship, computer literacy and learning English as a second language not only to these vulnerable groups but also to members of the host community. These tools allow refugees and migrants to be more empowered and hopeful about their future as they start over.