Dear Editor,
The Aishalton Village Council has noted with great discontent statements made by the Leader of the Opposition and of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Mr. David Granger and published in the Catholic Standard dated February 17, 2012 under the heading `APNU claims evidence of people trafficking’.
As Toshao of the Village of Aishalton, Region Nine, I wish to clearly state that there are no such cases of trafficking in persons, particularly of young girls in my Village to the mines area as was stated by the Opposition Leader. Following the allegations made by the Opposition Leader, an investigation was launched into the matter to verify whether or not the statement made can be validated. Results from the investigations have revealed that there are no young girls or persons missing from my Village. Checks were also made with the secondary school and with the families which confirmed that no underage teenage girls are missing or are working in the mines from my Village.
As the Toshao of Aishalton Village, I find the Opposition Leader’s statement very disrespectful and distasteful to our people and more particularly our Village. It appears as though our Village is being labelled. We ask that the Opposition Leader provide to us the evidence or information which they used to inform their statement. If this cannot be made available then we demand a public apology and a retraction of the statements made.
Our residents have been educated on the trafficking in persons and as a Village we are very watchful of our people. We benefited from TIP awareness training and capacity building sessions during September, 2011 and in February, 2012. These training sessions were done in collaboration with the Ministry of Amer-indian Affairs and the Catholic Relief Services. Our neighbouring Villages have also benefited from these TIP awareness sessions. At present, a capacity building project for the youths in the Village is ongoing. Under this project, youths are taught life and vocational skills and information technology.
We call on Mr. Granger to be respectful to our people and to desist from making statements that will cause disdain to our reputation. We are not as vulnerable as they may deem us to be and we are aware of our rights and privileges. We can speak on behalf of ourselves and do not wish to have our village affairs become infiltrated by persons with a thirst for power.
Yours faithfully
Hilderbrand James
Toshao
Aishalton Village, Region Nine
