Women are being trafficked from neighbouring Venezuela for labour and prostitution in mining sites near the Cuyuni River, says President of the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) Simona Broomes, who is calling for more support from government and law enforcement to address such situations.
Broomes, who described the situation as a “big problem,” told Stabroek News that after witnessing the plight of such women firsthand, she shared the information with Minister of Human Services and Social Security Jennifer Webster and Natural Resources and the Environment Minister Persaud, with the view of them investigating the situation.
“People have called me and reported this to me and I witnessed for myself,” Broomes told Sunday Stabroek in an interview.
She explained that after receiving reports, she travelled to a mining location on the Guyana side of the Cuyuni River, described as very isolated, and observed many Spanish-speaking women working in shops in the area. Although because of the language barrier, she was unable to effectively communicate with them, she learnt that a few of them were brought under false pretences and were being held against their will.
At least one of the women, who spoke English, told her that she was brought over to sell but when she arrived she was forced into prostitution. Although the woman wanted to leave, she had no money to do so, Broomes said. The woman also indicated that there were other women facing the same plight, she noted.
In its annual report on human trafficking, issued on June 19 this year, the US State Department again declared Guyana to be a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour. “The limited government control of Guyana’s vast interior regions, combined with profits from gold mining and the prostitution that accompanies the industry provide conditions conducive for trafficking,” the report said. Government, however, has maintained that the problem is at “a bare minimum.”
Broomes told Stabroek News that her organisation cannot attempt to address the problem without the support of the government and law enforcement. And a recent engagement with President Donald Ramotar and Minister Persaud did not leave her feeling very inspired.
The GWMO has been working closely with the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) to lobby for the mining industry and as a result, during a recent meeting with President Ramotar and Minister Persaud, she was invited by the GGDMA to participate. Broomes said she had reservations prior to the meeting, but attended anyway, only to have the issues she raised, including human trafficking, ignored by both the president and the minister.
Broomes recalled raising the issue of exploitation but said that she got no response from the president. She also spoke to the issue of small miners’ lands being taken away and the need for women in the interior to be trained, so that they could have more marketable skills.
President Ramotar, she said, mentioned that excavator operators are in such demand in the interior that rice farmers are unable to secure their services when needed and she took that opportunity to point out that her organisation has been lobbying for members to be trained as excavator operators. “But no response and neither did the president say okay we would meet with you and your organisation specially to deal with these issues and on the other hand the concerns that were raised by the GGDMA were all being addressed at that meeting,” she revealed, adding that both President Ramotar and Minister Persaud appeared to have listened to her but neither responded.
“So I felt completely ignored,” Broomes lamented.
She said it is of great concern to the GWMO that President Ramotar has not responded to their letters seeking to have an audience with him. She noted that one of the letters sent to the president was also copied to Minister Persaud and Prime Minister Sam Hinds as it was hoped they would have assisted in facilitating the meeting, but with no success. “One of the first persons we sought to have an audience with after the launching was the president and that has not happened,” Broomes said, noting that the organisation hopes to share with the Head of State the concerns of the many women who work for a living in the interior.
Broomes said her organisation wants to have a working relationship with the government because of what is happening in the mining sector.
“In fact, I feel that the things that we are doing should not have been our jobs but still we recognise that it is women who are suffering in the interior and we formed this organisation to help them with the support of the government and non-governmental organisations,” she said.
Late last week, Minister Persaud had another meeting with the GWMO—he has had several—and once again a number of issues were discussed, including the organisation’s lobby for a seat on the board of the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC), land to develop for small scale women miners. She explained that an application has been made and the minister has promised to give it some attention and that they also discussed a level playing field for small miners and training for women miners. Broomes is hoping that the meeting would this time bear fruit.
‘Tremendous support’
Broomes said while the organisation feels slighted by the government, it has received tremendous support from the some diplomatic missions and other NGOs.
Since coming into existence, the members of the organisation’s executive have visited some 10 mining locations to promote awareness about the GWMO among women and also to address various issues affecting them. The issues of human trafficking, HIV and exploitation were among the issues addressed.
“We have created a really exciting relationship with the police from the Bartica end and we have had healthy discussions with the Commissioner of Police in terms of assisting us in battling these issues,” Broomes explained.
She spoke about the arrangements they have with those manning the toll gate at Itabali, who alert them every time a young person is about to go into the interior and checks would be made to ascertain the circumstances under which they are travelling. Last month, this arrangement prevented a 13-year-old girl from sneaking into the interior and it was learnt that she had travelled to the interior before. The child was charged with wandering and the case is still in the Bartica Magistrate’s Court. Broomes said the girl was placed in the care of her mother and the organisation has been checking in with her to ensure that she remains with her mother.
Members of the organisation continue to get calls from persons throughout the mining sector, informing them of issues and according to Broomes they have a list of areas that are reported to be hotspots but she said they are hampered by the lack of finance and also concerns for their personal safety.
Although the GWMO is only seven months old, and has a membership of 424 persons at the last count, Broomes declared that it is here to stay, as the executive, comprising solely miners, recognised that for years the lives of women and young girls have been destroyed in the interior. She said while in coastal areas such atrocities are highlighted, for women in the interior they remain untold stories.
Men are even more empowered to abuse women in the interior, Broomes explained, because in most instances there are no police stations to make reports.
“The most she can do is swallow that in, take all the beating and beg for her life,” Broomes said, pointing out that should the woman even trek to find a station to make a report, by the time there is a response the man would have long since left the location.
Further, Broomes is concerned that the many young girls who escape exploitation in the interior are left to bear the emotional scars single-handedly with no counseling afterwards. “Some of them don’t want to tell their families, they are ashamed to tell their friends and they live [with] that and suffer as young girls and they are not able to be the young women that they could be. We just want these young girls to be given an opportunity for a better life,” Broomes said, adding that even if it is one girl at a time, the GWMO is prepared for the long haul. Broomes said while some might want to criticise the organisation’s work, it would not be daunted because the members have witnessed the suffering of women in the interior and cannot ignore it.
“We are not sitting in Georgetown, we are at the locations and we have firsthand information and more and more women are signing on to the organisation and we are more mobilised now than before,” she said.
Now, some members travelling to the interior would inform the organisation of the location to which they are headed and with whom. Members are also given a badge when they join and the organisation has an official database of all of its members completed with their photographs.
Meanwhile, a few members have since travelled to the US with the aim of importing equipment for which the government has waived the duty to expand their businesses. And there are also plans to travel to Canada to meet with the women’s miners’ organisation in that country in hopes of learning from its experience.
Next January, when the GWMO’s one year anniversary would be celebrated, Broomes said they plan to produce a report on the issues reported to them and how they addressed them. The report would also include suggestions on what needs to be done to improve the lives of women working in the interior and also what they have achieved in improving the lives of their members and women in the sector at large.
