Dear Editor,
So the issue of trafficking in persons has finally caught the attention of the National Assembly.
As reasonably regular readers of the daily newspapers, we are aware that the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) led by Simona Broomes has on at least four occasions before this week, been reported as rescuing young women and children or exposing trafficking-type situations in the interior. We do not recall any Member of Parliament using the occasion of these reports to express concern (is it the threat of violence or the outing of a police officer’s alleged involvement that makes this Puruni report different?) On the government side we can only recall defensiveness and denials in the face of the US State Department reports on Trafficking in Persons (TIP). Yet for many years, not only the International Organisation on Migration but some of us here have been providing information about internal trafficking in persons; indeed, the first public statement by Red Thread was carried in the Guyana Review, a very useful magazine in which Mr David Granger played a lead role.
The Prime Minister’s recent expression of government concern is welcome, but his statement about putting protocols in place raises alarms; the Trafficking in Persons Act was assented to in 2005, more than enough time for protocols to be consulted on and implemented, especially given Mr Rohee’s attempt to celebrate the existence and work of the Ministerial Task Force on TIP.
Now that the National Assembly is united in its concern about trafficking in persons, which is one kind of modern-day slavery (bonded labour, which we have also seen in Guyana, is another), we have the following expectations:
The protocols will include provisions to prosecute officials high and low who are found to be complicit in trafficking operations.
All government offices/officers stationed in the interior will be formally assigned to be on the lookout for trafficking.
The government will establish secure transit housing in all the interior “launching communities” (Bartica, Mahdia, Matthews Ridge, Port Kaituma, and so on).
The trafficking in persons training to be conducted for all officials and ‘frontline workers’ will make it clear that the trafficked person is a victim and not a criminal. This means that at every stage of the rescue and investigation the victim’s comfort, safety and wellbeing must be the first priority. The support given must also be ongoing and not one-off.
In recognition of their unique location in the interior, and their activism in this area, the GWMO will be resourced by the government to deepen their watchdog and rescue operations. This does not mean, however, that the work should be left to them.
Recognising that poverty makes girls and young women in particular, vulnerable to trafficking and sexual exploitation, the government will provide the means for those rescued to acquire options for the future rather than simply return them to poverty.
Notwithstanding historic practices that are frequently ignored or dismissed as cultural, the several laws now in place which are aimed at protecting those who are vulnerable will be enforced, and the resources allocated to ensure this is done effectively.
The Ministry of Human Services’ TIP unit, which is so inadequate that as an attempt to address trafficking in persons it is a sad joke, will be properly resourced and trained.
We want to make it clear that what we are calling for is aimed at ending the exploitation of girls and women (the great majority of those trafficked), not at restricting the rights of girls and women, Guyanese and non-Guyanese.
Respect due to the Guyana Women Miners Organisation for the rescue and for forcing Guyana’s politicians to promise action. Let’s ensure that the action is taken.
Yours faithfully,
Karen de Souza,
Andaiye
For Red Thread
