Dear Editor,
There is an injustice which seems to be playing out in the name of responding to trafficking in persons in Guyana. We have seen recently again, where it is reported that a ‘rescue’ operation took place. A few days later, those rescued are named and shamed, pictures and all, in the media “for overstaying”. It is reported that they are deported from Guyana. The traffickers are not charged.
The stories are complex about how people move to seek living. Guyanese have lived and overstayed in other countries, many of them supporting the economy in Guyana.
Fortunately, the media no longer names and shames the people who have been ‘deported’ to Guyana. There is a callousness though in the way in which Guyana seems to want to treat the mostly women, who are ‘rescued’, charged and deported. Ironically, the recommendations of the Palermo Protocol ‒ “In appropriate cases and to the extent possible under its domestic law, each State Party shall protect the privacy and identity of victims of trafficking in persons, including, inter alia, by making legal proceedings relating to such trafficking confidential” are thrown out of the window here in Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Vidyaratha Kissoon
