Dear Editor,
Being on top of Trafficking-in-Persons must be maintained. No slackness must be entertained. I have heard of TIP rings in Guyana, and it seems true as I read recently of the two sting operations, one at Prashad Nagar, Georgetown, and the other at the Benab Bar and Night Club, Better Hope North, East Coast Demerara. The report stated that a total of seven female foreign nationals were picked up and interviewed. This is indeed good work by our law enforcers and they deserve credit for doing this kind of work. In England, back in November, seventeen people were arrested in raids across east London in an international human trafficking investigation. At the end, 29 women aged 20 to 40 were rescued in the operation. The potential victims were taken to a “place of safety”, and the suspects, 14 men and three women, were being processed for the courts. My point is that TIP is a crime of international concern, and all countries must do their part.
According to the US Department of State’s 2021 Trafficking-in-Persons Report, Guyana is indeed doing its share to combat this horrible crime. The report highlighted that Guyana retained its Tier 1 ranking for its efforts in combatting human trafficking for the fifth consecutive year with an anti-trafficking hotline in Spanish (the first of its kind in the country), and a total of 204 victims identified and given government assistance. What was commendable is the fact that Guyana and The Bahamas were again, the only two Caribbean countries to attain the Tier 1 ranking, as most of the other Caribbean countries are on Tier 2. This is something to really feel good about. Just recently here, the Human Services and Social Security Ministry’s Counter Trafficking-in-Person (C-TIP) unit hosted a two-day training for Special Constables. So, I guess that the fruit of this input is already becoming obvious. During the training, it was stressed that trafficking issues must go all the way to the courts, and I am most pleased that this bust seems headed in this direction. Guyana is a melting pot in this new ‘oil and gas’ era, and the relevant authorities are well tuned to be prompt with anything to do with this horrible crime. To be questioned more in this bust are a bartender, proprietor and a taxi driver, who were detained by the Police to assist with investigations by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
This point about really stepping up on trafficking was really pressed home by Vindhya Persaud, Minister of Human Services and Social Security. During the workshop, she made it clear that “Identifying the traffickers is the biggest problem, but if they’re not stopped more will join them. The only way to end this is to put these people behind bars; if they feel they can get off, they won’t stop. Let’s go out there stronger together. Trafficking in Persons is a heinous crime against people.”
Concerning the seriousness of this crime, no other than the Attorney General himself, Anil Nandlall, back in June made some strong statements, and these align with the sentiments of Minister Vindhya Persaud. The AG was emphatic, explaining that Guyana has an international obligation to curb the occurrence of human trafficking, regardless of what stage it is being done here. He stated that “Guyana is part of a global village and Guyana, as every country in that village, is required to sign on to international conventions and is expected to execute certain protocols which are required internationally.” As we have been noticing more and more, lots of foreigners are coming here to Guyana. Most of them are quite vulnerable, as they were forced to flee here because of some bad home situations. I think of the Venezuelans in this regard, and Guyana must not allow these people to be exploited in any way at all. Neither must they themselves be allowed to exploit one another, by colluding with rapacious ring leaders. I hope that this taste of success by our lawmen will inspire them to keep a tight noose on the situation. I also hope that it will dissuade those who are contemplating being involved in this crime, and those who are currently in it, to really clean up their act and live honourable lives.
Sincerely,
Prescott Mann