PRIME Minister Samuel Hinds has reiterated that the Guyana Government is in condemnation of all forms of exploitation, including sexual exploitation and trafficking in persons, and is pressing to have measures in place to reduce the occurrence in society.
Hinds was at the time responding to reports in the media yesterday, that four teenaged-girls were rescued by members of the Guyana Women Miners Organisation.
The matter was raised by Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition Brigadier (rtd) David Granger, as a matter of urgent public importance at the start of yesterday’s sitting of the National Assembly.
Granger, at the opening of the parliamentary session, raised the matter particularly as it relates to the fact that there was no proper accommodation in place for the young girls, having been rescued from the mining camp in the Puruni region.
According to Granger, to have persons rescued from such an incident only to be placed on a ‘bench in the police station’ is unacceptable.
Granger invited representatives of the state to cooperate with the various stakeholders as a matter of priority.
He said that there must be measures in place to ensure that rescued persons are treated in a humane manner.
Granger told the House that it is a fact that “trafficking in persons is a reality…. we have to bring this scourge to an end.’
The opposition leader asked that the plight of the rescued young ladies be placed as a matter of priority for the executive.
Hinds told the House that while the initial information on the incident did surface in the newspaper report, the young ladies have since been transported to the city and are in the care of the Childcare and Protection Agency and probation officers.
He said too that the Ministry of Amerindian has since also taken on an active role in the issue, even as he publicly expressed an appreciation of the work of the Women Miners Association headed by Simone Broomes.
Hinds told the House that the administration is actively considering measures to be put in place to ensure that such incidents do not recur.
He indicated also that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will be actively engaged in the process to ensure that the laws are respected and observed also in the interior regions, where mining takes place.
“Government is very much against these kinds of things that seem to be occurring in Puruni,” assured Prime Minister Hinds.
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Deborah Backer, who presided over yesterday’s sitting of the House, indicated that it was heartening to see “that the Assembly can close ranks on an issue like this…it’s a national problem that we need to see to solve.”
Alliance for Change’s Executive Member, Cathy Hughes, who also holds a seat in the National Assembly, told the House that the issue should be of concern to all Guyanese and “we need to ensure that firm solutions are found.”
Hughes suggested that in the interim, the administration should explore partnering with Non-Governmental Organisations or churches in a bid to create a safe space for persons that would have been rescued from similar situations.
According to reports, President of the Guyana Women Miners Association on Sunday last rescued the four female teens from the mining camp in Puruni, where they were reportedly being held against their will.
The teenagers, aged 14 to 18 were, subsequently taken to the Bartica Police Station, as there were no other accommodation in place to deal with the situation.
According to reports, the operators of the mining camp from which the young ladies were rescued had allegedly assaulted Broomes during the rescue mission.
