ON the occasion of Human Trafficking Awareness Day, observed last Sunday January 11, 2015, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Ms Jennifer Webster stated, inter alia: “The Government of Guyana continues to make significant strides through the collaborative efforts of the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking In Persons, together with non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders in Guyana.“Taking into consideration the global impact of this phenomenon, decisive action is required at the national and regional levels in order to respond effectively and efficiently to the vulnerabilities that increase the likelihood of persons being victims of trafficking in persons.

“Today, all over the world men, women and children are victims of human trafficking – labour and sexual exploitation. To help fight this social disease, the Government of Guyana has initiated a four paradigm approach, namely: Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Partnership.

“Government enacted legislation in 2005 – The Combating of Trafficking In Persons Act, 2005 to combat this scourge specifically, that hinders the development of its citizens…”

The minister went on to list the many interventions and initiatives that the Government has utilised to combat this heinous scourge, whereby men, women and children are bartered like cattle in the marketplace for profit and/or pleasure.
However, Guyana has limited resources, vast hinterland spaces and open borders so it is almost impossible to effectively police the areas where such evil is most likely and does occur.
Persons, including children are lured through some pretext or the other and then fall prey to the unscrupulous devils who barter with human lives.
The tragic outcomes are documented throughout the world in one sick scenario or another and it seems this is a fight already lost because the instances where, either through trickery or forcible abduction, persons are taken from families and traded into lives of unimaginable horror, most often vanishing without a trace.

The only way this fight can be effective is if every human being become each other’s keepers, looking out for the suspicious characters in communities, suspicious movements; and a system where such suspicions can be investigated, with a possible rescue in successful operations.
Even if one life is saved out of a thousand false alarms, then such an endeavour would be well worth the effort.
Legislation without requisite enforcement is senseless; so prosecution of perpetrators should be swift and harsh enough to act as a warning to others engaged in such heinous actions against their fellow humans.