AN 11-year-old girl was among several girls that were picked up from a bar in Baramita, North-West District, Barima-Waini Region 1 on Saturday night following a visit by Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection Simona Broomes and several high-level government officials.Subsequently, the child was brought to Georgetown and an investigation has been launched into the matter. Minister Broomes said that the child is fully cooperating with police; however, because it is a highly sensitive issue, the findings will not be publicised. The child was seen in school on Friday when Minister Broomes along with Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs Sydney Allicock and Minister within the Ministry of Communities Dawn Hastings-Williams visited the community and engaged the students of the Baramita Primary School on the importance of education and trafficking in persons (TIP).
According to Minister Broomes, the child is being kept in a safe home and the parents were contacted and are also assisting with the investigation. In responding to a call to sweep the community of Baramita, Minister Broomes proceeded to conduct house-to-house visits, and met with parents who expressed concern about their teenaged daughters being exploited.
Minister Broomes explained that Cabinet has approved her working along with the Minister of Governance to tackle some of the issues in mining areas of which Baramita is one. It is for this reason that she will be on the ground tackling the issues of health and safety, child labour, and TIP.
Minister Broomes visited the bars in Baramita and educated the owners about the laws governing the age of persons consuming alcohol. She said that if shop owners are caught selling alcohol to children then the law must take its course. The illegal shops located along Golden City (the backdam) have been served notices to remove by November 1.
Minister Broomes observed that there was a five-year-old disabled child that was lying on the floor in a house clothes-less. She cannot walk nor speak. “The previous government has failed the people of Baramita. They talk so much of the development of Amerindians, yet the people are suffering… Not even the Toshao himself knew that there is a child with disability in the village…I want to encourage families that if you have a child with a disability do not be ashamed, they are human beings and let us love them, see how best you can assist them and ensure they get the right medical attention,” Minister Broomes stressed. She immediately instructed the toshao to provide a mattress for the child.
She advised that the coalition government will be placing a lot of emphasis on persons with disabilities and added that the Minister of Public Health will be engaged in the matter to ensure that the child is properly examined and is provided with a wheelchair. She will also be reporting the matter to Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence to ensure that the child receives public assistance and is provided with a hamper.
Minister Broomes urged members of the National Toshaos Council and the Amerindian associations to assist the ministry in identifying persons with similar situations so that they can receive assistance.
“I have heard the cry of the people of Baramita, and I have already started to respond to them. The people were brave to say that they want me to sweep the community and they will do the mopping [up] after,” Minister Broomes emphasised. She has instructed the Village Council to identify at least three persons to be trained as welfare officers. (GINA)