By Shauna Jemmott

THE Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) is calling on the relevant authorities to rescue a 10-year-old child, who is suspected to be a victim of Trafficking in Persons (TIP), before it is too late.GWMO President Urica Primus told the Guyana Chronicle in a recent interview that her organisation is deeply concerned that a 10-year-old sister of the pregnant 12-year-old girl who was rescued by the organisation is still in her father’s custody and could be facing greater danger. The child is one of the two underage girls rescued from the “backdam” in Port Kaituma and transported to Georgetown on medical referral from a medex in the area after it was observed that their blood pressure was extremely low.
On January 15, 2016, Stephanie Miguel, a Region One representative of the GWMO, and Fiona Hudson rescued two young girls. They were brought to Georgetown by health officials from Region One. The girls, a 13 year old with a nine-day-old baby and a 12-year-old who was five months pregnant, were diagnosed with low blood pressure.
TRAFFICKED BY THEIR FATHER
The pregnant girl indicated to the GWMO in a statement that she and her 10-year-old sister had been trafficked by their father who took them to mining camps and logging sites as sex workers for adult men in exchange for small bags of groceries or some cash.
The girls were among three children to have witnessed their mother’s gruesome treatment allegedly by their father, which led to the woman’s death.
Last October the organisation reported to this publication that the the girls’ mother had done a caesarian section delivery and when she was discharged days after, her husband requested sexual intercourse. The woman refused because she was not physically ready, but the man raped her and dragged her through their yard after she began haemorrhaging profusely, leaving her there to die.
The children’s cries had alerted neighbours who tried to transport her out of the “backdam” area but she died before.
The organisation has since been concerned about the children’s safety, even after they were prevented from attending their mother’s funeral. It was reported that the children were in the custody of their aunt and grandmother, but the Guyana Chronicle is unclear as to how they returned to their father.
The GWMO had sent a letter to various government ministries, including the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs and the Ministry of Social Protection calling for their intervention in this and other matters, but reports are that the man is still at large and has done further damage to the lives of his vulnerable children.
PREGNANT KIDS
The GWMO is also concerned that a 12-year-old pregnant mother may not receive justice if the Ministry of Social Protection and the Guyana Police Force do not involve the organisation in its investigations.
The 12-year-old girl was transported from the “backdam” area of Port Kaituma a few weeks ago by the GWMO to the Port Kaituma Hospital, where a Medex who examined her and a 13-year-old maternity patient with child, referred them to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for further medical care.
Primus said the organisation is disappointed with the way they have been pushed aside from being a key part of the investigations, since the pregnant girl trusted the members of the group enough to disclose information which revealed that she was trafficked.
Since the two girls were transported to Georgetown, Primus said, “The organisation has cared for and supported them for the weeks that they were hospitalised [and] during this process, one of the girls recounted to various members of the organisation that her father would take her to various mining camps, where she was forced to have sexual relations with miners for a small bag of food.”
The GWMO President expressed disappointment that the organisation was not informed when the police were taking the statements from the girls, and were not aware of what information was revealed. She said after following up the issue they realised that this information was not included in the girl’s statement. The Child Protection Agency and the Counter-Trafficking Unit (CTU) were notified.
The GWMO requested to be present while statements were taken from the girls, since they had already shared a relationship of trust with the organisation to reveal certain sensitive information. One month has passed and the pregnant girl has not yet given the police or the CTU information leading to the rescue of her younger sister, who remains a victim of TIP.
“Creating a more comfortable environment for the victims only aids in them opening up and revealing more; which results in them getting justice for all that they have experienced. Our sentiments were not shared, since we were denied our request. It has been one month since both girls have been in the city. They are yet to open up to the Counter-Trafficking Unit. This is an unnecessary delay of justice.”
Primus said that all efforts should be made in the best interest of the victims and she is not pleased with the approach of the Ministry of Social Protection in handling the matter.