Attention will be placed on education and enforcement coupled with strong emphasis on building stable families to combat trafficking-in-persons.President David Granger yesterday in acknowledging the urgency to address the problem identified extreme poverty as one of the chief causes of the scourge. The situations are many, he said, noting that among them include children dropping out of school to help take care of their families. These circumstances, he said exposes children’s vulnerability to traffickers.
“They could be forced to live in circumstances under conditions which confined them to some form of forced prostitution,” Granger said, stressing that greater focus has to be placed on the family in addressing the problem. The Head of State laments the plights of many young and underage girls who are induced and enticed by persons who make false promises to them. Many are promised jobs in the hinterland but when they got there, they are forced into prostitution.
“When we speak about social cohesion, we speak about respectful relations but we also speak about enforcement,” the President said, pointing out that more has to be done to equip the police to go after human traffickers. Granger also mentioned of receiving reports which point to certain areas where young girls are traffic. They are taken to the backdams and their mothers cannot go to rescue them because they do not have transportation.
And the very miners, who probably did the trafficking, are the ones who have the ATVs to carry the police into the backdam. “Things are going on there and we need to address it,” he said, noting that while some persons in the past have contended that the people make a choice, there is no way a 14-year-old girl can make such a decision. “We will be working on both the education and enforcement fronts to address the problem. We will try to keep the girls in school. These persons have to be re-educated and counsel… it is the duty of the Government to protect citizens from trafficking,” he said.
Safe homes
The intention of the Administration is to place trafficking victims at the safe home in Mahaica and a half-way home when they are brought in from the interior regions.
Granger said whether it is Bartica or Mahaica, the victims will be brought out, counselled, reunited with their families and sent back to school. “The best place for young women to grow up is in the family, a family that loves and cares for them. That’s what we want to see,” the President said, noting that more women police officers will be enlisted in the fight to against human trafficking.
According to the US Department of State 2015 Trafficking-in-Persons report, Guyana is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour.
“Women and children from Guyana, Venezuela, Suriname, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic are subjected to sex trafficking in mining communities in the interior and in urban areas. Victims are subjected to forced labour in the mining, agriculture, and forestry sectors, as well as in domestic service and shops,” the report said. It added that children are particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking and forced labour, and noted that limited Government presence in the interior renders the full scope of trafficking crimes unknown. “Guyanese nationals are subjected to sex and labour trafficking in Suriname, Jamaica, and other countries in the Caribbean region. Some police officers are complicit in trafficking crimes, and corruption impedes anti-trafficking efforts,” the report pointed out. It said despite some measures, the Government did not demonstrate overall increasing anti-trafficking efforts compared to the previous reporting period, and cited this as a reason Guyana is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for a third consecutive year.

By Tajeram Mohabir