Dear Editor,
Congratulations are in order for our Government, as it has fully met “…the minimum standards for the elimination of Trafficking in Persons (TIP).” This is according to a report released by the US State Department a few days ago. The details show that the Guyana Government has continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts. And this was certainly exemplified recently.
In fact, I saw that the news reported on a 33-year-old Haitian, identified as Michelet Murat, who appeared before Magistrate Alex Moore at the Number 51 Village Magistrate’s Court, where he pleaded guilty to illegally entering the country. Murat was arrested on June 28, 2021, for having arrived in Guyana by sea and disembarking without the consent of an immigration officer. Thus, he was charged and fined $15,000, or three weeks’ imprisonment.
Lest we forget, I remind Guyanese that ten persons without passports or any form of identification, claiming to be Haitians, were found at the Swiss Hotel, Skeldon, Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six, in mid-June.
Adding to this, before the said month was over, fifty Haitian nationals, including two children, were found by law enforcement officials along the Lethem trail. All of them are under the radar, as investigations are revving up.
Indeed, Guyana has been doing its part on the ground.
At the legislative forum, it is even more intense where Guyana is concerned. All and sundry are now aware that President Ali has imposed a “visa” requirement for Haitians entering Guyana. This stemmed from the fact that most of the 38,000 Haitians, who arrived here in Guyana since 2015, cannot be accounted for.
The suspicion is that Guyana is being used as a conduit, since the rumour has it that “…most of these persons have in fact left illegally, using the “backtrack” to either Suriname or Brazil…”
What we need to all do is to pay careful attention to words enshrined in the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC), saying that “migrant smuggling”: “Smuggling of Migrants is a crime involving the procurement for financial or other material benefit of illegal entry of a person into a State of which that person is not a national or resident. It undermines the integrity of countries and communities, and costs thousands of people their lives every year.”
I recall all too well that in February, the Brazilian Federal Police arrested 27 immigrants who entered Bom Fim illegally via Guyana’s borders. The Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) had noted that of those arrested, there were 26 Haitian nationals and one Cuban.
Recently, Brazil’s Federal Police and CANU signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to share information and conduct joint operations, involving narcotics and other criminal activities.
So, the response from Guyana is good, that is, the increase in cooperation and more measures that are very stringent, as it seems a fact that in Guyana “…there is a huge Trafficking In Persons and human smuggling ring, including children, taking place in the region and Guyana is being used as a transit point in this racket, which includes Cubans, Nigerians and Haitians, among others.”
On the humanitarian side, the US report also points to the assistance that the Government of Guyana has given to victims of violence and trafficking. To this end, it was noted that “Victims could receive shelter, food, training, and psychological therapy”.
The report also points to the efforts of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, which has funded transportation costs and police escorts for victims staying outside a shelter, as well as the granting of deportation relief to 135 foreign victims.
Yours truly,
Attiya Baksh
