US Counselor calls for end to modern-day slavery

Aug 01, 2015 News

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“We each must make a difference by taking the responsibility to protect each other from modern-day slavery,” Political and Economic Counselor, D. James Bjorkman, of the United States Embassy yesterday underscored in a statement which sought to emphasize Trafficking in Persons (TIP) as a global challenge.
“It is time to be frank. The world has a human trafficking problem. The United States has a human trafficking problem. Guyana has a human trafficking problem,” said Bjorkman. This problem is one that needs to be addressed.
“We all have to fight it – together; we are all humans; we are all connected, and we have to look out for the common human interest. Not only can we each make a difference…” he added.
The US Department of State’s 2015 TIP Report which was released on July 27 revealed that Guyana was placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for the third year in a row. While the Report concludes that Guyana does not yet fully meet the minimum international standards for the elimination of trafficking, it recognizes that the country is making significant efforts to do so.
However it was noted that one area of grave concern is the failure to hold convicted human traffickers accountable.
Despite the pervasiveness of the problem, only eight individuals have ever been convicted for trafficking in persons in Guyana – three in 2012, one in 2013, one in 2014, and two in 2015. Of those eight people, every single one of them (including this year’s convictions) has been released on bail, pending appeal.
“None of these alleged traffickers are currently being punished for their crimes. Not only does this put their victims at risk for reprisal or re-trafficking, such treatment is unlikely to provide any deterring effect on potential traffickers,” said Bjorkman.
As such he noted that the 2015 Report suggests that Guyana vigorously investigate and prosecute sex and labour trafficking cases and hold convicted traffickers accountable with time in prison that is commensurate with the severity of the crime.
He said, too, that while the US prepares the annual TIP Report it is not intended to criticize but rather to call attention to a serious global threat.
“By calling attention to the problem, we seek to stimulate discussion, attention, and most importantly action. I say again: we have a global human trafficking problem.  We believe that only a concerted global effort can bring this human tragedy from the shadows into the light,” Bjorkman outlined.
He said that Government while on the campaign trail and since taking office has repeated a pledge to attack the TIP problem. “I am both hopeful and optimistic that progress will be made this year.
“To help make this progress, the United States Government stands ready to assist by increasing the capacity of law enforcement personnel and other relevant ministries,” related Bjorkman.
Recently the US funded the travel of six Guyanese officials to the TIP and Child Exploitation Course at the International Law Enforcement Academy in El Salvador.
“We also are procuring funding to work with several local NGOs to help increase their ability to help fight trafficking and assist victims,” said the Political and Economic Counselor.
He went on to detail a number of facts that are suggestive of TIP activities.
Although more than 20 million people today are trapped in the modern-day slavery, oftentimes it is difficult to recognize the signs of a trafficking victim.
So what does a victim of trafficking look like? A victim can look like the cook at a mining camp near Mahdia; the victim may be the store-hand on Regent Street in Georgetown; the boy working in the cane fields of Region Six, the barmaid in Baramita; the logger in Region Ten; the girls working in Kaimus in the Rupununi.
“They look like your sister. They look like your brother. They look like us. They look like what they are – the sons and daughters of Guyana; the sons and daughters of Suriname, Venezuela, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and our neighbours across the globe. And they may have come from any background.”
What makes someone a trafficking victim? The technical legal definition is explained in the full 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report (http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/).
The principle underpinning trafficking is the exploitation of someone – either in forced labour or forced prostitution. Any child under 18 years of age subjected to prostitution is also a trafficking victim by definition.
At the heart of this phenomenon is the traffickers’ goal of exploiting and enslaving their victims and the coercive and deceptive practices they use to do so. But according to Bjorkman, “One of the most terrifying aspects of trafficking in persons is that many people are tricked into becoming victims.”
Their stories, according to him, often begin with aspirations for a better life and a lack of options to fulfill them. Traffickers exploit these ambitions.
A young woman from the Coastland who is offered a job as a barmaid in the Hinterland might arrive to find that she is being forced into sex work.  An agricultural worker could be promised a lucrative job, but his employer forces him into debt bondage by charging the employee exorbitant prices for necessary goods or services like housing, food, or transportation.
In such cases, such people find that they are unable to leave jobs in mines, factories, and agricultural fields, on construction sites and fishing boats, or escape the commercial sex trade, which often flourishes alongside these industries.
Moreover, he noted that “Each of us can make a difference, so let us all commit or recommit ourselves to the eradication of trafficking in persons.
“Much like the scourge of domestic violence, human trafficking thrives in the shadows. It flourishes when good people do and say nothing.”
Bjorkman therefore urged that people do not “turn a blind eye to your sister behind the bar, to your brother working the fields. The saying goes that sunlight is the best disinfectant. So let us shine a piercing and illuminating light on the plague of trafficking in persons by speaking out.”
“If you see something suspicious or out of the ordinary, report it to the authorities. If a friend or family member is in a vulnerable situation, ask them if they are okay. Ask if they are trapped,” added Bjorkman.

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