by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ
“The trade in human persons constitutes a shocking offense against human dignity and a grave violation of fundamental human rights. … Such situations are an affront to fundamental values which are shared by all cultures and peoples, values rooted in the very nature of the human person.” (Pope John Paul II)
As we enter Holy Week and journey with Christ to Calvary, let us remember the enormity of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. This should send us from the images of Christ crucified on Calvary to the images of Christ crucified on the highways and byways in T&T/the world.
It is because of the cross that we must be “communicators of hope” (Pope John Paul II) and work tirelessly to build God’s Kingdom here on earth. Human Trafficking is one area that needs urgent attention in T&T. This form of modern day slavery is an affront to the dignity of the human person, made in the image and likeness of God. Globally, it is tied with the illegal arms trade, as the second largest criminal activity, following the drug trade.
The Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes (1965) refers to scourges that insult human dignity (e.g. slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children) as “infamies”. Heartless people are making billions of dollars on the misery of those they traffic. The United Nations estimates “nearly 2.5 million people from 127 different countries are being trafficked around the world” (Wikipedia). Approximately 80 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors.
In the 2010 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report, T&T dropped from Tier 2 (Significant efforts to comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act – TVPA), to Tier Two Watch List, We need to comply with at least the TVPA’s minimum standards.
CCSJ is pleased to note that our Government is taking action which will hopefully ensure that we do not fall to the final Tier – Tier 3 (No efforts to comply with TVPA). The piloting of the Trafficking of Persons Bill 2011 in the House of Representatives recently is to be welcomed. We desperately need legislation to give effect to United Nations protocols banning/criminalising human trafficking.
National Security Minister, Hon John Sandy, said in Parliament that T&T is on the US watch list of countries noted as a transit and destination point for human trafficking and may be a source/country of origin also. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Suruj Rambachan, added that T&T was described in the US 2010 trafficking report as a destination for forced prostitution of women and children and forced labour for men. He said there are reports of people from Guyana and small Caribbean islands being held as virtual slaves in homes in Trinidad, “working as supposedly maidservants”. He also referred to reports of people being smuggled into T&T through Moruga, Carli Bay and Cedros.
During this Lenten period, let us remember that Christ died on the cross for all of us – including those who are trafficked as prostitutes, strippers, drug mules, smugglers, child soldiers; or who are smuggled, raped or used for pornography and forced labour; or whose body parts are sold. Where are our missing people in T&T?
We must speed up action to meet at least the minimum standards required to counter all forms of human trafficking. The four Ps apply to us also: prosecution, protection, prevention and partnership. As the US report states, “a victim-centred approach to trafficking requires us equally to address the “three Rs” – rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration.
The TVPA states that “the purpose of combating human trafficking is to ensure just and effective punishment of traffickers, to protect their victims, and to prevent trafficking.” At times we see women, who may have been trafficked to work as prostitutes in brothels and clubs in T&T, being taken to Court, fined, imprisoned if they can’t pay the fine, and then deported. How many traffickers have we successfully prosecuted? What about the ‘big boys’ who are raking in the money on the backs of our brothers and sisters?
We can all raise our awareness of the indicators of trafficking by accessing information/tool kits such as that on the website: www.humantrafficking.org. I encourage parishes to organise events, such as an open forum or discussion group, to raise parishioners’ awareness of this issue.
Since we are all diminished by this evil, we all have a role to play in eliminating it.
