Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. It is said to be tied with the illegal arms trade, as the second largest criminal activity, following the drug trade. An estimated US$9.5 billion is generated in annual revenue in terms of profit from all trafficking activities, with at least US$4 billion attributed to the worldwide brothel industry. Each year, over one million men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders, of which half are under the age of 18. Those are just a few of the staggering statistics according to the US Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report. There are other available reports and evidence of human trafficking around the world, but does human trafficking exist in T&T? There have been incidents over the years pointing in that direction. We often hear of several police raids at local brothels where young women from Colombia, Suriname etc are arrested, many of whom are under 18 years of age. But were they all brought here voluntarily, or deceived by false promises?
What about when the media reported in March last year that there was a container of children on the port? This resulted in a complete shutdown of the port as rumours spread throughout the country that the container was about to be shipped out. Then Police Commissioner James Philbert eventually stated in a media release that after thorough checks were made by the relevant authorities, the allegations were only rumours. There is wide speculation to this day that the incident was real but was covered up to avoid a nationwide panic, especially by parents whose children are still missing. This leads to another peculiar incident. The media again reported in April last year that a 14-year-old boy was on his way to school in the front seat of a PH taxi with three students of another school in the back seat. The three other students were dropped off at their destination. Shortly after, all the boy could remember was the place being "dark" and someone removing rope off his feet on a boat with six men. He pretended to be knocked out, waited for the men to go to the front of the boat, then slipped into the water, swam to shore and ran straight to a nearby police station.
And some of us will remember the 11-year-old schoolgirl who vanished more than a decade ago from her home near Arima. She was on her way to school and was last seen by her parents entering a private car in front of her home. Local and international investigations throughout the years all indicate that human trafficking is a reality, luring children and women to be sold. Children were said to fetch a higher price because they live longer, while both children and adults are mostly used as sex slaves or slave labour. It has also been reported that those owing money to drug lords abduct victims in lieu of payment. No country is immune from human trafficking, which is a heinous crime and an abuse of human rights. The most vulnerable are targeted for exploitation with promises of employment, educational opportunities, marriage, and a better life. In fact, according to reports, countries considered the highest in human trafficking in the world include Nigeria, Thailand, China, Albania, and Ukraine, while the most common destinations for trafficked victims include Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Turkey and the US. There are varied global responses by governments and NGOs to human trafficking. The Missing Persons Association of T&T was founded in November, 2009 and seeks to provide support to families who have reported missing relatives and to raise awareness of human trafficking.
NGOs in other countries also raise public awareness and create public outrage so that people will be discouraged from using goods and services provided by traffickers and recruiters. Many government agencies, however, rely on victims coming forward. But in the US, for example, most victims do not speak English and are afraid to be deported. Some of them do not even know where they are. It's true that not every missing person in T&T is a victim of hu-man trafficking. Unfortunately, some of them turn up dead, while a small percentage return home a few days later. After a series of young women and children went missing in 2008, then Police Commissioner Philbert stated early last year that the Police Service had found no evidence of human trafficking in this country. So how then do you explain the hundreds of young people who disappear, without a trace, never to be seen or heard from again? If drugs and arms trafficking are already rampant in T&T and evidence seem to link them to the same type of criminal activities, then why deny the possibility of human trafficking?
Vashti Bowlah
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