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Human trafficking in the Caribbean - the experience of seven countries
By Andrea Downer, Freelance writer
How individual countries were reviewed
The five Caribbean countries, which were included in last year’s US Trafficking in People (TIP) report were reviewed as follows:
HAITI
Haiti is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour. The majority of trafficking in Haiti involves the internal movement of children for forced domestic labour, referred to as "restaveks." The "restavek" tradition is widespread in Haiti, and fraught with abuse. It involves situations in which poor mothers give custody of their children to more affluent families, in the hope that they will receive an education and economic opportunities. However, the reality is more often a situation of severe mistreatment, abuse, and long hours of uncompensated hard labour. The Government of Haiti estimates there are 90,000-120,000 children in coercive labor conditions as restaveks, but UNICEF estimates the number is much higher — between 250,000 and 300,000. There is also significant cross-border trafficking between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Notably, women and girls are trafficked into Haiti for prostitution; Haitians are trafficked to the Dominican Republic for forced labour. Observers estimate 2,500-3,000 Haitian children are trafficked annually into the Dominican Republic. On a smaller scale, Haiti is also a source and transit country for illegal migration, much of it bound for the U.S. and Canada, and some of these illegal migrants may be forced into labour to repay smuggling debts. The report states that the ongoing political unrest in Haiti compounds the problem.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
The Dominican Republic is a source, transit, and destination country for persons trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour. Dominican women and children are trafficked to destinations in Latin America and Europe , including Spain , Germany , Italy , Costa Rica , and Brazil . There are indications that Peruvian women have been trafficked through the Dominican Republic to Italy . Additionally, Haitians are trafficked into the Dominican Republic for forced labour and sexual exploitation. Haitian children are trafficked into the Dominican Republic to work on the street (such as shoe shining), in agriculture, or to be exploited in the sex trade. The ILO estimates that 48,000 children are engaged in child labour nationwide.
SURINAME
Suriname is principally a transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Men, women, and children are also trafficked internally for forced domestic and commercial labour and sexual exploitation. Most women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation come from Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Colombia; they either remain in Suriname or continue to Europe for additional sexual exploitation. Girls from rural areas are promised work in cities and then trapped in situations of domestic servitude or sexual exploitation; other children are trafficked for sexual exploitation to mining camps in Suriname’s remote interior. Chinese nationals transiting Suriname risk debt bondage to migrant smugglers who place them into forced labour.
CUBA
Cuba is a source country for children trafficked internally for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced child labour. Trafficking victims from all over Cuba are exploited in major cities and tourist resorts. There are no reliable estimates available on the extent of trafficking in the country; however, the instances of children in prostitution are widely apparent, even to casual observers. These children are sometimes trafficked into prostitution by their families and exploited by foreign tourists. Anecdotal evidence suggests that workers at state-run hotels, travel company employees, taxicab drivers, bar and restaurant workers, and law enforcement personnel are complicit in the commercial sexual exploitation of minors. Cuban forced labour victims include children coerced into working in conditions of involuntary servitude in commercial agriculture.
JAMAICA
Jamaica is a source country for children trafficked internally for the purpose of sexual exploitation. A 2001 ILO report cited that more than 100 minors, both boys and girls, are involved in Jamaica’s sex trade. Precise numbers of trafficking victims are difficult to establish due to the underground and under-acknowledged nature of trafficking in the country. Victims often travel from rural areas to urban and tourist centers where they are trafficked into prostitution, sometimes with the encouragement or complicity of their families. Jamaica is a transit country for illegal migrants moving to the U.S. and Canada; some may be trafficking victims. Jamaicans are also trafficked into forced labour in the United States.
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Kingston , 08 March 2006 (Panos) - The state of regional human trafficking in seven Caribbean countries was presented in an exploratory study of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).Many other Caribbean countries are affected as well by the crime of human trafficking, as source, transit or destination countries.
The study, which was done last year, revealed that trans-border human trafficking exists in Barbados, the Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, the Netherlands Antilles and Suriname.
According to the study, some of the people who are brought illegally into these countries are forced into labour. Coordinator of the study, Ashley Garrett, said traffickers use the illegal status of their “workers” to control and take advantage of them.
“Sometimes the (trafficker) would say, ‘Your situation is better than what you left. So if you’re working for seven days a week, getting paid minimally or not getting paid at all, we’re still providing you with some room and board. So that’s OK’,” Ms. Garret said. However, based on international definitions and much national legislation in the countries in question, what the employers are doing is illegal and constitutes forced labour.
Could CARICOM contribute to trafficking?
At least one Caribbean country has expressed the fear that the freedom of movement that Caribbean nationals will enjoy as part of the Caribbean Community, could result in an increase in incidents of human trafficking.
Trafficking in women and children – especially for sexual purposes – is not even a minor problem in Barbados, Director of the Bureau of Gender Affairs, Sheila Stuart, says in Caribbean Net News, published on March 18, 2005. However, the tourist industry and the opening up of the regional labour market, could see the illegal activity surfacing sooner or later.
There is growing concern about trafficking in the Caribbean and Latin America. Barbados will be vulnerable as the country is a hub for travel throughout the region. Ms. Stuart also said that the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) is an emerging factor, which could lead to the mushrooming of human trafficking in Barbados.
“ Barbados is seen as one of the more developed countries in the region with a very strong dollar. Trafficking is likely to flourish where the money is, as people tend to go where they think economic and social opportunities are better,” Ms. Stuart said in the article.
While the concept of human trafficking might still be novel to many Caribbean nationals, the international community thinks the activity has begun to take root in the islands.
In March last year, approximately 75 officials and experts met in Washington , DC to come up with strategies to combat trafficking in persons in the Caribbean . The three-day meeting was hosted by the Organization of American States (OAS), and focused on human trafficking in the Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, the Netherlands Antilles, Saint Lucia, and Suriname.
The Caribbean is a "region of dynamic migration flows" that requires a counter-trafficking strategy focused particularly on women and children, says the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the OAS Inter-American Commission of Women. The agencies, which call on authorities to work hard to prevent trafficking in persons, aim to assist governments and educate Caribbean societies about the dangers of trafficking.
The United States supports these agencies to help Caribbean countries raise awareness on the issue of trafficking, to identify potential trafficking victims, and to help develop a network of governments and service providers concerned about the problem, said Kelly Ryan, of the U.S. State Department, at the meeting.
Regional cooperation is essential, if trafficking in persons is to end in the Caribbean, Ms. Ryan continued.
Impoverished children are the most vulnerable population throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and are often tricked or forced into the commercial sex trade, according to a September 2001 report of USAID's Office of Women in Development. This report also states that a number of Caribbean countries, favoured as tourism destinations, are at the centre of a growing sex tourism industry. These include the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago.
According to Survival Rights International, the region is also becoming a transit point for trafficked women en route to Europe, North America, and Australia.
“Disguised as employment agencies, traffickers promise impoverished women and children lucrative jobs abroad. The victims are told they will work as domestic servants, waitresses, cooks, or in other service-related industries. Once overseas, however, their passports are taken and they are forced to work under inhumane conditions in order to repay the traffickers' 'fee.' Victims are often threatened, beaten, and held in seclusion,” an excerpt from the group’s websites stated.
Corrupt government officials turn a blind eye to trafficking …
Suriname’s ambassador to the OAS, Henry Illes, who also addressed the meeting in Washington D.C. last year, said in a report carried by Caribbean Net News that corrupt government officials contribute to the worsening problem.
“Undoubtedly, corruption within governmental entities can contribute to the global trafficking of women and children in numerous ways”, he said while explaining that in many instances counterfeit passports and visas were issued to facilitate trafficking. Customs and immigration officers he said, accept payoffs to turn a blind eye to trafficking crimes.
“Local police officers accept bribes and allow brothels in their jurisdiction to operate undeterred. They also allow individuals to recruit women for prostitution purposes,” he stated.
Approximately 50,000 women from the Dominican Republic were working abroad in the sex industry in 1996, estimated the IOM.
Tier status in the Caribbean
Each year, the US Department of State is required to submit a report to the U.S. Congress on foreign governments’ efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons. This aims at raising global awareness and spur foreign governments to take effective actions to counter all forms of trafficking in persons, defined as forms of modern day slavery.
The Report has increasingly focused on the efforts of a growing community of nations to share information and to partner in new and important ways to fight human trafficking.
A country that fails to take significant actions to bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons receives a negative "Tier 3" assessment in the report. This rating could trigger the withholding of non-humanitarian, non-trade-related assistance from the United States to that country.
Last year June, Cuba and Jamaica were both graded at Tier-3, the lowest rank. After four months however, in October, Jamaica was placed back on the Tier-2 Watch-list, the position it had held the previous year.
Jamaica’s progress in fighting trafficking
In the four-month grace period between June and October last year, the government implemented a number of measures aimed at getting the Tier-3 ranking lifted by the United States.
A Cabinet Sub-Committee was formed and given the mandate to come up with a Plan of Action, including specific action to be taken by the government.
The number of Child Officers who work with child victims and their families, was increased from 45 to 70. A Child Advocate, who lobbies for the rights of children, would also be appointed by the Child Development Agency.
Training sessions were held to make school children, teachers, community members, police and immigration officers aware about the issue of trafficking. A special team within the Organized Crime Unit of the Jamaica Constabulary Force - The Trafficking in Persons Unit, was established to investigate trafficking crimes and compile data on investigations and legal proceedings into those crimes.
Annemarie Bonner, Principal Director of the Policy Analysis and Review Unit of the Cabinet Office and Trafficking in Persons Taskforce said the Anti-Trafficking Task force still faces many challenges, including resource constraints, in meeting its objectives. She said the government is continuing its efforts to implement all the measures in the Plan of Action and she is very optimistic that Jamaica will get an improved rating from the United States in June this year.
“ We think we have a good chance of getting a favourable rating from the US ,” she stated.
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