Garth Rattray
DO YOU remember the very sad and mysterious case of Claudia Kirsch-hoch the American travel editor who went missing from Negril on May 27, 2000? An American news team reported that she was a victim of 'Jamaica's underground white slave trade'. Since then, I have been sceptical about statements issued by organisations without credible corroborative evidence (names, places, times).
Now, based largely on a 2001 International Labour Organisation (ILO) report that more than 100 Jamaican boys and girls were involved in an internal sex trade, the United States State Department has placed Jamaica on its lowest rating (tier 3) among the list of countries whose governments, "do not fully comply with the minimum (U.S.) standards (for the elimination of trafficking in persons) and are not making significant efforts to do so."
The report also asserts that Jamaicans are trafficked into forced labour (slavery) in the U.S. Consequently, we have been placed well below India, a country where forced/arranged marriages are still prevalent and where "honour killings" (of a female family member by a father or brother for disgracing or shaming the family) occurs many times each year.
MORE EFFORT NEEDED
The U.S. State Department led off its 2005 Trafficking in Persons Report with this statement by Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, "Human trafficking is nothing less than a modern form of slavery." The main thrust of the report accuses our officials of failing to be more proactive in apprehending and prosecuting traffickers (slave-traders) who target children. It further points to the passage of our Child Care and Protection Act in March 2004, which has been repeatedly invoked to prosecute and convict child abuse and children's rights cases but no cases of trafficking (child slavery).
The State Department extra-polates that since there have been reported cases of child slavery (according to the ILO report), there should be far more vigorous efforts made to ensnare traffickers, there should have been at least one case of "trafficking-specific investigations, arrests, prosecutions, or convictions over the past year" and prosecutions of corrupt officials who facilitate such practices.
The U.S. State Department report credited the government with taking steps to address our reported human exploitation problem by training some officials to detect transnational trafficking and implementing methods of registering passengers entering and exiting the country.
However, the report went on to severely reprimand our officials for not properly organising a Children's Registry, for not having more forceful legislation in place, for not having proper support services for abused and exploited children, for not having specific anti-trafficking programmes and for not having the political will to adequately protect the poor and exploited children.
MUCH TO DO
Now, because we have been tardy in beefing up our legislature and because we have not had any reported cases of human trafficking to prosecute; we have been listed among the worst countries in the world when it comes to making an effort to stomp out human trafficking (slavery). To think that Jamaica, a country filled with people whose descendants consistently fought against slavery, a country that takes pride in its freedom, a country that has heroes who gave their lives for freedom, has been labelled as not only uncaring of our alleged internal and transnational slave trade but also complicit by virtue of our failure to act appropriately to end modern-day slavery.
I fully agree that we ought to do everything within our power to completely stomp out human trafficking in all its forms, but this tier 3 rating should be reserved for countries where human trafficking is wilfully ignored by the government and accepted by the people. We are de facto being given a failing grade for "insufficient effort" but guess which democratic superpower is riddled with child pornography and abuse in every way shape and form (in spite of its much vaunted Herculean efforts).
Whereas I understand the basic reasoning behind the US State Department release, I believe that the tier 3 rating is grossly unfair and unkind. It sets us up for stringent sanctions, it ostracises us, it embarrasses us, it is very bad press and it unfairly portrays us as a barbaric nation.
Dr. Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
