Police in Guyana and Suriname are probing a human trafficking case that involved five Guyanese men as victims. The Guyana Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the investigation and has already conducted interviews with the five men.
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, the Guyana Police Force said it is investigating the circumstances under which two sets of Guyanese nationals were victims of Trafficking in Persons in Suriname. According to the police statement, the men have since returned to Guyana.
The five men were taken from Amerindian communities in Guyana and taken to Suriname with a promise that they would be given lucrative farming jobs.
But according to an initial police report, once in Suriname, the men were made to live under harsh conditions with limited food. They were required to work long hours and were not paid for their labour.
The Guyana Embassy in Suriname was contacted after the men found their way to a police station in the neighbouring country and filed a report. They were visited by Guyana Embassy officials including the Ambassador to Trinidad.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has since explained that it was able to confirm that four of the men are from Region 1 while the other man is from Region 4.
“From the interview, it was also ascertained that the five persons were indeed Guyanese nationals. This confirmation was required since they were all without identification documents”, the statement said.
The Foreign Ministry added that the report received from the five men has been provided to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the relevant law enforcement authorities of both countries.
The Government of Guyana through the Foreign Affairs Ministry is advising the Guyanese public to be wary of “too lucrative to be true job offers outside of Guyana and where promises of securing the necessary travel documents and work permits are made.”
The Foreign Affairs Ministry said based on other reports it has received, there must be more vigilance in the interior and amerindian communities.
Both Guyana and Suriname have been listed in US State Department reports as countries where human trafficking takes place. Just last week, two officials from the State Department were in Guyana to examine the problem of trafficking in persons.
In the past, Guyanese have found themselves as victims of human trafficking in Trinidad and other Caribbean islands.
Filed: 26th November, 2014
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