Five Amerindian men are reporting that they were trafficked to neighbouring Suriname, where they were forced by a Dutch businessman to labour at a camp.
The men, who were deported from Suriname on Monday, were at the camp for varying periods, including over eight months in the case of two brothers, and they say other Guyanese were being held as well and at least on young Brazilian boy.
AFC parliamentarian Valerie Garrido-Lowe, who interviewed four of the men after they were deported on Monday, told Stabroek News that she has made arrangements to meet with government officials today about their case. Saying human trafficking is alive and well in Guyana, she urged that public awareness be stepped up since trafficking has long been an ongoing problem in the country.
Garrido-Lowe was alerted to the situation by the Amerindian People’s Association (APA).
Based on a recorded interview between Garrido-Lowe and the men that was made available to Stabroek News, it appeared that the men, who include two brothers, both in their twenties, from Moruca, another man from Kumaka and two other persons, were separately approached about working in Suriname and they were told that work permits would be provided for them. They were then taken to Berbice, then to Nickerie, Suriname, where they were loaded into an enclosed canter and taken to a village where they were held against their will.
