Jamaicans need to take their @$%% heads out of the sand !

The USA recently released its human trafficking results for 2014 and has moved Jamaica from Tier 3 back to Tier 2 as it say the country has not made enough efforts to address the issue of human trafficking in the country.

The reaction of the government was swift and attacked the veracity of the report, which is said was factually incorrect as Jamaica has made great strides to address this problem. The government pointed to legislation it has enacted to address what is an international problem, which has great financial proceeds estimated to be in the region of US $36B per annum.

While many Jamaican believe what the politicians tell them especially if the politicians speaking is from their party, the USA is not interested in your efforts or announcements , they want to see results or action, that could bring about results.

Jamaicans like and applaud announcements, while most people around the world applaud and reward actual output ie results.

The Jamaican government has been basically told that legislations don’t solve crimes, if those legislations that have been put in place has done nothing to abate the growing problem, which is NOT a figment of the imagination of the USA.

Here are excerpts of the damming report.

 

Jamaica is a source, transit, and destination country for adults and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor.
Jamaican children subjected to sex trafficking in Jamaica’s sex trade remains a serious problem. Sex trafficking of children and adults occurs on streets and in night clubs, bars, and private homes throughout Jamaica, including in resort towns. Traffickers in massage parlors in Jamaica lure women into prostitution under the false pretense of employment as massage therapists and then withhold their wages and restrict their movement.
People living in Jamaica’s poverty-stricken garrison communities, territories ruled by criminal “dons” effectively outside of the government’s control, are especially at risk. NGOs express
concern that children from poor families sent to wealthier families or local “dons” with the intent of a chance at a better life are highly vulnerable to prostitution and forced labor, including domestic servitude. Other at-risk children include those working in the informal sector, such as on farms or in street vending, begging, markets, and shops. An alarmingly high number of children are reported missing in Jamaica; some of these children are likely subjected to forced labor or sex trafficking

 

The government made minimal efforts to protect trafficking victims. Authorities identified 14 confirmed and suspected victims including at least two suspected forced labor victims  and eight sex trafficking victims, compared with 23 suspected victims of trafficking in the previous reporting period.

The government’s trafficking shelter, which could house 12 people, assisted only one person—a child forced labor victim—during the reporting period. The child did not attend school, but was
provided guided instruction through a web-based curriculum commonly used in Jamaican schools. Government agencies and NGOs that did not receive government funding assisted
the other victims. Jamaican anti-trafficking police reportedly had a protocol to refer suspected victims to services, but the small number of trafficking victims identified and referred to care raised concerns that many front-line responders, such as other law enforcement officers, child protection officials, labor officials, and health workers, did not adhere to standard operating procedures for the proactive identification of human trafficking victims and their referral for assistance

Further in the report under prevention

The government did not demonstrate efforts to prevent human trafficking.

The government did not report any child sex tourism investigations or efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, child sex tourism, or forced labour.

 

In a feeble attempt and countering the USA claim, the Government said in part

There is no such definition as child sex tourism in Jamaica and a such USA cannot rate the country in this regard.

I cannot recall when last I have heard such a sorry excuse for a response.

Now readers can recall that just a few days before the USA damning report, I wrote the following.

 

Last year for example ( don’t quote me on the exact numbers), over 1000 Jamaican boys and girls were reported missing. We have been told that a little over 700 returned home and over 300 are STILL REPORTED AS MISSING !

Where is the expression of outrage from the Jamaican public to these startling statistics, yet this is the same public who is now express outrage about what the JFJ has done in the children’s home.

How can 300 children go missing in a small country like Jamaica and its not considered to be a major crises ?

How many of these children have become victim of human trafficking ?

How many of these kids have become subject to sexual exploitation ?

How many of these kids have been subjected to slavery ?

Where are our 300 boys and girls from last year ?

Do we really care about the welfare of our children ?

Why do we have some many children in children’s home ?

http://wp.me/pvIkx-204

 

What are the similarities in the USA report. See bold sections.

 

Folks there is absolutely nothing wrong with the USA report, instead we have made the USA hold our publicly elected officials more accountable than we have collectively done, which really goes to show the ambivalence of Jamaicans on many issues including this one.

The politicians are screaming mad and condemning the USA, not because these son of a bitches truly believe they have done the best they can possible do and the USA has failed to recognise this.

The main reason for the screaming is the fact that Jamaica stands to losses millions of US$ in foreign aid as a result of its tier 2 ranking and that cannot be allowed to happen. The second issue which, is where we should all be concerned is the damage this will do to Jamaica on the international scene.

Now , can anyone recall what AJ Nicolson said, well let me remind you all , he said  his job is to restore Jamaica’s imagine on the international stage, but so far AJ Nicholson talk has not been backed up by any such actions necessary to do so, which sadly has become the hallmark of political leadership in Jamaica.

If I sound angry and my language appears to be “loud”, well it’s because I am.

We need to take our fu#@ing heads out of the sand and start demanding action from our “leaders”.

Where is our Prime Minister today, ops flying, flying, flying.

 

PS.  Jamaica may see an increase in visitors to the country from USA, UK and Canada as a result of this USA report, can anyone hazard a guess why ?

Well, if Jamaica’s law enforcement is seen as lax and the people of Jamaica does not consider child sex tourism to be a problem as no such designation exist under Jamaican law, then we may find a lot of deviants coming to Jamaica to exploit our kids, knowing they are likely to get away with it.

Places like Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines are a few countries that have this major problem.

Not all tourist are good tourist as the ministers would want us to believe.