Helping hand extended

Undocumented Caribbean Community (CARICOM) citizens stranded in Barbados could soon be among thousands of citizens receiving welfare assistance from the Mia Mottley-administration. They have been asked to come forward and identify themselves to authorities.

But CARICOM Ambassador David Comissiong is making no guarantees to the stranded nationals in an environment of an already strained social security system. He has also expressed some doubts that there are human trafficking victims among the affected individuals.

The ambassador was reacting to recent Barbados TODAY reports which indicated scores of non-nationals including sex workers and human trafficking victims are desperately in need of essentials and were returning to prostitution out of desperation.

Nevertheless, he has encouraged non-nationals on the fringes of society and their advocates to come forward without fear of discrimination or punishment.

“There are no guarantees, because the country is in a difficult position. But we will do as much as we can do to help everybody come through this situation,” Comissiong said today.

“We are really in a crisis where we are trying to respond to unexpected and unprecedented situations. There will be many requests for assistance and many needs to be met, but we have to do the best we can and make sure we share whatever resources we have so that nobody is permitted to fall through the cracks,” he added.

Earlier last week, a handful of undocumented Jamaican workers told Barbados TODAY they desperately needed food and shelter as their resources were dwindling. Since then, President of the Adult Industry Association Charles Lewis and migration expert Dr Olivia Smith confirmed that some women were already reverting to prostitution.

Dr Smith has compiled a list of almost 100 non-nationals primarily from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Venezuela who have approached her for help. While acknowledging thousands of Barbadians were already in need, Smith suggested the Government approach numerous international organisations who assist countries facing similar challenges.   

Since then, Barbados TODAY understands the Ministry of Elder Affairs and People’s Empowerment has reached out to discuss possible avenues for assisting the CARICOM nationals. Minister Cynthia Forde confirmed that talks occurred but declined to provide further details.

The CARICOM ambassador meanwhile also raised questions about the use of the term “human trafficking”, which in his opinion points to enslavement and gross human rights abuses. This, he suggests is different from the decades of prostitution in well-known red-light districts across the country.

“Maybe in a technical sense, the phrase human trafficking applies to all of these categories. But for the layperson, when we hear the term human trafficking, we have a concept of someone being reduced to virtual enslavement and being taken across national borders against their will. I suspect that that is not really the case here in Barbados. But that is not my area of expertise, so I would defer to government agencies that deal more centrally with these issues,” Comissiong stressed.

The ambassador however admitted that challenges of informal and undocumented immigrants ought to receive more attention.

“We have to try to perfect our society and every area of human suffering, exploitation or potential exploitation must be examined. We must live by the social ethic that each one matters, and no one must be left behind. Of course, this applies not only to native Barbadians but to our Caribbean brothers and sisters as well,” he added.

The CARICOM ambassador has also rubbished suggestions that liberal border policies under the Mottley-administration are to blame for the ongoing challenges.

“We know that prostitution exists. It existed for a very long time and it’s not an area that I have investigated or examined myself, so I don’t feel I am able to prescribe. But it is a feature of our society that we need to examine very closely and to have a national approach to how we should deal with the human beings that are a part of this scenario and their needs and interests,” he added.
kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb