July 19, 2024
The 2024 US Trafficking in Persons report revealed what we all knew that the Caribbean, by and large, is not a place where we traffic human beings. While it may seem to be an easy thing to say and do because of our history with rum-running and drug-running, we have an overarching respect for human life due to the fact that so many of us are descendants of the worst human trafficking racket known to mankind in that of the Atlantic Slave Trade.
The US has put out a detailed report detailing countries from around the world and their deficiencies in human trafficking operations. Some countries are at Tier 3, which means that they are the worst of the worst with regard to having sanctity for human life and how they treat people. The Caribbean, for its credit, are mostly at Tier 1 with a few at Tier 2, with only the Dominican Republic at Tier 2 “Watch List.” This is good and considering the geography of the DR, sharing an island with Haiti- who was not ranked this year and has been put in a special category- then we can rest assured that we don’t have an issue with kidnapping and smuggling human beings to and from these islands and in and out of the developed countries.
Take heart, Caribbean, we are still good people. Amen!