Africa-Press – Seychelles. The World Day Against Trafficking In Persons is commemorated yearly to create awareness against human trafficking, which many persons refuse to recognise. This form of slavery claims an estimated 24.9 million victims around the world with20.1 million labour trafficking victims globally according to ILO.
“The Association for Rights, Information and Democracy (Arid) notes that labour trafficking is still high in Seychelles and labour-trafficked victims are coerced and exploited. Victims are abused in different ways from different sectors including domestic workers/live-in persons, farm workers, security guards, construction workers and also shop assistants in some Indian shops. Trafficked victims in these businesses often work long hours and are underpaid with sometimes no salaries at all for several months and often without proper contracts or in some cases no contracts at all.
“’Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights’. This phrase keeps repeating but not everyone has the will to cut the head off. Many of us adore the money which comes out of breaking the employee’s back. Some enjoy the exploitation and some just do not care what is happening around them. Seychelles cannot allow such a crime to go unnoticed. The government and society at large must strengthen resilience against exploitation and issues that are conducive to trafficking.
“In line with this year’s theme, leave no one behind, Arid urges authorities mandated to protect migrant workers and other forms of abuses not to get involved in double standard practices. Arid is of the view that in many cases, the government, relevant departments and other agencies do not always support the victims/survivors; there is also a common practice whereby victims of such abuses are often sent home after being issued with a Prohibited Immigrant (PI) notice without giving the victim the chance to follow the due process and seek legal action against the perpetrators. It has become a normal practice for these Prohibited Immigrant letters to be given to the victims at the airport on departure, instead of being served while still in employment or in the country. For example, this is also happening in cases of expired GOPs which is the employers’ fault, yet the employees are being deported when the employers should be the ones taking full blame.
Arid wishes to make the following recommendations;
“Migrant workers are part and parcel of the society contributing to the economy of Seychelles, which uses their labour. They have families to feed and themselves to care for.
Arid therefore calls on everyone in Seychelles to treat the migrants as humans and to respect the attested contract of employment and for those not issuing their employees with one, note that it is illegal not to do so.
“Finally Arid wishes victims and survivors of human trafficking hope, courage and good health.”
For More News And Analysis About Seychelles Follow Africa-Press
