Human trafficking in Guyana
Between January 5 and July 3, a total of 77 alleged victims of human trafficking have been rescued in Georgetown, Guyana.
Amina Ally, the Minister of Social Protection said 60 of the 77 victims have been placed in protective care, while others are being assisted with jobs and educational opportunities. In one raid, 8 of 16 young ladies—14 Venezuelans, one Cuban, and one from the Dominican Republic—were rescued during a raid executed by the Guyana Police Force.
Ally maintained that the protection of human rights and dignity of all the citizens of Guyana is an essential component of good governance.
“I can assure that your government will, by all means necessary, do what it can to curb this illicit activity,” she said on Friday, July 27th at the launch of her ministry’s Freedom Fest’ at the D’Urban Park in Georgetown, in observance of World Trafficking In Persons Day 2018.
SLUM TOURISM CAUSES AN OUTCRY IN KENYA
A concerning trend that has been on the rise in Kenya is Slum tourism, where tourists have been paying “tour companies” up to $100 USD to have a guided tour of about two hours in a slum. The most popular slum for this business is Kibera, which is the second largest slum in Africa after SOWETO in South Africa.
After a few years of this unusual phenomena, residents of the area have rallied together and called for an end to the tours. They are tired of people stopping them as they go about their day-to-day lives, to ask for pictures.
“We feel like they think we are animals in a zoo,” said Rachel, a resident from Kibera. She is angered by the requests for pictures and sometimes people taking pictures of her children.
There has been a recent outcry on social media asking for the tours to stop. It is argued that unlike slum tours in places like South Africa, which tell a story and give a picture of the past with regards to their struggle against the tyrannical apartheid regime. In Kenya, Kibera’s sole attraction seems to be the poverty and poor people on parade like animals on display.
GRACE MUGABE’S DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY REVOKED
The High Court in Johannesburg has set aside the International Relations Department’s decision to grant Grace Mugabe diplomatic immunity.
Former President Robert Mugabe’s wife was accused of assault after an alleged attack on South African model Gabrielle Engels in a Johannesburg hotel room last August.
However, she was granted diplomatic immunity by South Africa’s former Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, allowing her to leave the country.
The ruling has now paved the way for Mugabe to be extradited to face charges.
