The naming and shaming of these women in the newspapers is not right
DEAR EDITOR, Everything is right that Guyana would have laws and systems in place to ensure that no woman or man is held against their will and coerced or forced into doing any kind of labour. Every person should have their passport and be free to go to get their stamp renewed or to come and go when they want (including the nurses and teachers). The well publicized ‘sweep’ in Bartica last weekend, with all the innuendo, left no doubt as to the kind of labour the people, the women especially, might have been involved in. What is not right though, is the naming and shaming of some women in the newspapers for “overstaying their welcome” in Guyana. While reports might have been clear to not link the two incidents, the public is now very aware and many persons are disgusted that the women could not be given their passports and allowed safe passage home. There are complex realities facing persons who are involved in sex work. In Guyana, people might have known that sex workers themselves are not criminalised. However, it is a crime to own a brothel or to be a ‘pimp and to pay for the services. There are more nuances to the law. In Guyana, however, there have never been raids which have been publicized which have resulted in people, mostly men, who procure sex work services, even from unwilling sex workers, having their pictures and names published in the media. Many Guyanese have overstayed their welcome abroad. There is the movement of people who seek better living as they deal with the stigma of being ‘illegal’ persons even as they uphold other laws in their countries and try to send money back home to support their families. There is no need to publish the names of women and men in the Guyanese media whose only crime has been to “overstay their welcome” especially if they did not have their passports in their possession. While the law must do its work, the media and the society can also be compassionate and give space for ‘illegal’ migrants to recover themselves. Vidyaratha Kissoon
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