Activist urges: Join anti-human-trafficking march on Friday

SOCIAL activist Wendell Eversley is calling on the public to join him in a march around the Red House, Port of Spain, on Friday, to protest human trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago.

He told Newsday the march, scheduled to begin at noon, will be preceded by a rally at Woodford Square from 10.30am. Several speakers are expected to address the gathering.

Eversley plans to walk around the Red House seven times.

Why seven times?

“I got a dream since February that I must do that. And as a praying person, I always follow instructions,” he said.

On March 8, former government minister Devant Maharaj revealed he had given police a written statement on his claims about prostitution and human trafficking taking place during the People’s Partnership administration, which governed the country from 2010-2015.

Maharaj also provided Newsday with proof that the police had received his statement.

On March 1, Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher said the police will investigate allegations against “senior government officials” in a 2022 US State Department’s report on trafficking in persons.

Eversley applauded Harewood-Christopher’s position. He said he has also been speaking to Maharaj and former government minister Vasant Bharath about the issue.

Urging parliamentarians to take a stand against human trafficking, Eversley said, “I am calling on those who sitting in our Parliament who know about human trafficking to leave our Parliament now.”

He observed several parliamentarians have chosen to remain silent about the issue.

Eversley said TT was “looking bad on the international stage where human trafficking is concerned.”

He described human trafficking as “serious.” saying he intends to go to the length and breadth of the country to rally support.

“Tobagonians also have a stand," he added, "because it could happen to your own women and daughters. So they too must take a stand. The message must be sent loud and clear.”

National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said in a recent radio interview that a special court is being established to deal specifically with human trafficking and sexual offences. But he did not give a time frame.

The Prime Minister in a virtual response to a question in Parliament on March 3, claimed no government MP was involved in human trafficking.