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Friday, August 12, 2005
Jamaican Prime Minister P J Patterson said charges by the US State Department that Jamaica was not doing enough to halt human trafficking, served as a wake-up call for the society. He promised a public education programme would focus on things that should be done to address the problem.
"Jamaica has its faults and sins, but in the main Jamaicans love their children and I know the sacrifices parents make for the welfare of their children," Patterson said at his office when the head of the multi-sectoral task force on trafficking in persons, Ann-Marie Bonner, presented him with bumper stickers and posters to launch an awareness education campaign to sensitise the public on issues constituting the exploitation of children.
The negative State Department report, released in June, claimed that Jamaica was being used as a transit point for illegal immigrants and as a source country for children trafficked internally for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
The country, which was placed on the Tier 3 List - the lowest - was threatened with sanctions if government did not move to deal with the problems.
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