A suspected case of human trafficking was reported by the Office of the Ombudsman prior to his departure. It involved nine young Haitian girls who entered Belize in mid-2023. The children ended up living in Spanish Lookout where most of them remain today. The now-former Ombudsman Gilbert Swaso has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to Attorney General Anthony Sylvestre, demanding clear answers. He insists that administrative transitions and a vacant constitutional post must not leave vulnerable children without protection or justice.
We asked the Minister of Immigration about it yesterday. Musa explained how they are currently working to address it:
Reporter
"The former Ombudsman recently put out a release about four Haitian girls who he felt were trafficked into Belize and the authorities failed to act in any corrective or urgent fashion. Can you comment on that?"
Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration & Labour
"Yes, so prior to me taking up the post as Minister of Immigration, I believe it was sometime in the year 2023. It's not four, it's actually nine Haitian minors entered the country with two adult companions."
"They are not related to these nine Haitian minors, but from my understanding and information, they were the foster home taking care of these girls in Haiti. They received, again, based on information provided to me, they received permission to travel out of the country, but temporary, not to be permanent."
"When they came into the country in 2023, they were allowed into the country based on a humanitarian consideration because of the turmoil, as you know, that has been taking place in Haiti. Since then, the Ministry of Human Development has carried out social inquiry report that is going to be carried out to determine the best interest of the children, whether it is best for them to stay here. I don't know whether the parents are requesting the children back, but in my humble opinion, if it is that the parents in Haiti are requesting the children back, then they should be returned with their parents."
"But like I said, from my knowledge and information, they had received clearance to leave, but on a temporary basis. So we've been in communication with the various UN agencies as it relates to this particular case."
"And so we are going to be carrying out, along with the Human Development Ministry, this social inquiry report to determine the best interests and best next steps for these children."
A leader of the Mennonite community told us that the girls are living in Spanish Lookout and that several of the girls are old enough to travel and are studying in North America.
