Human traffickers thrive on apathy of citizens. That is one of the key findings that I came up with as result of the reasons behind parents and guardians giving away their children and wards at ridiculously low prices to be engaged in fishing activities. It costs as low as One Hundred Cedis (roughly US$30) to procure the services of a child-labourer for life.
Ghana is the fourth largest consumer of fish protein in the world (per capita). On the average, each Ghanaian consumes 23 kilogrammes of fish. Much of the fish consumed are caught (or bred) in Ghanaian waters. All these sounds good. However, there is a snag. You may be eating fish caught through exploitation of under-age child-labourer-fishers who have been trafficked because of their families disadvantageous socio-economic situation, ignorance, and apathy.
After two years toiling as a child-labourer on the Volta Lake in Ghana, Robert (not real name) fell sick. The master verbally and physically abused me but I was so sick I couldn?t work,? recalls the now 15-year-old. He knocked me down, dragged me and threw me into the water. My big brother died and I still don’t know why.
Rob, Mother And Kid Brother
However, unlike many other victims, Robert was rescued by the family and returned to his home in the coastal fishing community of Elmina in the Central Region but is now terrified of any stranger to the community. He is not able to attend school because he has to mix with other people.
Many countless other child-labourers fare much worse. Many are mere children forced to endure slave-like conditions. And, shockingly, the fruits of their anguish continue to be unwittingly enjoyed by families across the country as delicacies.
Victims of child labour in fisheries typically hail from coastal fishing communities in the Central Region of Ghana. They end up on the Volta Lake area, neighbouring La Cote d?Ivoire, and Benin as child fishers to the neglect of their education and training in their prime. Beatings, starvation and sexual molestation are commonplace.
The issue of Child labour and child trafficking (CLaT) in Ghana is traceable to depletion of marine fishery resources, and the creation of the Lake Volta in the mid-sixties. Children’s rights are human rights but this is hardly recognized, let alone respected. One can therefore point fingers at inadequate enforcement of fisheries laws and regulations, inadequate victim support, and inadequate resources for agencies working to curtail the peril.
Overfishing has compounded the problem. Back in 1960s, fishermen in the communities regularly enjoyed bumper catches, and there is an evidence of a prosperous past in dilapidated mansions all over the coast. Fast-forward half-a-century, hardly enough is caught to feed a family.
Illegal fishing practices are rife among all types of fleet and the enforcement authorities though haven’t yet thrown their hands in the air in despair, are reeling under the enormity of the problem, Child labour is cheap compared to employing adults and falling profits leads to a demand for cheaper labour.
Many poor families, usually single-parent female headed households without much financial support from absentee-fathers and not possessing any reliable livelihood enter into agreements for their children to be taken away to El Dorado with promises of well-paying jobs upon arrival. Ironically, because of endemic poverty situation in these communities, some children themselves run away from home in order to escape poverty.
In reality, vulnerable individuals are sold to master-fishermen for a huge profit, and must then work off the rest of their lives in debt. Prosecution of perpetrators is rare as almost all anti-CLaT programmes are designed to rescue and rehabilitate victims. Even for young labourers who are rescued, there is no end in sight for the nightmare.
Many are kept in so-called rehabilitation centers which practically qualifies as detention centers for the victims without linking up with their families.
It is for this reason that Robert is advocating for preventive programmes through communication and awareness creation actives to make an unacceptable social behaviour in the communities, and also to advocate for channelling of resources to agencies and the communities to address the situation.