Fishing Industry
Lake Volta is the world's largest man-made lake where children are trafficked to work in the dangerous fishing trade. The children, some as young as four years old, start work in the pre-dawn hours. They cast nets into the murky lake waters in hopes of catching fish. This has become a greater challenge over the years as the lake is overfished. Consequently, fishermen need more child laborers in order to bring in enough fish. Some unscrupulous fishermen have resorted to banned practices, including the use of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), a colorless, tasteless and almost odorless insecticide. These fisherman illegally dump DDT into the lake, which kills the fish in the vicinity and children harvest the dead fish, exposing them to this toxic pesticide. DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972 but is still legal in developing countries.
The children work 14 hour days, seven days a week. They begin working before dawn, laboring for several hours before eating a small meal, the only one they are allowed to eat each day. The smallest error, or failure to meet their master's approval, is punished with a beating.
Masters sometimes taunt the children, telling them their mothers sold them. The enslaved children do not realize their parent(s) were deceived. The masters falsely promise their child will attend school and learn to fish and they can help the fisherman during weekends and school breaks. The children are too young to comprehend the deceit that led to their trafficking. All they know is that they are enslaved and have no hope for rescue, because they are told their families gave them to the fishermen. One child said he did not think his family liked him.
This is why psychological counseling is a critical part of the rehabilitation process. Trafficked children shut down their emotions and become stoic, resigned to their hopeless fate. Once they are given their freedom, we help them learn to express their emotions again in a safe environment.
Some of the fishermen were once trafficked themselves - the abused become the abuser - as this is the only life they have known. The cycle continues unless it can be broken through education and reforms.
When a child is released, the fisherman signs a social contract, agreeing to eventually release all children under his control and he will no longer traffick children. If he violates the terms of this agreement, he can be prosecuted.
Eric Peasah works with the village chiefs, to gain their respect and trust. This supports his efforts to convince the fishermen to release the child laborers. He speaks to villagers and educates them about child trafficking and explains the value of working without children, so they can purse an education. He helps the fishermen create co-ops, where they can build a fish pond within Lake Volta, and with micro loans, stock the pond with baby fish. The fishermen are also given the opportunity to learn another vocation, such as carpentry or farming. By working with these "receiving" villages, Eric helps end the demand for child labor.
Eric also educates "sending" villages where children are trafficked from. By teaching families about the deceitful strategies traffickers use and the abusive conditions the children endure, villagers now report traffickers who approach their villages seeking children. Working with other non-governmental agencies, Eric helps villagers become financially independent by helping them create private enterprise opportunities to alleviate the poverty that makes them vulnerable to traffickers. These community outreach programs are effective in stopping child trafficking.
Lake Volta is the world's largest man-made lake where children are trafficked to work in the dangerous fishing trade. The children, some as young as four years old, start work in the pre-dawn hours. They cast nets into the murky lake waters in hopes of catching fish. This has become a greater challenge over the years as the lake is overfished. Consequently, fishermen need more child laborers in order to bring in enough fish. Some unscrupulous fishermen have resorted to banned practices, including the use of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), a colorless, tasteless and almost odorless insecticide. These fisherman illegally dump DDT into the lake, which kills the fish in the vicinity and children harvest the dead fish, exposing them to this toxic pesticide. DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972 but is still legal in developing countries.
The children work 14 hour days, seven days a week. They begin working before dawn, laboring for several hours before eating a small meal, the only one they are allowed to eat each day. The smallest error, or failure to meet their master's approval, is punished with a beating.
Masters sometimes taunt the children, telling them their mothers sold them. The enslaved children do not realize their parent(s) were deceived. The masters falsely promise their child will attend school and learn to fish and they can help the fisherman during weekends and school breaks. The children are too young to comprehend the deceit that led to their trafficking. All they know is that they are enslaved and have no hope for rescue, because they are told their families gave them to the fishermen. One child said he did not think his family liked him.
This is why psychological counseling is a critical part of the rehabilitation process. Trafficked children shut down their emotions and become stoic, resigned to their hopeless fate. Once they are given their freedom, we help them learn to express their emotions again in a safe environment.
Some of the fishermen were once trafficked themselves - the abused become the abuser - as this is the only life they have known. The cycle continues unless it can be broken through education and reforms.
When a child is released, the fisherman signs a social contract, agreeing to eventually release all children under his control and he will no longer traffick children. If he violates the terms of this agreement, he can be prosecuted.
Eric Peasah works with the village chiefs, to gain their respect and trust. This supports his efforts to convince the fishermen to release the child laborers. He speaks to villagers and educates them about child trafficking and explains the value of working without children, so they can purse an education. He helps the fishermen create co-ops, where they can build a fish pond within Lake Volta, and with micro loans, stock the pond with baby fish. The fishermen are also given the opportunity to learn another vocation, such as carpentry or farming. By working with these "receiving" villages, Eric helps end the demand for child labor.
Eric also educates "sending" villages where children are trafficked from. By teaching families about the deceitful strategies traffickers use and the abusive conditions the children endure, villagers now report traffickers who approach their villages seeking children. Working with other non-governmental agencies, Eric helps villagers become financially independent by helping them create private enterprise opportunities to alleviate the poverty that makes them vulnerable to traffickers. These community outreach programs are effective in stopping child trafficking.