THE PROBLEM Lake Volta in is an enormous man-made lake in Ghana which sustains a large fishing industry. Due to extreme poverty and a lack of information, some parents and caretakers give their children out to fishermen, who give false promises of a better future. Many parents are not aware of the harsh living and working conditions awaiting their children. Trafficked children, some as young as 4 years old, are forced to work under very hazardous conditions – paddling boats, scooping water out of canoes, unscaling fish, disentangling nets or working as domestic helpers. They are also mostly deprived of education and are often malnourished. Some of them are exposed to physical and sexual abuse.
ONE OF OUR RESPONSES: RESCUE THEM! IOM has been working extensively in Ghana to rescue, rehabilitate and reintegrate children trafficked to the fishing industry since 2002. So far, 732 children have been rescued, rehabilitated and reintegrated back into their communities of origin. Now, we are appealing for funding to rescue 20 more children in early 2015!
HERE’S HOW WE CREATE A PATH TO FREEDOM: HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION The IOM counter-trafficking (CT) team begins the process to rescue children in the fishing communities by holding specifically designed community awareness sessions. The intention is to create a better understanding of what human trafficking is, its far reaching and long-lasting impact on innocent children, the existence of a law prohibiting it as a crime and the need to release the trafficked children. Fishermen often rely on trafficked children because they are usually the cheaper form of labour and have little fingers which are best for detangling nets stuck under water. In order to avoid that they replace rescued children with others, IOM promotes alternative livelihoods options by supporting community projects such as livestock farming and other microbusiness . Once the fishermen are familiarized with the simple and accessible children human rights concepts as well as with the toll forced labor has on the health and psychosocial wellbeing of the child, they often come themselves with the decision to release the children working for them.
REGISTRATION This is the stage where the CT team identifies and screens children present in the fishing communities to identify those who have been trafficked, better understand the composition of the group and asses their specific needs during and after the rescue. Profiles are prepared containing information on the age, sex, region of origin and special needs (medical/psychological) of each child. Registration is important in achieving successful family tracing and preparing to support the child through the rehabilitation phase.
RESCUE Following the identification of trafficked children, the sensitization of fishermen and fishing communities, negotiations are conducted between IOM, community elders and fishermen to secure the release of the identified children. The IOM CT team then sets a date for the rescue. Community leaders, police and IOM are all present to witness the fisherman/fishermen sign a contract officially releasing the child and promising not to engage in trafficking children in the future. The children are then accompanied by IOM staff and the rescue team to the rehabilitation centre.
U.S. individuals/companies can make a tax-deductible donation through USAIM: www.usaim.org #GhanaChildRescue
IOM.INT/GhanaChildRescue