By Isaac Karikari

I must say that children and women trafficking in Africa is very complex. This reality goes beyond the abuse of traditional deployments or labour migration. It represents a major paradox of our time especially for children; where our society agrees that children are the most valuable natural resource, yet they are being plundered through exploitative labour and trafficking; where adults agree that children should be given first priority but most economic and political decisions are made without childhood in mind; and where most families believe those children must be given the best start in life, but children are at a greater risk for poverty than any other societal group. -Dr. Rima Salah

Isn’t it ironic that despite the existence of legislations such as the Children’s Act, 1998 and the Human Trafficking Act, 2005, and Ghana having ratified the ILO’s Convention 182, the convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, back in the year 2000, child labour (even in its worst forms) is still widespread in Ghana. Child labour still constitutes one of the major social problems facing the nation.

The Worst Forms of Child Labour as the name implies refers to those activities that expose children to serious hazards and affect their total development. These forms of labour include activities such as Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM), stone quarrying, fishing, commercial sexual exploitation, domestic and ritual servitude. In most research documents, and observations made it is perceived that some of the children engaged in the Worst Forms of Child Labour are as young as six years old. The problem is multifaceted. While some of these children are forced into these forms of work by people, others are compelled by circumstances such as poor parental care and inadequate extended family protection amongst other things. In famed gold mining areas such as Obuasi and Tarkwa, and in places as obscure as the villages surrounding the Bosomtwi, artisanal mining, mostly involving children, goes on. In Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM), which can also be referred to as subsistence mining, children are exposed to so many hazards. ASM in itself is not illegal. However, there are those who have breached the laws and are operating without license, thus illegally, in the ASM sector (i.e. “galamseyers”). Notably, it is among the “galamseyers”, that children are often engaged in mining operations. This is a point well noted by Gavin Hilson of the University of Reading, UK in a study bordering on the eradication of child labour in the ASM sector in the Upper East Region. Though often working with adults in the same fields, children are more vulnerable and at greater risk because of their immature bodies. There is constant exposure to toxic chemicals which are likely to have serious effects on their health. The prolonged exposure to the chemicals used increases the risk of them getting diseases like cancer. The tools used in mining which are usually designed for use by adults, and the crude methods often employed by the “galamseyers”, pose a great danger to the children. Activities such as heavy poterage and standing for long hours also tend to have adverse effects on the children. Mention can be made of osteo-muscular aches. Children in Artisanal and Small-scale mining just like their counterparts in “stone quarrying” are prone to suffering from lung and other respiratory infections due to the constant inhalation of dust and stone particles. This, in part, is due to the fact that rarely are they provided with the safety gear these kinds of activities require. Also, the unsanitary conditions and even the lack of access to adequate healthcare in the event of contingencies all form part of the hazards children are exposed to. Poverty is often cited as the reason why they engage children in these activities. It is true that most of these forms of labour are symptomatic of the fundamental problem of poverty. The question however is that, is the excuse of poverty enough reason for children to be pushed into these activities? Also, for those children who engage in these forms of labour “willingly”, one wonders if nothing can’t be done by way of presenting them with more humane and reasonable alternatives other than literally watching them “throw” their lives away? Where are their parents and the family relations? Where are the Social Welfare Officers? Where are all the institutions tasked with seeing to the wellbeing of these children? What has being the end of the legislations made to enhance the growth and development of the child? There is the blatant flouting of many of the legislations and provisions meant to enhance the wellbeing of these children. One such provision is the one on the involvement of children in night work. Section 88 of the Children’s Act, the Prohibition of Child Labour at Night, states that no person shall engage a child in night work. Night work according to the Act comprises work between the hours of eight o'clock in the evening (8pm) and six o'clock in the morning (6am). As late as nine o’clock in the evening (9 pm) children can be seen, engaged in labour activities that include hawking and serving as “mates” (conductors) for drivers. These bring to the fore common instances of laxity in the enforcement of the law. At some Police barriers, drivers with under aged boys serving as mates (conductors) freely drive through without being apprehended. The truth remains that these children are often seen as economic reserves from which much can be gained by trickery or by force with, apparently, very little regard for their wellbeing. There may be social and economic benefits that may result from these activities, but no reason is good enough to justify the hazards these children are exposed to. We should not lose sight of the physical, psychological and traumatic effects of these acts on the children. This often tends to promote acts of delinquency. Sometimes in seeking an escape from the toil and abuse some end up doing drugs, others resort to acts of thuggery and even robbery. Thus the initial problem of poverty is further aggravated.

In an interview with the West Africa Regional Coordinator of Free The Slaves (FTS), Mr Emmanuel Otoo, he intimated that it is important for the various organizations dealing with issues related to the welfare of the child to form strong social movements and networks to work towards the protection of the best interest of the child at all times. In highlighting other dimensions of the problem of “modern” slavery, touching on the issues of trafficking, forced adult labour and debt bondage, he stressed the need for further full scale studies into such cases to ascertain the nature, scope and dimensions, so that resources can be harnessed for its progressive and sustainable elimination. He stressed that law enforcement must be taken very serious and duty bearers at all levels must be well informed, trained and adequately resourced to deliver effectively to ensure the child is sufficiently protected. He further stated that there is the need for NGOs working in this area to focus on effective participatory methods towards strengthening the capacity of communities to become resilient to child labour and trafficking. There is the need for communities to be empowered and trained so that on their own they will appreciate the dangers and the evils of slavery and child labour and say no to all forms of modern day slavery, no to trafficking and no to child labour in any form.

A significant number of children are suffering from so many ills including deaths as a result of illegal and unacceptable activities such as fishing, illegal surface gold mining, domestic servitude, “stone quarrying”, and commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking, debt bondage and contemporary slavery. There is the need for them to be saved, and the time to act is now.