Speaker
1: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
2: |
From
this north Sumatran port it's a two hour ride into the Malacca straits to
find a grim tale of cruelty and abuse. Hundred of
young children trapped as slaves on these traditional fishing platforms known
as jermal which produce the highly prized salted
anchovies sought throughout Indonesia and exported to Japan, Malaysia and
Singapore. |
|
After
being refused access to several platforms, at nightfall we approached one
where the foreman was renowned for his cruelty and where the workload was
constant. Most of the boys on this jermal are
underage, subjected to back-breaking work for a wage of less than $20 a
month. |
|
The
foreman definitely wasn't keen to have us onboard. It took half an hour to
convince him that we weren't going to get in the way, but clearly his main
concern was that we'd see that several of his workers were mere children
living in fear and held virtually captive. Although illegal in Indonesia, low
paid child labour has always been a feature of this industry. |
|
So
as not to arouse the foreman's suspicions, we tried to speak to the oldest
boy first, one of only two on board above the legal age. But no sooner had we sat down it was back
to work. |
Speaker
3: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
3: |
Yeah.
[foreign language] |
Speaker
2: |
And
so it goes on day and night. Separating the anchovies from the other fish,
boiling, and then drying them. The night we spent on the jermal
work finished early at 11:00 pm. At high tide they work up to 20 hours a day
resting for only a few minutes every hour. At least the low tides at the
moment mean they can sleep six uninterrupted hours before dawn when it starts
all over again. At the mercy of the elements, in the middle of the ocean, far
from their homes and families, this is no life for young children. |
Speaker
5: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
2: |
The
foreman has worked on the jermals for over 25 years
and has seen a steady decline in the numbers of fish being caught. |
Speaker
5: |
[inaudible] |
Speaker
2: |
And
now new problems like campaigns against child labour are making his life even
more difficult. Activists have visited this jermal
several times recently to take underage boys away. As far as he's concerned,
it's unwelcome interference. |
Speaker
5: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
5: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
2: |
In
the end, it will be competition from the big ships carrying all the latest
technology that could mean the end of the jermal. |
Speaker
5: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
2: |
So
he takes his frustration out on the boys. They are obviously terrified of him
and we had to surreptitiously record these interviews. |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
1: |
[foreign
language] |
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4: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
1: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
1: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
1: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
6: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language] |
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6: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
6: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
6: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
7: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
7: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
7: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
1: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
2: |
And,
of course, the work itself is very dangerous. [Putra] had a bad accident two
weeks ago injuring his head when his shirt caught on the wench and he was
thrown from the platform. There's no compensation, no danger money or safety
procedures, and if past experience is anything to go by there's not even a
guarantee he'll be paid after his three months here. But some of the boys
have nowhere else to go, they're either orphans or from broken homes. |
Speaker
6: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
2: |
But
Putra does have a family home, and back at his village we meet his mother who
says she never wanted him to go in the first place but he'd never seen the
sea and he insisted. |
Speaker
8: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
8: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
2: |
When
we told her about his accident she was visibly upset. There will never be a
shortage of children to work on the jermals in
poverty-stricken Indonesia. Hangouts like the north Sumatran capital's main
bus terminal are favourite recruiting grounds. Mohammed [Jalani]
works with street children. He finds many of the children here have worked on
the jermals. |
Mohammed: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
10: |
[foreign
language] |
Mohammed: |
[foreign
language] |
Speaker
10: |
[foreign
language] |
Mohammed: |
[foreign
language] |