POST
PRODUCTION
SCRIPT
Foreign
Correspondent
2021
Dead
White Man's Clothes
29
mins 56 secs
©2021
ABC
Ultimo Centre
700
Harris Street Ultimo
NSW
2007 Australia
GPO
Box 9994
Sydney
NSW
2001 Australia
Phone:
61 419 231 533
Precis
|
Have you ever thought about
what happens to your old clothes after you drop them off at the op shop? It might be time to start,
because these goodwill gestures are helping to fuel an environmental
catastrophe on the other side of the world. When charities in Australia
can’t sell donated clothing, tonnes of it ends up being exported to countries
like Ghana, in West Africa. Ship after ship docks every week with bales from
Europe, the US, China and Australia. They call them "Dead
White Man’s Clothes". Once they arrive in Ghana, they’re taken to the
bustling Kantamanto markets in the capital Accra and from here, they make
their way to villages and towns across the country. The industry provides jobs
for thousands of people, like Asare Asamoah, a successful importer. He brings
in clothes, mainly from the United Kingdom, and if they’re good quality, he
can make a decent living. But it’s risky business. He
has to pay upfront for a bale and never knows whether it’s trash or treasure.
With cheap, fast fashion flooding the world, the quality of the clothes
arriving in Ghana is getting worse and worse. "Sometimes you’ve gone
and bought something, then you don’t get what you want," says Asamoah.
"Then you lose your money.” And there’s a dark side to
this industry. Correspondent Linton Besser
travels to Ghana to uncover the dirty secret behind the world’s fashion
addiction. While 60 per cent of
imported fashion items are reused and resold, 40 per cent are rubbish,
creating an environmental catastrophe for this poor nation. With the main dumpsite for
textile waste now full, unregulated dumpsites ring the city. These fetid
clothes mountains are often set on fire, filling the skies with acrid smoke. "It is totally a
disservice to us in this part of the world because we have become sort of the
dumping ground for the textile waste that is produced from Europe, from the
Americas," says Accra’s waste manager, Solomon Noi. Emmanuel Ajaab imports used
clothes from Australia but he despairs at the poor quality of many of the
clothes that arrive. From a bale of about 200 garments, he finds only seven
he can resell at a good price. "In Europe and UK and
Australia, America, they think Africa here, sorry to say, we are not like a
human being," he tells Foreign Correspondent. The dumped textiles also get
swept up in the monsoonal rains and end up choking the city’s waterways and
beaches, posing a danger to fishermen and aquatic life. Liz Ricketts, who
runs an NGO campaigning for awareness of Ghana's textile waste crisis, lays
the blame at the feet of international fashion houses. "Waste is a part of the
business model of fashion. A lot of brands overproduce by up to 40 per cent,"
says Ricketts. Noi begs the people who
donate their clothes to think twice about where they end up. "If they come here,
like you've come, and you see the practicality for yourself, then they will
know that, no, we better take care of these things within our country and not
to ship that problem to cause problems to other people." |
|
Ident |
|
00:00 |
Ghana
beach |
Music |
00:10 |
Container
ship. Unloading clothing bales |
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: ON THE COAST OF WEST AFRICA, THE SHIPS ARRIVE DAY AFTER DAY, WITH
AN UNRELENTING CARGO. |
00:15 |
Clothing
bales in market |
IN GHANA, THEY
CALL THEM ‘OBRONI WAWU’, OR THE CLOTHES OF DEAD WHITE MEN. |
00:27 |
Emmanuel
sorts through clothing |
EMMANUEL AJAAB: Take this bale from Australia. |
00:34 |
|
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: THEY’RE THE CHARITY SHOP CAST OFFS FROM THE WESTERN WORLD. |
00:37 |
|
EMMANUEL AJAAB: Dirty. LINTON BESSER, Reporter: It’s sweat. EMMANUEL AJAAB: You see. Rubbish. It’s like an insult. |
00:41 |
|
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: TOO MANY OF THEM ARRIVE IN UNWEARABLE CONDITION. |
00:47 |
Women
sift through clothing/Clothing in landfill |
WHILE THE TRADE IN
USED CLOTHES HAS CREATED THOUSANDS OF JOBS, IT’S ALSO TURNING PARTS OF GHANA
INTO A TOXIC LANDFILL. SOLOMON NOI: This place is serving as a dumping
ground |
00:51 |
Solomon |
for textile waste in the name of second-hand
clothing |
01:06 |
Linton
walks over dump with Liz |
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: THE WORLD’S UNWANTED FASHION ENDS ITS JOURNEY HERE. |
01:10 |
Dumped
clothing washed up on beach |
LIZ RICKETTS: We call them tentacles. When
they first wash up from the sea they’re very long. |
01:17 |
|
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: IT’S CREATING AN ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE OF UNTHINKABLE
PROPORTIONS. |
01:25 |
Title:
|
|
01:32 |
Dawn
activity GVs. Super: |
|
01:36 |
Early
morning food vendors |
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: IN ACCRA, THE WORKING DAY BEGINS LONG BEFORE DAWN… |
01:50 |
|
music |
01:55 |
|
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: …AS THOUSANDS OF GHANAIANS MAKE THEIR DAILY MIGRATION INTO THE CENTRE OF THIS WEST AFRICAN
CAPITAL. |
02:07 |
Fadama/Aisha
walks carrying Sherrif |
FROM OLD FADAMA,
ACCRA’S BIGGEST SLUM,
AISHA IDDRISU AND HER
EIGHTEEN-MONTH-OLD SON SHERRIF JOIN THE THRONG WORKING IN THE SECOND HAND
CLOTHES TRADE. |
02:15 |
|
Music |
02:35 |
Aisha
interview |
AISHA IDDRISU: I come from the north where there are few
jobs, so I decided to migrate here to try and make some money to take care of
my children back home. It was a painful decision but there's no other way to
care for my family. |
02:42 |
Asare
driving, early morning |
Music |
03:10 |
|
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: ASARE ASAMOAH STARTS HIS DAY EARLY, TOO. HE’S
A SUCCESSFUL IMPORTER OF USED CLOTHING. |
03:14 |
Asare
arrives at clothing business |
ASARE ASAMOAH: I was following my brother whilst we are
doing the business. |
03:24 |
Asare
interview |
Unfortunately, my brother passed away, so he
handed everything to me. I always think about him, because he made me who I
am. |
03:29 |
Asare
oversees bale delivery |
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: TODAY NEW BALES ARRIVE AND ASARE IS CHECKING ON HIS ORDER. |
03:38 |
|
Asare: "But
where is the A and where is the B bale? Yeah… I was calling to ask you, but
it's arrived. |
03:44 |
Woman
customer at Asare's business |
Woman: "Nice, nice bale. Big, big quality. Linton:
"Yeah. Big bale. With quality?" Woman:
"Quality." Linton:
"Hope you get a good one." Woman:
"Thank you." |
03:57 |
Kantamanto
market GVs |
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: THESE BALES ARE BEING DESPATCHED TO ALMOST EVERY CORNER OF ACCRA’S
COMMERCIAL HEART, THE SPRAWLING KANTAMANTO MARKET. |
04:08 |
|
IT’S A BUSTLING
LABYRINTH WHERE ALMOST EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE. |
04:21 |
|
Music |
04:29 |
Linton
to camera in market |
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: "These markets are one of the biggest
in West Africa if not the world, and they’re a central hub for second-hand
clothing. From here they get shipped all over Africa." |
04:46 |
Kantamanto
market second-hand clothing vendors |
Music |
04:56 |
|
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: FOR THE PAST TWO DECADES, THE RESALE OF WESTERN CAST OFFS HAS
BOOMED HERE. IT'S CREATED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF JOBS |
04:59 |
|
Music |
05:08 |
Porters
carry bales |
Man: "Let him take this bale away." |
05:15 |
Retailers
gather around clothing supplier |
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: THESE MEN AND WOMEN ARE RETAILERS EAGER TO SEIZE THE BEST CLOTHES
FROM A PRIZED NEW BALE. |
05:19 |
|
Woman: "You're looking very good today, you look really good. The one and
only fresh man." |
05:26 |
|
Man: "Stop that, you know it’s action time." |
05:34 |
|
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: THEY’RE OLD FRIENDS, BUT THIS MORNING
THERE’S A LOT AT STAKE. |
05:38 |
|
Woman: "You
have to be pushy so he doesn’t take your favourite colours." |
05:43 |
|
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: SO FOR THE NEXT FEW MOMENTS THEY’RE ALSO
ARCH COMPETITORS. IF THEY
DON’T GRAB THE BEST CLOTHES, THEY DON’T MAKE MONEY. |
05:47 |
Supplier
cuts bale open. Retailers rush in and fight over clothes |
Man: "Wait for me to finish cutting the bale. It’s because of this behaviour
that I have to stand here." |
05:55 |
|
Woman: "Emma, I will slap you and you’ll get a shock." |
06:19 |
Woman
porter carries clothing bale |
Music |
06:26 |
Aisha
walks to collect bale from Asare |
LINTON BESSER, Reporter:
AISHA IS ON HER WAY TO COLLECT A BALE OF CLOTHES FROM ASARE, THE IMPORTER. Asare: "You are here so when you take it, send it to the shop inside. Go, I'll
come too. Hold it well." |
06:35 |
Aisha
carrying clothing bale |
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: SHE’S A KAYAYEI OR HEAD PORTER. AISHA IDDRISU: I was very young. |
07:00 |
Aisha
interview |
If I can
remember, I was about 12 years old. That' when I became a head porter. |
07:08 |
Aisha
carrying clothing bale through market |
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: GHANA’S KAYAYEI WOMEN ARE USUALLY DISPLACED FROM THEIR VILLAGES IN
THE NORTH OF THE COUNTRY BY CONFLICT OR UNEMPLOYMENT |
07:22 |
|
Aisha: "Look out, look out." |
07:31 |
|
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: BUT EVEN IN ACCRA, AISHA IS LUCKY TO EARN FIVE DOLLARS A DAY. |
07:36 |
Aisha
interview |
AISHA IDDRISU: Some days we don’t make money. Sometimes
we come here for the whole day and don't make a penny. |
07:44 |
Aisha
carrying clothing bale through market |
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: THE BALE OF CLOTHING SHE’S CARRYING WEIGHS MORE THAN 50 KILOGRAMS. IT’S
TOUGH AND DANGEROUS WORK. |
07:49 |
Aisha
interview |
AISHA IDDRISU: Some days, I'm exhausted and sore and must take painkillers before
bed. |
08:00 |
Aisha
carrying clothing bale through market |
Some head
porters break down and are sent back to the north due to their injuries and
inability to work. This happens a lot. |
08:04 |
Women
porters collect bales |
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: THE TRADE IN USED CLOTHING IS ALSO RISKY FOR IMPORTERS. THEY
PAY UP-FRONT AS MUCH AS $95,000 FOR A CONTAINER WITH NO GUARANTEE IF THE
CLOTHES INSIDE IT ARE ANY GOOD. |
08:30 |
Asare
sorts through clothes |
ASARE ASAMOAH: "These dead white man's clothes are very bad, it’s all spoiled." MAN: "Yes,
it’s the same everywhere." ASARE ASAMOAH: It’s not easy. Sometimes |
08:50 |
Asare
interview |
if you don’t have money to do this business,
it’s not easy for you. Sometimes you’ve gone and bought something, then you
don’t get what you want. Then you lose your money. |
09:00 |
Asare
examines clothes |
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: ASARE IMPORTS AS MANY AS THREE MILLION ITEMS
OF USED CLOTHING EVERY YEAR MOST OF IT FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM. WHEN HE FINDS WESTERN EXPORTERS WITH GOOD
QUALITY CLOTHES, PROFITS ARE THERE FOR THE TAKING. Asare:
"It looks ok." |
09:12 |
Asare
interview |
ASARE ASAMOAH: So if you know inside that these goods is
fine, that one you are going to buy it, then you get your profit. If you
don't know that these goods is nice, you just bought anything, then you lose
your money. |
09:35 |
Clothing
store in market |
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: ASARE
ALSO SELLS HIS NEWLY IMPORTED ITEMS TO OTHER RETAILERS IN KANTAMANTO MARKET. |
09:44 |
Linton
to camera in market |
"It looks
like chaos but there's a method to this madness. These retailers are picking
the finest clothes that have come in from the bale in order to be ready for
market day." |
09:55 |
Asare's
at home with family |
|
10:11 |
|
ASARE LIVES A FEW
HOURS FROM THE CITY CENTRE.
IN A GOOD YEAR IMPORTERS CAN TURN
OVER $140,000. |
10:17 |
|
ASARE ASAMOAH: So
the money I get I don’t drop off, I just save some. So I just save it. LINTON BESSER, Reporter: ASARE ASAMOAH ATTRIBUTES HIS FAMILY’S SUCCESS
TO DIVINE INTERVENTION. |
10:27 |
Asare
interview at home, dressing for church |
ASARE ASAMOAH: And
God has blessed what I’m doing. God’s grace living in this house. It’s a very
big conflict between Sunday and my job. The clothes I sell, that one
is somebody's culture, like a white man used to wear it when going to the
office |
10:42 |
Family
leave for church |
but this one is our own culture. LINTON
BESSER, Reporter: TODAY IS SUNDAY, AND IN THIS DEEPLY RELIGIOUS
COUNTRY IT’S A DAY FOR TRADITIONAL CLOTHING. |
11:00 |
|
WESTERN CAST OFFS
ARE SO CHEAP THAT LOCAL TEXTILE MAKERS CAN’T COMPETE. SINCE THE 1980S,
THEIR OUTPUT HAS FALLEN BY AS MUCH AS 75 PER CENT . |
11:16 |
At
church. Congregation sing and dance |
Congregation: "Hallelujah. The Lord is here." |
11:29 |
|
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: TRADITIONAL AFRICAN CLOTHING HAS NOW BECOME TOO EXPENSIVE FOR EVERYDAY
WEAR. |
11:37 |
Dusk,
Accra GVs |
Music |
12:03 |
Market
clean-up |
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: EVERY EVENING, WITH THE MARKET’S CUSTOMERS HEADING HOME, A CLEAN-UP
OPERATION BEGINS. ALLEYS FULL OF UNSALEABLE CLOTHING ARE SWEPT UP AND BUNDLED
INTO SACKS READY FOR TOMORROW’S COLLECTION. |
12:15 |
Police
recruits |
Police recruits: "I
will praise, I will praise Him. You will praise, you will praise Him." |
12:47 |
Morning
market activity. Waste collection |
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: THE NEXT MORNING THE SHEER VOLUME OF WASTE
IS STAGGERING. BUT BEFORE IT’S EVEN BEEN DRIVEN AWAY… Man: "Jeans for one
Australian dollar. All jeans are a dollar." |
12:56 |
Man
selling jeans |
LINTON
BESSER, Reporter: …ANOTHER LOAD OF USED CLOTHING APPEARS
AND IS PUT UP FOR SALE. Man: "Jeans for one
Australian dollar. All jeans are a dollar." |
13:16 |
Waste
collection |
Music |
13:24 |
Solomon
driving |
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: SOLOMON NOI IS THE CITY’S WASTE MANAGER . |
13:33 |
Solomon
interview |
SOLOMON NOI: This place is serving as a dumping ground for
textile waste in the name of second-hand clothing. Close to 40% of whatever
shipment that are coming on a daily basis, ends up to be complete chaff of no
value. |
13:38 |
Waste
collection |
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: EVERY DAY THIS TRUCK IS FULL TO OVERFLOWING. |
13:57 |
Waste
truck to dump |
Music |
14:03 |
Linton
to camera at dump |
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: "There’s roughly six million garments
every week that leave Kantamanto Market as waste. And a huge proportion of
all of that clothing is trucked two hours north of Accra, and ends up being dumped as
landfill." |
14:28 |
Drone
shots - dump |
Music |
14:45 |
|
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: THE PRESSURE FROM THE USED CLOTHING INDUSTRY IS RELENTLESS. THE
CITY OF ACCRA NOW HAS TO FIND SOMEWHERE TO DISPOSE OF MORE THAN 160 TONNES OF
TEXTILE WASTE EVERY SINGLE DAY.
|
14:59 |
Kantamanto
market |
Music |
15:15 |
Christiana
looks at and buys clothes |
Christiana: "Black black, we don’t like it. In Ghana we don't like black. |
15:28 |
|
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: CHRISTIANA MANKO IS A RETAILER WHO SELLS HER
STOCK OUTSIDE THE CITY. |
15:35 |
|
Christiana: "Choose some for me to see, but you have to discount it because I'm
taking them to the village. How much do I owe you for everything? It's
29 dresses. How much will it be?" |
15:40 |
Christiana
carries clothes and boards bus to village |
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: IT’S A HAND-TO-MOUTH EXISTENCE FOR THE SINGLE MOTHER OF THREE WHO
TRAVELS FOR HOURS BETWEEN KANTAMANTO MARKET AND OUTLYING VILLAGES. |
16:09 |
|
Music |
16:20 |
|
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: SHE SAYS SHE FELL INTO THE TRADE AFTER HER
BROTHER USED JUJU, OR SORCERY, TO FORCE HER OFF THE FAMILY FARM. |
16:30 |
|
Music |
16:41 |
|
CHRISTIANA MANKO: I went to the hospital but they couldn’t
work out what was wrong with me. |
16:45 |
|
A neighbour told me to see a church pastor,
which I did. |
16:48 |
Christiana
interview |
And they revealed that juju was put on the
land. |
16:56 |
Drone
shot, village |
That's why I left the village to come to the
city. |
17:01 |
Christiana
to villages selling clothes |
Music |
17:07 |
|
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: SHE GOES FROM
VILLAGE TO VILLAGE SELLING HER CLOTHES. |
17:23 |
|
THESE TWO DOLLAR DRESSES ARE SOMETHING OF A LUXURY ITEM. Christiana: "Sister this is nice, take it. You will look nicer in this dress than me." |
17:37 |
|
LINTON
BESSER, Reporter: CHRISTIANA’S ARRIVAL IS A HIGHLIGHT OF THE
WEEK. Christiana: "This is also not bad, it’s very
nice." |
17:47 |
Christiana
interview |
It's good
when you get to choose nice, quality dresses. You can double the price from
45 to 90 Australian cents. |
17:59 |
Christiana
walking through village selling clothes |
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: BUT IT’S A PRECARIOUS ENTERPRISE, BECAUSE MANY OF HER CUSTOMERS
INSIST ON BEING GRANTED CREDIT. |
18:10 |
|
Christiana: "Sister, where's the money for the things you selected for Adu
Kofi?" Customer: "Adu Kofi is not here. When he returns, I will get you the money. Christiana: "No, give me the money now. I don't like this behaviour. If all my
customers behave like you, how can I buy more clothes? I don’t like your
behaviour." |
18:19 |
Christiana
preparing food at home |
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: CHRISTIANA WORKS HARD TO CARE FOR HER
FAMILY, BUT IT’S BECOMING HARDER BECAUSE THE BALES OF CLOTHING BEING IMPORTED
INTO GHANA ARE ARRIVING IN WORSE AND WORSE CONDITION. |
18:41 |
Christiana
interview |
CHRISTIANA: When you open it, you realise
it’s all rubbish. Suppliers still collect every penny. They don't care if
it's garbage. |
18:58 |
Accra,
monsoon winds and rain |
Music |
19:08 |
|
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: IT’S MONSOON SEASON IN GHANA AND WHEN THESE FIERCE RAINS COME THE
UNWANTED CLOTHING WASHES INTO THE CITY’S OPEN SEWERS AND CHOKES ITS
WATERWAYS. |
19:23 |
|
SOLOMON NOI: You know, we are in the
tropics, so we have very high precipitation in the form of rainfall. |
19:40 |
Solomon
interview/ Waterways choked with discarded clothing |
So any
heavy downpour of rain will gather all this uncollected waste into the storm
drains, which are not covered anyway. And then it gets into the ocean. It
means all these layers of textile waste that are stockpiling at the ocean bed
will come up and mix. And that is what will choke the aquatic life in there. |
19:46 |
Linton
on beach with Liz amongst tangled clothes buried in sand |
LIZ
RICKETTS: Yeah, this is like dug
into the ground. So when we’ve done clean-ups here, you can dig 15 feet and
still find these tangles of clothing. |
20:14 |
|
LINTON
BESSER, Reporter: LIZ RICKETTS HAS SPENT
THE PAST DECADE DOCUMENTING THE IMPACT OF CLOTHING WASTE ON GHANA. LIZ
RICKETTS: It also becomes really
dangerous for people when they’re swimming, |
20:24 |
|
because they’re like rolling back and forth, and it will hit them and
then it also hits the fishermen’s boats and wraps around their motors. |
20:33 |
|
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: THE TEXTILES WHICH WASH BACK ONSHORE BECOME SO TANGLED IN THE SAND
THEY'RE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO DIG OUT. |
20:43 |
|
LIZ
RICKETTS: The tangled masses of clothing, we call them tentacles. So this is
all tangled up and it’s harder for you to see, but when they wash up they’re
very long, you know they can be eight feet to thirty feet and sometimes three
feet wide. |
20:54 |
Woman
drags clothing 'tentacle' from sand |
LINTON
BESSER, Reporter: THESE TENTACLES
HAVE THEIR ORIGINS AT KANTAMANTO MARKET. |
21:11 |
Clothing
trade, Kantamanto market |
Music |
21:23 |
Linton
visits with Emmanuel and examines contents of clothing bale |
|
21:37 |
|
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: EMMANUEL AJAAB IS ANOTHER IMPORTER. |
21:46 |
|
EMMANUEL AJAAB: We are going to take this bale. This one. Yeah. This one is from Australia. We want to see
what is inside. And it’s ladies’ summer jackets. |
21:51 |
|
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: HE’S ONE OF THE
FEW TO IMPORT USED CLOTHING FROM AUSTRALIA. |
22:07 |
|
EMMANUEL AJAAB:
Yeah. I’m going to open. We'll sort them into groups. |
22:16 |
|
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: UNTIL THEY
OPEN THEIR BALES, IMPORTERS HAVE NO IDEA WHETHER THEY CONTAIN TRASH OR
TREASURE. EMMANUEL AJAAB: It’s nice, blue. So this one is going like this.
Top quality…Here. We can’t wear this one. |
22:23 |
|
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: So that one is going to be rubbish? EMMANUEL AJAAB: Yes this is the rubbish. And this one, too.
Quality second. LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: Okay. |
22:36 |
|
EMMANUEL AJAAB: You can't wear it. This one is going to rubbish.
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: And also look, it's got a stain here. EMMANUEL AJAAB:
It’s no good. LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: It’s no good. EMMANUEL AJAAB: It’s no good. It’s no good. |
22:47 |
|
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: EMMANUEL AND HIS COLLEAGUES DESPAIR AT THE
GROWING NUMBER OF LOW-QUALITY CLOTHES ARRIVING IN GHANA. |
22:55 |
|
"What do you think of this one?" |
23:03 |
|
EMMANUEL AJAAB: See how it is dirty. From here all like this. LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: It’s sweat. EMMANUEL AJAAB: You should not put it in the bale. It's like an
insult. LINTON BESSER, Reporter:
It’s an insult? EMMANUEL AJAAB:
It is an insult. |
23:04 |
Emmanuel
interview |
In Europe and UK
and Australia, America, they think Africa here, we are not like a human
beings. Sorry use this, but what they are giving to us is like even if
somebody knock your door and you want help, you cannot just giving, picking
something from your dustbin and give to the person. So in this case it's like
they are doing this to us. |
23:18 |
Linton
and Emmanuel examine clothes |
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: THIS BALE COST EMMANUEL $92. |
23:48 |
|
EMMANUEL AJAAB: This ones are the ones you can sell. LINTON
BESSER, Reporter: AFTER SORTING THE
WHOLE BALE HE CAN SEE HE’S GOING TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT LOSS ON THESE
AUSTRALIAN CLOTHES. |
23:54 |
|
EMMANUEL AJAAB: Seven. Seven pieces
in the bale. LINTON
BESSER, Reporter: And how many
altogether in a bale? EMMANUEL AJAAB: This one, 180
to 200 pieces in the bale. And you find seven pieces. Very bad. |
24:07 |
|
LINTON
BESSER, Reporter: So at the end of
today, where will you put that? EMMANUEL AJAAB: We’re going to
throw them away. |
24:22 |
Drone
shot. Monsoon clouds over Accra |
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: THE PROBLEM IS THERE’S NO ROOM ANYWHERE IN
ACCRA LEFT TO THROW THEM. |
24:31 |
Linton
to camera at landfill site |
"This massive carefully engineered landfill was meant to be
solution to Accra’s waste crisis. It should have provided enough capacity for
15 years, but once it started accepting clothing waste from Kantamanto
Market, it was filled to overflowing within just five." |
24:39 |
Drone
shot. Linton walks at landfill site |
Music |
25:03 |
Liz
and Linton walk at Fadama dump |
|
25:15 |
|
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: NOW THE CITY’S ONLY ALTERNATIVE IS A GROWING NETWORK OF INFORMAL,
UNREGULATED DUMPS. |
25:26 |
|
LIZ
RICKETTS: So a lot of the waste is
brought here by informal collectors who pick it up at the end of the day. LINTON
BESSER, Reporter: LIKE THIS ONE ON
THE EDGE OF OLD FADAMA, THE CITY’S BIGGEST SLUM. |
25:37 |
Liz
and Linton sift through clothes |
"Doesn’t look there’s anything wrong with
them at all." SYNTHETIC TEXTILES
CAN TAKE HUNDREDS OF YEARS TO DECOMPOSE. |
25:53 |
Drone
shot over dump |
THIS MOUNTAIN OF
WASTE MAY CAST ITS FOETID SHADOW OVER THESE NEIGHBOURHOODS FOR GENERATIONS TO
COME. |
26:02 |
Liz
and Linton, interview at dump |
LIZ
RICKETTS: I think, unfortunately, what happens is that the waste -- they are
blamed for the waste. |
26:21 |
|
LINTON
BESSER, Reporter: THE PEOPLE OF OLD FADAMA ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR
THIS PROBLEM, BUT THEY ARE FORCED TO LIVE WITH IT. |
26:26 |
|
LIZ
RICKETTS: This waste ends up in places like this, where it's used to further
disenfranchise people who are already living in poverty to blame them for
waste that they did not create. |
26:33 |
Drone
shots over Fadama |
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: WHILE ALL CONSUMERS BEAR SOME RESPONSIBILITY
FOR THIS WASTE CRISIS LIZ RICKETTS LAYS MUCH OF THE BLAME AT THE DOOR OF THE
WORLD’S BIG FASHION HOUSES. |
26:48 |
Liz
and Linton, interview at dump |
LIZ
RICKETTS: Really it's brands. It's brands that are over producing. Waste is a
part of the business model of fashion. A lot of brands overproduce by up to
40%. |
26:59 |
Burning
landfill |
LINTON
BESSER, Reporter: So when did they start burning this? LIZ
RICKETTS: At least three weeks ago. LINTON BESSER, Reporter: MUCH OF
THE UNWANTED CLOTHING IS SIMPLY BURNED. |
27:08 |
Plumes
of smoke from burning |
Music |
27:22 |
|
LINTON BESSER,
Reporter: IT’S NOT UNUSUAL FOR ACCRA’S SKY TO BLACKEN WITH SMOKE FOR DAYS AT A TIME. |
27:26 |
|
Music |
27:34 |
|
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: BUT FOR MANY WHO LIVE IN OLD FADAMA, INCLUDING AISHA
IDDRISU, THE FLOW OF SECOND-HAND CLOTHING INTO GHANA HAS BEEN A LIFELINE. |
28:09 |
Aisha
interview |
AISHA IDDRISU: I am
trying to put some money aside as savings. |
28:23 |
|
Music |
28:33 |
Aisha
in living quarters with women and children |
LINTON
BESSER, Reporter: THERE ARE OTHER PROBLEMS WHICH ARE SIMPLY MORE
PRESSING. AISHA LIVES IN THIS SMALL WINDOWLESS ROOM WITH FOUR OTHER WOMEN AND
ALL THEIR WORLDLY BELONGINGS. |
28:40 |
Aisha
bathes son |
AISHA IDDRISU: Business
has been slow. Even if I make four Australian dollars a day, it's not enough for daily expenses. |
28:58 |
|
LINTON BESSER, Reporter: SO PERHAPS IT’S
FOR THE WEST INSTEAD TO THINK MORE CAREFULLY ABOUT THE QUALITY OF WHAT WE
DONATE. |
29:03 |
Solomon
interview/ Drone shot over landfill |
SOLOMON NOI: I'm not sure they've ever been conscious to ask where
is the final destination of that thing they are discarding. But if they come
here, like you've come, and you see the practicality for yourself, then they
will know that, no, we better take care of these things within our country
and not to ship the problem to other peoples. |
29:15 |
Kantamanto
market, plumes of smoke in background. Credits [see below] |
Music |
29:35 |
Out
point |
|
29:56 |
CREDITS:
Reporter
Linton Besser
Producer
Alison McClymont
Camera
Andrew Greaves
Editor
Bernadette Murray
Assistant
Editor
Tom Carr
Additional
Camera
Joli
Gbebleou-Sleem
Daniel Attoh
Additional
footage
The OR Foundation
Fixer
Kent Mensah
Stephen Sena Sekey
Senior
Production Manager
Michelle Roberts
Production
Co-ordinator
Victoria
Allen
Digital
Producer
Matt Henry
Supervising
Producer
Lisa McGregor
Executive
Producer
Matthew Carney
abc.net.au/foreign
©
2021 Australian Broadcasting Corporation