Suspected trafficked children join parents at Half Assini

Half Assini (W/R) Aug 3, GNA - Most of the children from Nakwa and Ekumpoanu in the Mfantseman Municipality who were prevented from joining their parents in Half Assini, on suspicion of being trafficked by the Police have joined their parents.

The Police at the Moree barrier, on July 30, this year, detained and prevented three drivers, 25 women, mostly fishmongers, and 118 children from Nakwa and Ekumpoano in the Mfantseman Municipality from travelling to Half Assini.

However, a survey conducted by the Ghana News Agency at the Fante Community at Half Assini, on Monday, revealed that when the children were returned to Nakwa and Ekumpoanu, their parents arranged with some people to bring them through passenger vehicles.

Most of the children who spoke to the Agency were seen assisting their parents in their various businesses while some of the girls were seen selling fried fish and bread to enable them to get money to buy their school materials and personal needs.

According to Mr Eric Mensah, a fisherman from Nakwa, now fishing in Half Assini, he had two children among the returnees.

A large number of fishermen from the Central Region, he explained, had migrated to do fishing in the Jomoro District that was in its fishing season.

He said some of areas where the fishermen immigrated to are Half Assini, Ahobre, Effasu, Bonyere, Ezinlibo, Agyeza and Mempeasem.

Mr Mensah said currently there are over 3,000 migrant fishermen from the various costal communities in the Central Region at Half Assini alone and nobody should see children moving to the area as child trafficking.

He said when the fishermen were migrating with their wives to the area, their children were in school and it is during the vacation period that the children are arranged to join their parents, adding, this is not the first time the children are joining their parents at Half Assini.

Nana Kwame Yedu, Apofohene and Chief of the Fante Community in Half Assini, said no child trafficker would move with such a large number of children on a journey.

The chief condemned the action of police at Moree and said they could have escorted the three vehicles conveying the children to Half Assini and handed them over the police if they suspected any child trafficking instead of returning them.

The Secretary of the Fante Community, Mr Paul Forson, said in most cases the vehicles were hired to bring their children directed from the Central Region at much reduced fares, and on credit.

Mr Forson said now that the drivers are being arrested, "it would be very difficult to ask them for similar assistance".