Tombo is the biggest fishing
community in Sierra Leone. We’ve got 632 fishing boats
and 128 transport boats. We’ve got fishermen, boat
owners, fish processors, fishmongers. Several thousands of people are
employed in the fishing industry. My name is Wudie
Backie Koroma. I live in Tombo. I’m a
fisherman, but I don’t fish anymore I’m doing public relations work
for the fisheries association. I’ve been in this position
for more than 10 years now. The catch can go up in
volume — but it can also go down. The situation in Tombo is
not very encouraging right now. Originally, all the
fishing boats belonged to and were operated by local
people from Sierra Leone. Unfortunately, foreigners came
who said they wanted to invest in the fishing
sector here. But their boats weren’t
good for Tombo. Instead of our fishing
industry growing, it’s declining every blessed day. My name is
Sulaiman S Kamara. I’m a fisherman and I live
and fish here in Tombo. Fishing means
everything to me. I was born to fish and
that’s exactly what I’m doing. I started when I
was eight years old. For me, fishing is like
digging for diamonds. It’s my livelihood. It enables me to feed my family,
my parents and my children. Our survival
depends on it. Pa Seaport
Kamara is my father. He taught me
how to fish. I went out to sea with him
when I was still just a child. My mother is his seventh
wife and I have a lot of siblings. But of all us, I’m the one
who’s most serious about fishing. My name is Pa
Amadu Seaport Kamara and I’m the oldest
fisherman in this country. I live in Tombo, the
country’s fishing centre. I became a fisherman in 1942, and I’m
still a fisherman to this very day. It’s driving me to despair: we never
had many chickens or cows here. We only had fish. And that’s how
we feed the people of this country. But the fish hauls
are getting meager, and people are facing
problems everywhere. The solution would
be to remove Chinese and Korean boats from
our local fishing areas. Hey, make sure the tub's empty! Don’t
even think about stealing any fish. They use dragnets, which
they pull behind them. Those are the methods used
by the Asian boats out at sea. When they drag their
nets, it stirs everything up. And the worst thing
is, they do it at night. If nothing’s done to
stop these foreign boats, they’ll create such a huge
problem that our own government won’t be able to solve it
and protect those people who are dependent
on the fishing sector. Whenever fishermen submit complaints,
they're never taken seriously. So we organized our
own surveillance boat. This is where the Chinese
industrial boats lay anchor. In the evenings, they
sail out to fish all night. We’re not
coming on board. We’re not
coming on board. We come from
the local authority. Where’s the official
government observer? He’s back on
land, in the office The boat’s got
engine problems. My friend, it’s
more than that. It’s not just
the engine. This boat isn’t
seaworthy. It’s a wreck. We’ll keep reporting it until the
European Union takes notice. To show what
you’re doing. How can you live and
work in these conditions? We’ve got
no choice. Come on lads,
that’s nonsense the Chinese firms should
provide you with better boats. Listen to me. The Chinese have better
boats than this wreck. Stop blindly
supporting them. We’re fighting
your corner. Don’t argue with these
people, don’t argue with them. Your situation’s no better than
mine, we’re all in the same boat. They thought we’d go on board and
they’d be able to bribe us with fish. The EU showed Sierra
Leone the yellow card. We were banned from exporting fish
from Sierra Leone to European markets. We’ve been suffering under this
ban for more than 20-30 years. It’s a result of poor standards
of hygiene and sanitation, also the illegal, unreported
and unregulated fishing activities. Other countries have
taken advantage of this ban. They come to fish in the
waters of Sierra Leone, catch our fish, declare it as
a catch from another country and then sell it on
the European market. The main aim of this
organization is to introduce and implement a register
that can serve as a manual for fishing and harbour
masters in all ports. So if a boat from
Guinea or Senegal, built in a similar way
to those in Sierra Leone, has an accident or
some sort of confrontation with the police
or navy out at sea, the register can help to
identify boats from Sierra Leone. If they’re asked to
show their documents, they can prove that their
boat is from Sierra Leone. Because when these
boats steal our fish, they fly the Sierra
Leonean flag as a cover. But having the register entry on
board your boat will change that. So even the Navy won’t have any doubts
about the origins of boats out at sea. Fishing is our
livelihood, I’m telling you. Sullay, we need to tell
our crew to get ready to sail This is what
we live on. We have to go
to sea more often. I’ll talk to my friends, my
brothers and the crew members. We have
to fish more. With god's
help, we will. The women all
live here together. They decided to do that because their
husbands have gone away to find work as fishermen
in Guinea. It all began with a scarcity
of fish in this country. The fishermen went to look
for better prospects in Guinea. You won’t sell
me anything. I will if you’re willing to
pay the full price for my fish. 170,000
for the lot. Then I’m
not selling! My name is Fatmata
Sesay, and I’m a fish seller. I buy the fish on the quay,
dry it and grill it to sell. My husband and I
have two children. He left us 12 years
ago and went to Guinea. He doesn’t send us any
money and doesn’t even call. Hey, bring my
goods here. Brother, I told you,
bring them to me. I’m not unloading
them here. I told you, put
my basket there. Please! No, I’m not
paying you, not yet. I told you to bring my basket
here, not leave it over there. Where? Put it here. Do it properly. Excuse me, sister. My husband left Tombo
because there was no fish. Fishing
was difficult. They sailed out and
returned with nothing. He told me he wanted
to try his luck in Guinea. I said: OK. The fish traders in Tombo
all have the same problem. Sometimes we won’t
get any fish for two weeks. The boats sail out
and come back empty. Because of the
fish shortages, my husband moved to
Guinea and never came back. My name is
Aminata Kamara. I’m an only child. I was married
to my husband, who left me and our three
children and lives in Guinea. At the moment me and my children
live from the rice bread that I sell. I earn between five and 10,000
Leones a day, which I save. With the money, I can feed my
children and pay for their education. To this day, I’ve heard nothing and
received nothing from my husband. I don’t know exactly where he lives,
but apparently he lives in Guinea. I’ve been left to
fend for myself. Dampen the firewood slowly,
I don’t want the bread to burn. Flooding after heavy rain has
become more frequent in our community. It wasn’t like
that before, but the weather has changed
and there’s regular flooding here. I have news of a
big flood in Tombo. People are in complete turmoil and moving from one area to the next. There’s water everywhere, and because there’s no
proper drainage system here, it can’t run off. This building is flooded, and all
the smoking ovens are underwater. Hello everyone. Nice to see how
much you've done. This oven was in good condition,
but it’s been damaged by the flooding. So I have to register the damage and make a note of
who the oven belongs to. The support is for flood victims
whose smoke ovens were damaged. If you’ve not received any
support yet, then you’ll get it now. But if you’ve already
received aid, then that's it. Do you understand? This support
is for ovens, boats and businesses. Those are the three
categories we’re dealing with. The water ran
into my oven. Please don’t
interrupt me. But they said people whose houses were
flooded would get compensation too. You weren’t called
up — step aside. Wait a minute,
Gbassay’s coming. No, she sent her. Give her the
emergency aid. Amadu Kargbo and Aminata
Kargbo, Sherbro Town. This really shows how
people are faring in Tombo seeing how people
fight for a sack of rice. It’s a chance for them to feed
their family for the next few days. But we don’t have
enough for the whole town. I’m so tired of it. This is the problem This is my son. I was still young and
naïve when I had him. He was four months old
when his Dad went to Guinea. When he was about 10, he
asked about his Dad all the time. So I decided to go with him to Guinea,
so that he could meet his father. After just one week, he was
very sad and wanted to go home. When we arrived there, I found
out that his father had married again and had two wives. His new wife refused to speak
to us, so we left her alone. She didn’t give
us anything to eat. I paid for
everything. My son had severe
stomach pains. We don’t know what
illness he might have. In the past, his grandmother
treated him with medicinal herbs. But for a long time, we
didn’t know what it was. We’ve been struggling
with this for months. It doesn’t happen often, but when he
has an attack, he’s in serious pain. I really love
my mom. How do you
show her that? I help her
around the house. I’d do anything to
make her happy. We had
terrible weather. It rained constantly and the boats
were damaged in the severe storm. They were
completely destroyed. We collected up the pieces and
salvaged these pieces of wood. Even the keel holding the
boat together is lying over there. This is the wood
that was recovered. It was difficult and
really dangerous. We lost three boats,
they couldn’t be repaired. Three boats my father is totally
crushed, his source of income is gone as is his
self-confidence. I have 57 children, all of
them born here in Tombo. I didn’t go to school, that’s why I
wanted my children to learn something. But they all refused
to go to school. I failed as
a father. They preferred to become
fishermen rather than go to school. I have a
number of wives. The oldest one
is called Adama. She and Hawa
are still alive. Then there’s Saffie,
Sulay’s mother. Seven of them are still alive,
but we don’t live together. Ah yes, Marie,
the “frivolous one”. I’ve got one
child with her. They live
in Freetown. This is my mother. We look
very similar. The paint has
to be thick. If you add too much petrol, the boards become porous
and absorb too much water. Happy Chinese
New Year to all. For the
Chinese people this is the time to
convey sincere wishes and pass on peace to their
dearest friends and family. China agrees to provide
an assistance grant to the value of 200 million Renminbi,
that’s about 30 million US dollars. To explore and implement
a project for a fishery hub and other projects
in Sierra Leone. Today’s our first day with
the new boat out at sea, and we hope to be
catching plenty of fish. You can hear the fishermen
singing at the top of their lungs. The songs help to make the
work feel easier for the fishermen. The catch is small. The Chinese fishermen are
taking everything away from us. That’s very sad, I’m
very disappointed. Look what they
caught just small fish. How can we earn enough money for fuel
with those fish? I’m very unhappy. My heart is bleeding
and I’m not happy at all. If you don’t catch
enough fish with the boat, then it’s your fault, because
you were there and I wasn’t. I have to
rely on you. If you can’t
land a big catch, then you and I are going
to have serious problems, which is why I’m
telling you now. I’m very unhappy, because
we don’t have any money. I don’t like how my
father reacted to the catch. After all, the weather
wasn’t good for fishing today. It’s not right how my
father takes the whole thing. I’m really angry, I don’t
like the way he spoke to me. That’s
difficult for me. It’s not my
fault at all. Charles, what price
did you sell for? They paid 200
thousand Leones. They should’ve paid 250,000,
but they bartered down to 200. With regard to the threat
that the coronavirus poses to the lives of the people and
the economy of Sierra Leone, and the need to take effective
measures to prevent and protect, and contain the spread of the
disease throughout Sierra Leone, we hereby declare a
public state of emergence for the entire Republic of
Sierra Leone effective today, the 24th of March 2020,
for a period of 12 months. You all wanted me
to take you to Guinea and act as an intermediary
between you and your husbands. I’m willing to take this
risk and go with you, because we live in
the same community even if I don’t know the whole story
and the reasons why they left you. Which route do you prefer for the
trip to Guinea, by sea or by land? Let’s go by land. I’m not used to
traveling by sea. It’s easier
by land. I want to ask him to come home
so that we can raise our children if I can find him. That’s my plan. I won’t argue
with him. There’s no
reason for that. I’m pregnant. I want to go to Guinea to
ask him about school fees and medical
costs for our son. He left me alone
with our children. The last time, I called him about
the cost of an operation for our son, but he
didn’t reply. So I’m pleased to
be making the trip. How do you think he’ll
react to your pregnancy? He’s got no right to say anything,
because he left me a long time ago. He’s remarried and started
a new family in Guinea. That’s 13
years ago now. Who’s the new man? Which man? Your new man. You’ll meet him
soon, but not now. Fishing in Sierra
Leone is very difficult, which is why I’ve
decided to move to Guinea and just get by there for a
while until I can travel on. That’s my plan. I only want to spend
a short time in Guinea, until I’ve earned a bit of money, then
I’ll go somewhere else and work there. I’m still young
and strong enough. I’d like to go to
Algeria, Spain or France I want to go to one
of these countries. I come from a large family and we’re
always arguing That’s our
biggest problem. I’m always telling my
mother she shouldn’t work, because I work so hard and
I can fish all over the world. I’ve got friends in Guinea,
but I don’t want to stay there. I’d like to go somewhere else, a
place where I also have friends. These women have turned to me
as their community representative and asked if I would
take them to Guinea so that they can
find their husbands. I’ll represent their side and
make sure they can take care of themselves
and their children. We’re traveling to
the border in this car, and then in Guinea we’ll take a
taxi and go directly to Conakry. Do you think
you’ll find them? Sure, because we’ve already
called and found out where they live. With god’s help,
we’ll find them.
