Ghana: Dumpsite of the modern world

Sodom and Gomara… Two cities believed to be destroyed by fire coming from the sky due to the sins committed in the Old Testament… As a result of archaeological studies carried out in 1924 and 1974, it is thought that these cities were located in the Bab edh Dhra and Numira regions around the Lut lake. Maybe we can not know clearly whether it existed about 3600 years ago, but let us state that Agbogbloshie, near Akra, the capital of Ghana, has been referred to as the world’s largest electronic dumpster.

If we touch upon its history; The transportation of electronic wastes that completed their lifetime was limited by the Basel Convention in 1989. The reason for this was the damages that lead, cadmium and mercury contained in it. Another goal was to encourage the advancement of recycling technologies. However, the attempt of the capitalist order to produce new products instead of allocating a budget for recycling technologies caused this agreement to lose its importance.

Especially, with the rapid developments in computer technologies in 1990s, European countries decide to send computers and electronic devices whose technologies are obsolete but in working condition to West Africa. In fact, the first aim of this project was to make sure that Africa, which suffered from poverty, benefited from technology in some way (if you eat it). However, as a result of the new products put on the market and the planned aging concept that encourages more spending, the region has literally turned into a dump. Especially the countries, such as America (the country that sends the most waste here) and then Europe, lead the way send millions of tons of waste here. Increasing waste, on the other hand, created its own rent area in this region and the poor people of Ghana started to obtain valuable mines (especially copper) by burning them in order to gain profit.

Since working conditions are so bad, the people of the region named it Sodom. There are 6-year-olds who started working here, and it is said that it is very difficult for people working in this field to see the age of 30. Men and women have created their own division of labor in the region, so that men burn electronic equipment and extract minerals while women sell drinking water in bags, and even work harder by acting like men to earn more money.

About 60% of the digital waste produced in the world goes here legally or illegally. The more waste comes, the more people choose this way to make money. The only dream of the people working here is the desire to live in a safe area. Some have already lost hope, and some are planning to flee the country at the earliest opportunity.

We are experiencing a rapid digital transformation. In the name of transformation, we continue to destroy the environment. It seems incontrovertibly that this transformation has lost its purpose. Just look around. Everybody looks at the screens in their hands when they are on the job, drinking coffee or traveling on public transport. We can neither have fun nor work without a computer. Communication among individuals is  such bad that we lose our ability to empathize. We compete with each other by buying new model phones or other electronic devices, regardless of the damage we cause to the environment every year. Because this makes us happy. In fact, by purchasing a false happiness, we destroy both ourselves and our environment.