Summary
Highlights
For many, chocolate is a sweet treat, but for African children, especially in Ivory Coast, it carries a bitter taste. Despite the Harkin-Engel Protocol signed in 2001 by international chocolatiers, forced child labor persists in the cocoa industry. Ivory Coast, amidst political crisis, uses children from neighboring countries as slaves, and some are victims of human trafficking. A Danish journalist risked his life to investigate this widespread issue.
The investigation begins in Cologne, Germany, where the chocolate industry gathers annually. Companies like Barry Callebaut, the largest cocoa paste supplier, whose majeure part of its cacao comes from Ivory Coast, deny the existence of child trafficking. They claim robust traceability systems and adherence to fair pricing, but the general sentiment is that such issues are rare or non-existent in their supply chains. The team decides to further investigate in West Africa under false identities and using hidden cameras.
The first stop is Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world, where children are reportedly trafficked into Ivory Coast cocoa plantations. Despite authorities denying child trafficking, local sources confirm its existence. Idrissa, a bus driver's union representative, has been working since 2003 to stop child trafficking, documenting hundreds of children rescued from forced labor in Ivory Coast. The traffickers transport 10 to 15 children per bus to Korhogo, Ivory Coast, where they are sold to farmers.
The team witnesses first-hand a young girl attempting to be trafficked by a woman in the bus station. The girl, only 12 years old, was destined for work in cocoa plantations in Bouaké, Ivory Coast. She is later taken into care by social services for repatriation. The investigative team visits a village that has lost 130 children to human traffickers, underscoring the deep impact of this crisis on communities.
In Zégou, a border town, motorcyclists facilitate the illegal crossings for child traffickers. Watching closely, the team observes a bus arriving with young boys who are then surrounded by these traffickers and taken across the border via a secluded route. The team follows and finds a young boy who has just been brought across by traffickers, crying and alone, a stark representation of the grim reality of child trafficking.
In Abidjan, Ivory Coast, the capital of cocoa production, interviews are conducted with chocolate industry representatives. Saf Cacao, a major exporter, vehemently denies the presence of child labor in cocoa plantations: “I have never found a child aged 10, 15, or 16 working in a plantation, there are no children in the plantations.” The government also denies the issue, claiming that outside the harvest season, there is no work for children in plantations.
The team visits a random cocoa plantation in the North of Ivory Coast, where they find an adult and several young boys, aged 10 to 12, all from Burkina Faso, working with machetes. None of them attend school or speak the local language. This is clear evidence of illegal child labor. The team later speaks to a plantation owner who admits that children from Burkina Faso can be bought for $320, including transportation and unlimited use of their labor.
Some children manage to escape. Two boys from Mali recount being tricked by traffickers, forced to work in a plantation, and beaten if they refused. They eventually escaped with the help of a kind stranger. This highlights the widespread nature of child labor despite the 2001 Harkin-Engel Protocol.
Interpol conducted an operation targeting cocoa plantations in Eastern Ivory Coast, rescuing 65 children from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Togo, and Benin, and apprehending 5 traffickers. Confronted with this evidence, Saf Cacao's general director, who earlier denied child labor, admits there is a problem. The International Labour Organization (ILO) also reacts to the video, expressing the difficulty and danger for children working in these plantations.
The ILO acknowledges that despite the Harkin-Engel Protocol and efforts, concrete changes are slow, and the exact number of children working in plantations remains unknown. Major chocolate companies like Nestlé, who refused interviews, released a statement claiming no direct control over farms and their labor practices. The documentary concludes by confronting Nestlé, the largest food company globally, with the devastating reality documented on cocoa plantations, hoping to force them to acknowledge and address the issue.