Agbogbloshie market is surprisingly closer to the center of Accra than I thought. It is only a few hundred meters away from ever-expanding Makola Market, which is in the very center of Accra.With the smokes and flames, and thick toxic air filled with fumes from burning tires, electric wires and computer cases, the area is also densely populated. It is crowded even on a national holiday mid-morning. The market vendors, most are selling tomatoes, yams from the Northern part of the country and plantains, market goers and many scrabble metal collectors and workers that burn the e-waste to get them.
On this day, I talked to a boy named Maxwell, who claimed he is 15 years old. Coming from Bolgatanga, the center of Upper East region close to Bukina Faso border, Maxwell is the most vocal and thus the de-facto leader of seven boys from the same village.
A typical day for the boys start from 8 am and go to 4pm, most of them work six days a week. Some work every day. The burning process takes place in the morning, and then in the afternoon, they will sort out the metals and pieces, the most valuable is copper, which is sought after by vendors talking to the boys where I was there.
Maxwell has stopped going to school since last year, so are the other boys. He earned 10 cedis ($8) a day, sometime less. He sends most of them to parents to support siblings at home.
To these boys, the most exciting thing is to go home to visits families. Maxwell said he will be hitting home on 26th.
"But I will come back."
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