Fatherless children of the mines: Ghana’s lost generation between cultures

Five-year-old John clings tightly to his mother, Nancy, the only parent he has ever known. Like every child, John deserves the love and presence of both parents. Yet, his reality tells a starkly different story.

At just 25 years old, Ofori Nancy (not her real name) bears the heavy responsibility of raising her son alone. This isn’t the life she imagined; it’s the one she’s been forced into. John’s father, a Chinese miner who once worked in their community, vanished long ago, leaving Nancy to navigate motherhood without support. “I thought I found love, only for me to suffer alone,” Nancy says, her voice laced with sorrow.

Nancy’s story is echoed by many young women in the mining communities of the Amenfi East Municipality in the Western Region. Since 2010, Wassa Akropong has emerged as an unofficial hub for Chinese miners in Ghana. Their overwhelming presence has transformed the town into what locals now call “China Town,” making it the most Chinese-dominated community in the country.

Nancy, a primary school dropout with limited economic opportunities, was introduced to a Chinese miner through a family member. Their relationship lacked depth, ultimately resulting in pregnancy. When she became pregnant, a familiar pattern in Wassa Akropong repeated itself: the father disappeared, leaving behind Nancy with a pregnancy and subsequently, a child and a community grappling with its evolving identity.

A generation of fatherless children

Nancy’s experience is not unique. Over the years, numerous women in Wassa Akropong have been left to raise children fathered by Chinese miners who came to exploit the area’s gold reserves. According to Nama, Nancy’s grandmother (not her real name), the gold rush has inflicted more harm than good. “Many children here are growing up without fathers,” she laments.

Nama, who is helping Nancy raise John, expressed her dismay over the situation. John’s father, like many others, returned to China without offering any support. “I’ve never witnessed such wickedness. A father abandoning his own child,” she says, with her voice heavy with emotion.

With tears streaming down her face, Nama recounts how illegal Chinese miners have ravaged their farmlands, polluted water bodies, and left behind a generation of fatherless children.

How can our next generation survive on this land?” she asks. “Why have we followed money and destroyed what our fathers entrusted to us?”

Before the arrival of the Chinese miners, locals were already mining, but they did so sustainably. The Chinese miners, however, paid farmland owners, took over their lands, and devastated the environment in their pursuit of gold. Today, no part of Wassa Akropong can boast of a clean source of water. The once-thriving farming community now depends on cassava imported from other regions.

Nama, now 68, struggles to care for her five grandchildren, including John. Despite the challenges, she remains hopeful that one day John’s father will return to take responsibility for his son.

Struggle for acceptance

Some young women have sought temporary solutions by partnering with local men who agree to raise the bi-racial children as their own. Veronica, now 22, has four children. Her eldest, aged eight, was born from a relationship with a Chinese miner but is now part of a larger family. Yaa, now 25, relocated entirely from Wassa Akropong to escape the persistent stigma, finding a new life and acceptance elsewhere.

The Chinese miners often promise relationships but disappear when their contracts with their employers in the galamsey fields end or when authorities crack down on illegal mining. Nancy recalls the only support she ever received from John’s father. “He gave me GHC500 when I delivered, just for the child’s circumcision. Since then, I haven’t heard from him,” she says, as her voice tinges with pain.

Psychological toll

Emmanuel Kofi Doku, formerly head of the psychiatric unit at Tarkwa Municipal Hospital, explained that children growing up without their fathers often face emotional challenges such as sadness, abandonment, and anger.

The absence of a father figure can lead to feelings of worthlessness, affecting their self-esteem and overall mental health,” the psychologist said. Mothers, too, endure emotional burdens, often experiencing guilt or shame over their children’s father’s absence.

The cycle of abandonment perpetuates despair, leaving these women to bear the consequences alone. As the Chinese miners move on — either returning to their home country or relocating to other communities to continue mining — they leave behind children with no financial or emotional support.

By midday in Wassa Akropong, Nancy sits by the roadside, selling roasted corn to support her son, John. With his striking Chinese features, John embodies the complex legacy of this mining community. Nancy’s story, like countless others, calls for more than environmental remediation. It demands a deeper understanding of the human cost of economic exploitation and a commitment to protecting the most vulnerable.

A girl-child coordinator at the Ghana Education Service, Amenfi East Municipal, Mrs Linda Mensah, emphasized the need for a holistic approach.

“Issues in the mining communities demand more than environmental restoration,” she says. “We need to address economic opportunities for young women, provide social support for mixed-race children, rehabilitate communities, and enforce stricter regulations on foreign mining operations.”

This is not merely a story about illegal mining or environmental destruction. It’s about children constructing identities in the shadows of economic transactions and women rebuilding their lives with scarce resources and limited support.

Nancy dreams of a stable, secure environment for John. She hopes to achieve financial independence, pursue her goals, and find love and companionship for a better future. Her story underscores the urgent need for systemic change to prevent a generation from being lost between cultures.