Reaction to 'Darwin's Nightmare'

The culture and lifestyles of the fishing population is tragic. Fishing villages are infected with poverty, prostitution and filth. The trade itself is a downward spiral because the poor need a job so they become fisherman. However their job is dangerous on the lake (they go out in little pirogues) and they do not get paid a lot. It is hard to support a family on a fisherman's income. The local people do not benefit from this market whatsoever. The fish that is caught is processed at a factory that cuts them into filets. This process drives up the price of fish so that the locals cannot afford to buy it. While the factories provide jobs, this industry is not sustainable because it does not contribute to the health and longevity of the local population. All the fish is shipped out and the profit goes into the hands of the companies that privatized the fish market. (Something I noticed was that there were lots of businessmen in TZ who came from India, and I wonder about the socio-cultural ties with India and Tanzania.)

Many Russians fly to Tanzania in Post-Soviet planes to take fresh cargo back to European nations daily. They try to stuff planes with so much cargo in order to save money but the planes often end up crashing from the weight of the fish. It is common to see bits of plane debris at the airport from planes crashes that failed to lift off. Because there are many foreigners (especially Russians) that fly into Tanzania, prostitution is very common. They interviewed some "pilot's girlfriends" and the women said that they receive a good meal and maybe some beers when clients come. Prostitutes don't enjoy their job, they do it out of necessity. They interviewed Eliza (I believe was her name) and she said that she had dreams to become a teacher. Tragically, later into the film they found out Eliza was killed by a client.

There is a high level of HIV/AIDS but there is no clinic around for treatment, or medications readily available. There was a Christian minister in one fishing village however he does not advocate the use of condoms. This can be a problem because he believes pre-marital sex is a sin. However HIV/AIDS is spread through the culture of extra-martial sex. There needs to be re-alignment of sex education and HIV/AIDS prevention because NOT telling people to use condoms causes more harm than good.

The biodiversity in Lake Victoria is deteriorating. Levels of oxygen are depleted, the native species are disappearing because the alien species that was introduced is predatory to all other species and taking over the lake. Some hungry villagers, the poorest of the poor, will eat whatever the planes and factories leave behind. They will scrounge the dumps for fish carcasses that still have meat and roast them, but these fish dumps are crawling with rotting soil and maggots. Plus these carcasses are probably moldy and barely edible. One villager said this fish tasted more bitter than normal.

The youth make glue to inhale to help them sleep. It's made from fish parts. When they sniff it, they can sleep anywhere and according to a young boy, "it gets rid of fear." The documentary shows lots of street children left on their own, many to get in fights and fend for themselves. They sleep in groups. There was one girl who had to stay with the younger boys for fear that the older boys would take advantage of her.

The predatory species in Lake Victoria has spawned endless problems. While the Lake provides a supply of fish, fisherman and their families are suffering. There is disease, poverty, HIV/AIDS, hunger, homelessness and prostitution that are magnified by the lake's vicinity. Messing with nature and privatization of the fish market has caused so much more harm than good. The stories of these fishing villages are often unheard of. I am glad that this documentary brings those problems to light and forces us to think about the implications and consequences of 'capitalism' and global markets.