Darwin's Nightmare

After having watched Darwin’s Nightmare, I do not even know where to begin with a response to it. The documentary takes place in the central part of Africa along the shores of Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa. The documentary begins with scenes of men catching giant fish out of the waters of Lake Victoria, fish that the audience is later told, are not indigenous to the region. These fish, the Nile Perch, were introduced into Lake Victoria as a type of “science experiment,” and have successfully taken out all of the other types of fish indigenous to the lake. The popularity of this fish has grown drastically among European markets. Russian businessman have created factories and trade in which they fly into these areas of Africa to collect these fish. There are scenes of the airports in Africa and the audience can see that they only planes that are on the runway are these planes form Russia. They have created such a trade because there is a demand for the filets of the Nile Perch in European markets and it has become so lucrative because the Russians can spend very little money to operate in Africa.

Hundreds of men go out each day in Lake Victoria to catch these fish. They bring them back to shore at the end of the day, and they are transported to factories. In these factories, men spend hours cutting and cleaning the fish to prepare them to be transported into the European markets.

Throughout the documentary, there are many interviews with people who work in various parts of the industry as well as the people and children who are directly impacted by it. During these interviews, the children are very reluctant to respond when asked what their parents do for a living. After some probing, they finally admit that their mother died from a virus and that their father works as a fisherman. They seem almost embarrassed to admit it and then say that they do not want to end up fishermen like their fathers. As a result, they are homeless children who live on the streets in larger groups. They are totally emaciated and without hope because there does not seem to be many options for them.

It is not initially clear what impact the fishing industry plays on the lives of these people. One would think that this industry would provide jobs for these people living near Lake Victoria, and therefore they would be able to make money to support a family and maybe get an education for their children. However, after many interviews the lethal cycle becomes increasingly clearer.

The fathers of many of these children and husbands of these women, get jobs as fishermen because it is what they can find and it seems lucrative. They spend all day out on Lake Victoria and leave their children and wives behind. The children then don’t have a father figure, and their absence also leaves their wives to seek income in other forms. Some of these women than turn to prostitution to earn money. They are prostitutes to many of the Russian men who are in the region to collect the fish. Ultimately, many of these women contract HIV/AIDS or other potentially lethal viruses. They then infect their husbands and are obviously infected themselves. As a result, these men and women, and parents, experience rapidly deteriorating health and ultimately die, leaving their children as orphans. This entire cycle is fueled by the presence and pressure of European markets in their society – a negative result of globalization.