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The ban is no secret. It’s brushed aside as a mere blip, another small hurdle to get out of the country to greener pastures. The closely guarded aspirations to migrate and to gain affluence are shared with as few as possible, and preferably with just one — the connection man...

Claudia, the field officer with local NGO Migration and Rights Lab, works on raising awareness about migration amongst the community, and Felicia, a returnee migrant and community leader, are guiding the vehicle. They are quick to spot the disappearing backs of the connection men. Claudia says in the week prior, she called 45 ‘connection men’ and was met with hostility and aggression. “They all said there is a ban, why do you call us. Some of them were ladies and were angry I called. But we know they are actively sending young girls abroad.”

This is because the agents are well aware of the work she and her colleagues do, which throws a spanner in the works, affecting their business...

“The government is not only losing money by the ban and also endangering the Ghanaian worker who decides to travel by forcing them into illegal ways. The youth has no jobs here, so whatever it takes for him to go, even at the cost of his life, he would go to join his mates who are making a living there.”...