Sakawa (2018)

Directed by: Ben Asamoah | 81 minutes | documentary

Internet fraud: can you really make money with it? Why are you even starting something like this? What kind of people are those other, naive, people defrauding? In ‘Sakawa’, we get a unique behind-the-scenes look at internet scammers in Ghana, the homeland of director Ben Asamoah. Born in Ghana in 1985, the filmmaker left for the Netherlands at the age of three with his mother. In Belgium, the family eventually got solid ground and Asamoah was educated at the RITSC film school. Had his mother not made the choice to move to Europe, Ben most likely would have become an internet scammer himself.

You don’t have much choice as a young person in Ghana. You can’t earn much as a street vendor and if you want to start your own business, you need a lot of start-up capital. What is special about ‘Sakawa’ is that you get to see the perspective of the scammers. Of course it is not good to talk about what they do, but it is understandable. If a stupid westerner wants to connect through a dating site and then develops feelings for the beautiful woman who has already bitched ‘Hello baby, I miss you so much’ a few times without meeting them in real life… can you blame them for wanting to take advantage of it?

‘Sakawa’ follows two young twenty-somethings. First of all, there’s Ama, a single mother of a six-year-old son, who gets lessons and financial resources from the seasoned Fi in ‘browsing’ and how to deal with defrauding Western men. Ama can’t type fast, but her English isn’t good enough either. The man she wants to ask for money after about a week quickly responds annoyed via Whatsapp with ‘I’m at work!’. Ama would like to start her own barbershop, so the prospects of making a quick buck this way appeal to her. She also wants a good education for her son. The loving moments between the two win the viewer for her.

Samuel can mimic a woman’s voice very well. That makes a difference, because fellow fraudsters have to buy a special telephone that distorts their voice into a female voice. He would like to emigrate to Italy, but first needs money for a birth certificate and passport. Samuel’s great example, Francis, has already made it all the way. He has an expensive car and a big house, all made thanks to the internet. So it is possible. But whether Ama and Samuel will be so successful…

Another aspect that is highlighted in ‘Sakawa’ is the importance of age-old rituals and traditions. The younger Ghanaian generation still firmly believes in the power of incantations and filling a bowl with eggs, kola nuts, cow bones, menstrual blood and rainwater and then feeding it to pigs, doesn’t surprise anyone. Because by doing that, your wishes come true.

‘Sakawa’ tends to get a bit monotonous now and then, but thanks to the beautiful camera work (with beautiful shots made with a drone) the film continues to fascinate. It is interesting to learn the background in which people are forced to turn to internet scams. And although it will not make the irritation with another full spam folder less, you do have a better picture of and therefore understand the sender.