The work is extremely hazardous, abusive and sometimes lethal, as many of the children are unable to swim and either fall off the platforms or are dragged down by and caught in the netting. The work lasts 12, 16, even 20 hours at a stretch. It requires lifting heavy nets filled with terri (a small, anchovy-like fish), sorting the terri from stinging jellyfish or sea snakes, and then boiling, salting, and drying the catch. Then, after snatching a few hours of sleep, the boys will work again the next day, and the next, month after month.

The minimum stay on a jermal is three months, without any time on shore. The boy who goes home before his three-month stint has ended won't be paid at all. And the wage is meager for all that backbreaking work. Beginners get $5 a month, while an experienced boy may get $10. And since the money is handed over only when a boy is leaving, complaining is useless. The pay and conditions are far below legal standards, but still the kids come, driven by necessity, often unaware of what they are getting into and sometimes tricked or virtually kidnapped by unscrupulous agents.

Jermal children tend to be chronically tired from the long and irregular hours dictated by the tides, increasing the probability of accidents and injuries. Nutrition is poor. Medical treatment is primitive or nonexistent. Isolation breeds emotional problems. There are fights among the boys. Worst is the abuse – emotional, verbal, physical, and even sexual – at the hands of older workers or the foreman. Not every jermal is so hellish, but none is a place for a child.