Their children's future is in doubt, because they cannot expect to earn their living from the sea. The catch is fast disappearing into the holds of the large trawlers that harvest the African coast. The global market system is reaching into their lives, scooping away the little that sustains their community, but has nothing to offer. The soldiers on guard at the dock welcomed us with smiles and handshakes when they found out we had been taking part in a conference on debt. Talking about the Third World debt crisis is front page news in Togo.
People there know the debt is draining their economy.
They know there is no money to put into schools or clinics. They see the results of their government's efforts to bring in more cash. The fishing trawlers. The bales of cotton on the next dock, grown inland at tremendous cost to human health and to the environment. If debt relief is going to be effective, it is going to have to mean something for people in communities like this one.