by Reuters
Thursday, 4 June 2020 10:00 GMT
In the Togolese coastal community of Baguida, the ocean has swallowed agricultural land, the school playing field and the cemetery
By Luc Gnago
BAGUIDA, Togo, June 4 (Reuters) - The Togolese coastal community of Baguida has always had the ocean at its doorstep, but the waves have lapped higher and higher in recent years, destroying homes and locals' hopes for the future.
On the outskirts of the capital Lome, crumbling abandoned buildings dot the shoreline, their empty windows staring out at the advancing water. Remaining residents are fearful.
"I have three children. I think that one day the sea will take us by surprise, we won't know where to go," said 27-year-old Olivia Afanubo Hollalie, standing outside her single-storey house, metres from the surf.
Read more on the Thomson Reuters Foundation
Disclaimer
- Reuters - Thomson Reuters Foundation
- For more humanitarian news and analysis, please visit https://www.trust.org/alertnet