Equatorial Guinea 2 Ghost Town

Bushmeat for sale outside Bata, Equatorial Guinea

During his 10 year rule, many people disappeared, the country's economy collapsed, and half the population was forced to flee. This information didn't fully prepare me for what I found. The centre of Bata was a virtual ghost town. The handsome Spanish colonial buildings were boarded up, and the well maintained streets were empty of both people and vehicles. I surmised that the refugees had little reason to return here from the relative prosperity of Cameroon or Gabon.

This conclusion did nothing to alleviate my present predicament, however. Knowing there to be no flights, I resigned myself to the possibility to having to walk to Gabon. After about half an hour, I was surprised to come upon an apparently well-populated thatched suburb. I say surprised, but after travelling in Africa for a while, nothing seems that surprising. I, therefore, did not find it strange to hear the sound of a fifteen year old Beatles recording blaring from a large thatched building.

David W. Bennett 

(to be continued)