Educational Media Reviews Online

This film presents a general overview of current conditions in this former French colony in West Africa. Landlocked and infrequently visited or reported upon, it is plagued by problems common to all the countries in the area. Shrinking Lake Chad in the southeast and the desert encroaching from the north have weakened the already high stress patterns of annual planting, harvest, and drought. One of the lowest literacy rates in the world leads to one of the highest birth rates, as women have low status and almost no options. Annual food shortages have lengthened, particularly after the devastating locust infestation of 2005, a crisis that was never adequately addressed by outside relief organizations. Indeed, the plunge of the entire population into the deepest poverty was met by belated food relief coinciding with the harvest that finally arrived the next season!

The film maker, Daniel Balluff, biologist and former Peace Corps worker, interviews a range of articulate local guides, aid workers, and development experts who cannot help but point out the lack of interest, even ignorance of this country’s crisis by the rest of the world. An upbeat ending is provided by a local official, who touts the local large animal reserve, home to the last giraffe herd in West Africa, and suggests that tourism is a viable economic trend for the future. Given the gentle and articulate nature of virtually all the people who speak in this film, it seems as real a possibility as any.