The Poverty-and-Wealth System

Abstract

Poverty is not one of the first impressions gained by a visitor to the city of Douala, in Cameroon, with its modern commercial centre, richly stocked main street stores and the many impressive buildings. But he does not have to look long before the darker side becomes evident: someone moves on stumps of legs between the little tables of the congenial pavement cafés along the Boulevard La Liberté. An obese, semi-paralysed man is being pushed along in a wheelchair, and a blind beggar woman is led around by a young girl. And all the time children hold out plastic cups for coins. Anything can be bought or hired at any time, including the bodies of women. Young men with nothing else to do sit or stand about along the streets. Fifty per cent of the working population is unemployed.