Villagers in Togo mourn homes swallowed by the sea
By Luc GnagoPosted on
The ruins of Kokou Denis Apedo’s, the former Chief of Afidegnigban, house that was destroyed by coastal erosion are seen in Afidegnigban
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BAGUIDA, Togo (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.
Global greenhouse gas emissions are accelerating coastal erosion worldwide and the countries on West Africa’s Atlantic shore are among those most at risk. The rising waters may wash away more than half of Togo’s sandy shore by the end of the century, according to a March study in the journal Nature Climate Change.
In the village of Doevikope on Baguida beach, three-quarters of residents have moved away since the ocean swallowed precious agricultural land, the school’s playing field and the cemetery.
“The sea wants to take even our dead,” lamented Chief Togbui Dorllayi, who lives in a makeshift shelter of straw and planks while he rebuilds his home for the sixth time.
The damage wrought by the encroaching waves is more than just physical.
Environmental degradation in the coastal areas of four West African countries, including Togo, cost $3.8 billion, or 5.3% of their national output in 2017, according to a World Bank study published last year.
“The sea has destroyed everything. Now I’m tired. I am also old. I don’t know how I’m going to eat,” said 70-year-old Assah Kokou Akpebiotor, who has lived on Baguida’s shrinking sands his whole life.
(Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Resident Marie Ma Joie Gami, 26, stands at the door of her home on the sandy beaches in Baguida
The remains of a well that was damaged by storms lashing into coast, stands in Baguida
A lock corroded by sea water secures a storm damaged door on a property that is under threat of destruction from coastal erosion in Afidegnigban
Massi Natou, 46, collects water from a well on a coastline that is threatened by sea storms and coastal erosion in Afidegnigban
A boat passes by the remains of a costal road that has fallen into the sea due to coastal erosion in Lome
Afenou Agnes, 58, a resident of Baguida, who was given money in 2014 by the government to be rehoused in Tropicana, sits in her home in Baguida
Woollams Ablavi, 61, a resident of Baguida, hangs clothes up to dry at her home in Baguida
Afanubo Hollalie Olivia, 27, her husband Agbe Sanvi, 32, and their three children, stand by their home n Baguida
Togbui Doevi Jean Dorllayi II, 63, the chief of Doevikope in Baguida, demonstrates where the sea line used to be, in Baguida
The sea is seen from part of the ruined house of former Chief of Afidegnigban, Kokou Denis Apedo, on the sandy beaches of Afidegnigban
Jacob Amedrana who said he had to leave his home as it was destroyed by coastal erosion, sweeps the floor in front of his temporary home, in Baguida
Rocks and stones that are intended to protect the beach from coastal erosion are seen on the beach front in Aneho
Marie Ma Joie Gami, 26, sits with her daughter Sarah Tamakloe, 1, by the front door to their home, which they say is under threat from coastal erosion, in Baguida
The window of an abandoned bar is seen on the coast in Afidegnigban
People walk past boats abandoned on the beach where the port of Lome can be seen in the distance in Lome
Togbui Doevi Jean Dorllayi II, Chief of Doevikope, 63, sits in his temporary home, a makeshift shelter made of straw and planks in Baguida
The remains of an abandoned house are seen on the coast of Afidegnigban
Assah Kokou Akpebiotor 70, smokes as he looks out to sea from the coastal village of Baguida
The remains of an abandoned bar are seen on the coast of Afidegnigban
The sea is seen through a window of an abandoned house on the beach of Afidegnigban
Togbui Doevi Jean Dorllayi II, 63, the chief of Doevikope in Baguida, talks on his mobile during a meeting in Baguida
People walk past the remains of a house that was destroyed by costal erosion and sea storms in Afidegnigban
Lucien Kpondji, a resident of Afidegnigban, holds an old photograph of his father Azonsou Kpondji, in Afidegnigban,
Waves crash against former stairs of a building swept away by the sea on the sandy beaches in Baguida
Togbui Doevi Jean Dorllayi II, Chief of Doevikope, 63, works on his kitchen garden next to his temporary home in Baguida
Fishermen repair their nets on the sandy beach of Aneho, which is under threat from coastal erosion
The sea is seen from the windows of the ruined house of former Chief of Afidegnigban, Kokou Denis Apedo, at the sandy beaches of Afidegnigban
Adjahi Komlan, a grandson of former Chief of Afidegnigban Mr Koukou Denis Apedo, looks out to sea in Afidegnigban
Pupils line up in the yard of their school, which was damaged by sea storms, in Baguida
Afanubo Hollalie Olivia, 27, her husband Agbe Sanvi, 32, and their three children, stand by their home n Baguida
