Tide Turns Against Liberia's Biggest Slum
Muhammad Rameez Published July 25, 2016 | 10:51 AM
MONROVIA, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th july,2016) - The fishermen, hustlers and market traders of West Point have survived two civil wars and an Ebola epidemic, but this resilient Liberian slum cannot hold back the ocean that is slowly swallowing it. The country's biggest township is being swallowed by the sea, tearing the heart out of one of the capital's liveliest neighbourhoods and leaving the government struggling to rehouse thousands of displaced residents. "Sometimes at 2am when you're sleeping the waves will go straight on top of the house.
Before you come to, everybody is confused; you're soaked with water," said Cecelia Nimley, 56, a lifelong resident of West Point.
"The swell will just wipe away things. I sent my grandchildren to some friends and the big ones are on their own," she said, describing losing her house and all her possessions to the waves. The shacks are stacked together any which way, built from a variety of reclaimed materials. Sitting on a peninsula, jutting into the Atlantic Ocean, the slum is being hit by rising seas -- a consequence of global warming -- and coastal erosion, say local officials. West Point's residents have long battled poverty and drug addiction is rife in the area.
The community was torn apart when the Ebola virus struck. But the encroaching sea water is adding to the struggle to meet basic needs.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
IHC adjourns PTI founder, Qureshi's appeal till Thursday
CDWP recommends 3 projects to ECNEC for approval
Tarar assures APNS to resolve issues of newspaper industry
Pakistan urged to capitalize on economic stability, for Tobacco Tax Reforms
N. Macedonia polls set to upend ties with EU neighbours
Croatia's ruling party reaches coalition deal with right wing
Bayern coach Tuchel makes three changes for Madrid showdown
Olympic flame arrives on French soil for Paris Games
Punjab Finance Minister announces expansion of Social Protection Authority's man ..
Kenya inks deal to end doctors' strike
Brazil flooding death toll reaches 100
Lebanon security source says five killed in Israeli strikes on south
More Stories From World
-
Football: South African Premiership results
3 hours ago -
Football: South African Premiership table
3 hours ago -
Fiorentina reach Europa Conference League final
3 hours ago -
Fiorentina reach Europa Conference League final
3 hours ago -
Football: Europa Conference League results
4 hours ago -
Tennis: Rome Open results - 1st update
5 hours ago
-
Tennis: Rome Open results
5 hours ago -
Track cycling star Benjamin Thomas escapes to win Giro 5th stage
5 hours ago -
Osaka wins in Rome after three-year absence
5 hours ago -
N. Macedonia polls set to upend ties with EU neighbours
5 hours ago -
Croatia's ruling party reaches coalition deal with right wing
5 hours ago -
Kenya inks deal to end doctors' strike
5 hours ago