Get there,hang in there
Antananarivo, Madagascar - August 2017
In Madagascar a lot of people decide to try to reach Antananarivo, the economic center of the country, but once they get there, many of them can’t find a way for make-a-living. Despite an increasing tourism industry and the great potential for its ecologic diversity, Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world with 75% of the population living on less than $1.90 per day, severely affected by climate change impacts and heavily dependent on foreign aid. Although agriculture is the main source of income for most people, no advanced farming technologies, frequent natural disasters and epidemics affect agricolture productivity.
The poor condition of the roads makes it hard for farmers to gain access to urban areas where they can stock up on farming supplies and sell their products: cut off from markets, schools and medical centers, the farmers head to the capital as the only possible alternative.
Most of people go to Antananarivo by Taxis-brousses, little vans that go everywhere in Madagascar. They leave only when completely full, which can take up to an hour or a day. Along the way people hop on and off to trade every kind of goods and animals: luggage goes on the roof under a tarpaulin, tightly roped in, or stuffed inside among the seats. People try to take place wherever they can, surrounded by chickens, plants, building material and food.
A family takes care of their child on the way to the capital 50 km away from Antananarivo. It’s common for people to stop because of some damages to the vehicles. Waiting is part of any Malgasy's life.
The roads are in critical conditions. There's only about 6,000 kilometers of paved roads in Madagascar, on the country’s total of nearly 37,500 kilometers of roads. Huge holes along the routes cause long traffic jams and accidents, and when it rains a lot of roads are completely unaccessible.
Along all the roads to Antananarivo people sell all sorts of things. Some of the travelers, already loaded with all the stuff they bring along, buy other goods during the trip to the capital, including meat, fruit, vegetables and everything worth selling at a higher price in the city markets.
On the way from Antasibe, this man is starting to build his house according the land dividing lines defined by local traditions and hierarchy. These partitions shape the idea of future for those young men who don’t try to reach the capital.
A man walks along an abandoned railway on his way from Ambalavao. The tracks were a symbol of a promising future after the independence, but since the 1960s, little money has been invested in the railway’s upkeep and nowadays there’s just one regular daily passenger train that reports constant breakdowns.
Clothes lie under the sun to dry off scattered in the fields
Along the way passing through many small villages. the driver picks ups many people, and the van fills up to the brim
Taxi brousses arrive in the capital, passing near the upper part of the city, the richest one that preserves Malagasy historical monuments. At the arrival point, driver leaves the passengers near the intersection of city buses.
Population growth and migration from rural areas and from secondary cities, caused a rapid urbanization of Antananarivo starting from 2003. However, the unaccessible proper education and the consequent extremely high unemployment rate led the capital to a severe poverty.
In many areas of the lower city every street is a market where everyone sells anything at the edge of the streets. those who come from outside try to sell what they have managed to bring along, and can end up working for someone in the city for some time, loading objects of all kinds.
In Antananarivo lots of children are left alone and most of them have to take care of younger brothers and sisters with no adult care. According to UNICEF, nearly half of all Malagasy children under the age of five suffers from chronic malnutrition.
A kid is challenging other kids in one of the richest neighborhood in Antananarivo. They are fighting over sifting through the trash. A housemaid is about to throw it away while they await in front of the big gate, all ready to wrangle.
Ankasina slum and makeshift settlements located in flood-prone areas scattered everywhere in the city, host the poorest households, usually formed by unskilled laborers with extremely low incomes. They don't have electricity nor toilets, running water and waste management systems, as many others living in the capital, even in more durable buildings.
While Madagascar touristic areas remain safe and controlled, the capital's increased unemployment rate resulted in crime increase since 2009, particularly muggings and robberies. Government inadequate response has prompted the growth of private security firms. By night many restaurants and bars in the city center offer a walking escort service to prevent their customers from being robbed once they leave the premises to get to a taxi or to their nearby accommodation.
As it is, Antananarivo still represents the only faint hope for all the people coming here looking for a second chance. Madagascar is surrounded by the ocean and more often than not, emigrating from such an isolated land is not a feasible alternative.