Fort Dauphin in black and white

Synopsis

In Fort-Dauphin, everything has changed over the last few years. Before it was a sleepy little town in the south of Madagascar. No road to get there, no industry, often no electricity, just a tiny port lost in the middle of an immense and magnificent bay. The little town was something of an attraction for curious foreigners: it was like a little tropical paradise. Then one day big decision was taken. The Madagascan government signed a contract with Rio Tinto, a multinational specializing in mining operations. This company started to develop the world’s largest mine for Ilmenite, a mineral containing iron and titanium, which is mainly used in plastics and paint. It was a revolution! The biggest deep-water port in the Indian Ocean was built, with a total investment of around 850 million dollars. Obviously most of the inhabitants lives were turned upside down. The seemingly miraculous inflow of money has created a considerable economic boom, and hundreds of jobs. But as with all revolutions some people feel that they have suffered. They sold their land under pressure and now they have nothing. And in Madagascar land is often all you have to leave to your children after a lifetime of work.