Deal #3795 Version #63724

“They will send us away when they get here,” a woman replies. “Gazelles and monkeys will leave before us. The loggers will take away the trees and cut a swath through the forest. The road is only the beginning.”

Behind CIB’s factory in Pokola, Ladwig and Reutter find another small town. This is where the Pygmies live who have moved to Pokola, attracted by the promises the company gave. But they still have no electricity and no running water in their houses. Neither do they have any work. “Nobody from this village works for the company,” the village chief says. “The company employs people from far away from our village.”

On the way back to their village, they walk along a logging road. They don’t know what the road will bring, but they sense that their lives could change quickly. They’ve heard that roads brought disease to other villages. But there are also advantages. One man points out that it used to take them three days to get to the city. Now it only takes five hours.