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CNN World Report

Globalization Does Damage to West African Villages

Aired April 08, 2001 - 14:36   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SHIHAB RATTANSI, CNN ANCHOR: Globalization has redefined and reshaped many countries and economies around the world, and this economic activity between people in different countries is in many ways a double-edged sword.

ASIEH NAMDAR, CNN ANCHOR: Opponents say, it further impoverishes the world's poor. And as Lebanon's Future Television reports, it's threatening to wipe up tradition in West African villages.

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MOHALHEL FAKIH, LEBANON'S FUTURE TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): West Africa's tropical rain forest, home to some of Africa's smallest and most traditional communities. These dense forests are Euacuuba's (ph) workplace. He spends most of his day cutting rubber out of trees. A company collects all his harvest at the end of every day.

EUACUUBA (PH), (through translator): The more I collect, the more money I get. This job provides me with a good living. I plan on going to theology school abroad.

FAKIH: Villagers also harvest cocoa, another product of these forests. This country, the Ivory Coast is world's largest cocoa producer. Without realizing it, villagers are engaged in global trade. Changes may be coming their way. Most villages are now assessable to towns, which locals here say never existed a decade ago.

That has meant new opportunities for some, like this child who weaves textiles to be sold in a nearby town. A strong attachment to strict moral values in villages like this in the heart of Western Africa has kept centuries of tradition alive, but the influence of expanding cities may change all this.

Pataktro (ph), 100 inhabitants. People here abide by morals and values, set here a long time ago by the tribe's elderly. But almost everybody family here today has someone working in cities and nearby towns.

DIALO AMARA, VILLAGE CHIEF (through translator): There are some financial difficulties now. So, people have to go work in the city. This causes some changes among us but we are not scared of that. Villagers will continue to listen to the chief, but there will be change in the long run. FAKIH: Chiefs are the guardians of small African villages. They have the final say in any issue affecting their community, but this chief has seen many of his relatives and villagers move to cities for work and education, where they are exposed to an increasingly modern way of doing things.

Life is simple. The elderly want to keep it that way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I have been living here a very long time; I like it very much. My family is all here; all my grandchildren are next to me.

FAKIH: There is not next for young people to do in this agrarian society. People sell their produce on the sides of what they describe as increasingly busy highways and they believe they lead to large cities with lucrative work opportunities.

This vegetable vendor says her kids will work in the city. They will have to do other things. Many of the mothers of the village also say their children will make a better living in the city. It remains uncertain whether tradition deeply embedded in the daily live of people here will prevail over changing lifestyles.

This is Mohalhel Fakih reporting for CNN WORLD REPORT.

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