Yekepa - 3/19

Pretty town, but depressing. A large iron mining company was based here and mined Mount Nimba and another location nearby. The company impacted a broad area by employing thousands. Similar to what I saw in other African countries, the company provided housing, schools, health clinics, etc for the people. The remains of the infrastructure dotted the landscape with brick walls that jutted out of the brush. There would be a lot more of the infrastructure left if those who returned following the war had livelihoods to turn to. Instead, one of the few sources of funds was the metal sheeting on roofs, some of the mining equipment, selling the doors and windows across the border in Guinea etc. Places that weren’t occupied were stripped bare. The few pockmarked buildings that were riddled with automatic fire paled in comparison to the number of shells of buildings that had everything looted. Mount Nimba, looming above the town was really inspiring. At the base, water had collected in the former quarry with hulking pieces of machinery scattered about the base.