Nature, Abandoned
Standing against the backdrop of Mifetu, a small coastal village in Ghana, Patrick looks back with pride and sorrow in equal measure. "My father named this village," he says, to himself as much as to me.
The ocean beside him was once brimming with life and sustenance, but now serves only as a reminder of what used to be. "Nature has abandoned us," he says, his eyes fixed on the horizon.
As he reminisces about times gone by, describing a community that once sustained itself entirely from the daily catch of plentiful fish, he fears he will be among the last from his community to truly know the ocean. "What is the point of going to sea when there are no fish left in these waters?" he asks, staring at his boat lying idle on the sand.
Patrick's pride in his village remains undiminished, but the weight of a lost way of life still weighs heavily on him. And he isn't alone. As the consequences of climate change continue to shape our world, communities everywhere look to an uncertain future, as they wonder if nature has abandoned them, too.
