There are things that Zé remembers from the past, and others he doesn’t. He remembers that when he was young it used to rain a lot, the lands near to his house were bolanhas (rice plantations), the sound of children playing hung in the air, there were various species of fish, and food wasn’t scarce. He doesn’t remember the Rainy Season being so hot, he doesn’t remember the mangroves and the salt water coming up so close to the houses – leaving the land infertile -, and he doesn’t remember a time when the rice store was so empty. He also doesn’t remember having seen so few children and young people playing along the sandy shore of Elalab.

Elalab is a Felupe tabanca (village) on the Northern coast of Guinea-Bissau. It has 435 inhabitants. Zé is one of the oldest men in the community. His recollections represent the collective memories, anxieties and fears. The question that no one can answer and that seems to be going through everyone’s minds is: “Why is this happening?” The inhabitants of Elalab don’t know what global warming is, they haven’t even ever heard the term, but they describe all its effects, against which they are forced to fight, with upsetting accuracy.