Along the road of tears

DANCING CARTOON lemurs, majestic baobab trees and lush documentaries about the extraordinary biodiversity of Madagascar have much to answer for. They have created an image of the world’s fourth-largest island that is jarringly at odds with reality: Madagascar is one of the poorest countries on Earth. Because it has banned foreign journalists (along with most other foreigners, in an attempt to slow the spread of covid-19), few in the outside world are aware of the famine that has left more than a million people hungry in the south of the Island. Your correspondent evaded the ban.This is the story of the 110km journey from Fort Dauphin to Ambovombe along the grandly named Route Nationale 13, or RN13. It might as well be dubbed the road of tears.