Not far from the bizarre hotel I previously wrote about in Beira, Mozambique, is another strange situation: Along the beach, outside of the frame of this photograph, is an array of old metal ships (I was standing on top of one when I clicked the shutter) that were placed strategically to block waves from damaging nearby residences in the event of a storm. Notwithstanding the purpose of the defunct vessels, I observed men and boys (even some whose dwellings were in clear need of protection from the sea) daily with hacksaws cutting metal from the ships to sell as scrap - a clear example of the human tendency to choose immediate personal reward over the long-term well-being of a community. At least in this case the pilferers were driven by a need for actual sustenance and many would bear the brunt of their own actions. I don’t think the same can be said of those who profit from endangering humanity on a larger scale.
