Gabon, Africa: Is it Really the Place the Last Eden Survivor Makes it Out to Be?

I love to watch the CBS hit show "Survivor". I enjoy seeing the beautiful places around the globe. But I began to wonder as I watched the previews for this season, is Gabon really that great? Is it a poor country or does it have wealth? So, I began my research of this place called Gabon. I was actually surprised by what I found out. I think you will be, too.

Gabon sits on the western coast of Africa, bordered by Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, and Equatorial Guinea. It has a tropical climate with a narrow coastal plain, hilly interior (which seems to be where Survivor is located), and a savanna in the east and southern part of the country. The country is only slightly smaller than the state of Colorado.

It used to be ruled by France, but gained it's independence in 1960. In the past forty-eight years Gabon has known only two presidents. President El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba has held the position the majority of those years. He is one of the longest serving presidents of the world. President Bongo introduced Gabon to a nominal multiparty system and a new constitution in the 1990's, but political unrest has remained. There have been allegations of fraud during the elections showing the weakness of the political system in the country.

Population is about 1.1 million with several languages used in the country. French being largely used, followed by Fang (hence the tribal name), Myene, Bateke, and Bapounou. CFA (Central African franc) is the currency used. Gabon happens to be one of the most prosperous and stable African countries. This is due to the fact that there is an abundance of natural resources available plus the country gets a lot of foreign support.

Gabon has several natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, and hydropower. It also has the richest tropical forest in Africa as far as fauna and flora. These forests can be considered to be as great as those in South America. They boast about 8,000 plant species, around 200 mammal species and 600 bird species. Of course, problems plague them as well - deforestation and poaching. Lumber is the countries largest export. But it was the discovery of oil that enabled the country to find it's independence and bring in the wealth. The boom of oil in the 1970's caused many people to move to urban areas in search of jobs. Now, 73% of the 1.1 million people living in the country live in the urban areas, leaving just a small percentage in the rural areas. The influence of the French and the oil boom caused Gabon to lose a lot of it's traditional African culture.

But not all is perfect in Eden. As with so many other countries, there are problems to be dealt with. A rise in unemployment is a serious concern. Gabon truly depends on the world's need for timber and oil. If that decreases, jobs are lost. The country is trying to stabilize the job market by creating jobs, but it just cannot happen fast enough. The population of the country is increasing, which will cause unemployment to increase. Poor fiscal management hurts the economy plus the gap between the wealthy and the poor cause a lot of problems.

One thing Survivor will not mention is the fact that Gabon is a destination country for trafficked children. They come in from other African countries to be used for forced labor. Young girls are trafficked for house cleaning and other domestic uses, market vending, restaurant labor and of course, the one no one wants to hear about: sexual purposes. Boys are also brought in to be used for street hawking and forced labor in workshops. Gabon does not seem to want to really have to deal with the problem, either. The CIA has it on a Tier 2 Watch List for the problem. They see no effort being made to stop the trafficking; no convictions or sentences have been offered as proof by Gabon.

Gabon is a beautiful country and is very diverse in culture. As with any country on this planet, problems plague it. Enjoy watching this season of Survivor, but keep in mind, there is so much more to this small country.