Taylor and Arrin Hawkins, who also traveled to Equatorial Guinea for the book fair, are on a speaking tour organized by the Young Socialists in several cities across the United States.

“Some maps produced here don’t even show Equatorial Guinea,” Taylor said. “Because of centuries of colonial and imperialist domination, there is little industry and no developed agriculture, and the majority live off small trade and crafts. They import most food. At the same time, a working class is now being born as a result of the oil extraction operations and related development that have been rapidly growing since large oil deposits were discovered in 1995.”

Taylor noted the stark contrast between the developed, well-lighted area called “Punta Europa”—the center of U.S. oil operations near the capital city of Malabo—and the lack of electricity, paved roads, and other resources in most of the rest of the country. He explained how this evoked the outrage of many Equatorial Guinean youth at the book fair.

In the discussion period, a student linked the situation in Equatorial Guinea to conditions in Guatemala, where she was born. She mentioned a television program she saw on eliminating diseases like malaria in parts of the semicolonial world, and how the techniques used often blatantly disregard the health and agriculture of the country. Taylor described how U.S. oil companies sponsor such “humanitarian” programs to provide a cover for their plunder of African and other countries oppressed by imperialism.

In response to a question about literacy and reading in Equatorial Guinea, Taylor said that despite the limited access to books in a country long subjected to imperialist-imposed isolation, many youth at the fair eagerly sought out literature about culture, history, and politics in their country and around the world. He mentioned the particular thirst for books by Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X, and Thomas Sankara, leader of the 1983-87 revolution in the West African nation of Burkina Faso.  
 
 
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