Navigating through Lalue this Wednesday morning proves to be a headache. Traffic jams start forming at the corner of Martin Luther King Avenue and Lalue. Officers from the Central Directorate of Traffic Police (DCPR), wearing their blue and fluorescent green vests, attempt to clear the way.

At several intersections, piles of garbage obstruct the road. The atmosphere outside Sainte-Rose de Lima school is anything but academic. On the sidewalk, a market has sprung up. Animated discussions between merchants and customers, honking cars, and the constant calls from "bèfchèn" (bus loaders) trying to fill the buses lined up on part of the road create a lively scene. Women vendors, some seated on chairs, others on buckets, and some crouched in front of their small stalls, mainly selling mangoes, try to attract customers.

Lalue is unrecognizable. The previous night's rain has washed debris onto the street. Merchants set up next to piles of trash without concern. "Yesterday, the water carried away many of our goods. I lost a whole basket of mangoes," explained one vendor when she noticed our press badge. A video circulating online after the rain showed flooding caused by the overflow of the Pintade ravine. "This is the result of a little rain," says a man's voice, narrating the video.