ON a small plot of vacant land, four boys aged 6 and 7 play soccer. They eagerly shout to each other below the electrical high-tension wires strung overhead.

It is not clear if Anto did the same when he was their age. Nowadays, this 16-year-old is slowly wasting away to the point of physical incapacity. He has mental problems and often speaks incoherently. But this is not the most striking change. It is as if this boy, who used to be overwe