SHIFT CHANGE: Workers arrive by bus in Kome. Thousands of people have moved to the village in recent years, hoping for jobs and wealth created by the oil complex. But most remain unemployed, living in huts. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE: Joseph Bailessem farms a small plot with and one of his seven children. He said he lacked the skills and education required to work at the nearby oil complex. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
IN THE VILLAGE: Women gather at Komes Phoenix bar, which has been made off limits to employees of the multibillion-dollar oil complex. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
DRILLING SITE: An oil rig in Kome, Chad. Government officials are hard pressed to describe improvements from the money the country has received. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
MAIN GATE: Relations between the ExxonMobil-led oil consortium that runs the complex and the village outside its gates are strained. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
