My one-month-old grandson was killed by police tear gas.

Razanasoa Edmondine still looks shocked as she recalls the death of her one-month-old grandson, who was killed by police tear gas during protests that have rocked Madagascar over the past two weeks.

“It was just an ordinary Friday. My daughter-in-law was on her way to the market with her baby when she encountered protesters on the street,” she told the BBC from her family’s home on the northern outskirts of the capital Antananarivo.

“Soon after, the police showed up and started dispersing the protest with tear gas.”

It was the second day of youth-led protests sparked by anger over ongoing power and water shortages, and Ms Edmundine’s daughter-in-law ran for cover with other protesters to a nearby building.

Police then fired more tear gas into the building, quickly filling it with choking smoke.

Because of the chaos on the streets, I couldn’t get to the hospital until the next day. By then, the damage had already been done.

“The baby tried to cry, but no sound came out,” Ms. Edmondine said softly.

“It felt like something was blocking his chest. The doctor said he had inhaled too much smoke. A few days later he passed away.”

Her grandson is one of at least 22 people the United Nations says were killed in clashes between police and protesters in the early days of the protests. The protests have since expanded into broader complaints about corruption, high unemployment and a cost-of-living crisis in one of the world’s poorest countries.

President Andriy Rajoelina’s government has dismissed the figures as misinformation but has not released its own figures.

However, it was highlighted that the value of property damage exceeded $47 million (£35 million). The first day of protests saw widespread violence, with cars set on fire, store windows broken and a two-month-old multi-million dollar cable car station damaged.

Rabe, who only gave his first name to the BBC, accused police of firing live ammunition at peaceful protesters a few blocks away from where Edmundine’s daughter-in-law was hiding.

Panic spread quickly as police fired tear gas and people fled in all directions seeking shelter inside open buildings, but her 20-year-old autistic son said he did not understand what was happening.

“He must have slipped outside to see what was going on, when the police shot him and continued to chase other protesters.”

He believes his son was shot from the front because the bullet left a large scar on his back.

“I don’t know, but as far as I know, if someone raises their hand, it means they didn’t steal or damage anything,” Rabe says. “He was just there to see what was going on.”

Earlier this week, President Rajoelina responded to accusations of police brutality:

“But I want to say that these deaths are not of protesters, they are not students. They are rioters. They are looters.”

Some business owners said the prolonged protests had disrupted commercial activity and reduced income, especially for residents in urban areas around the University of Antananarivo, where protests were organized.

“I fully support Gen Z, but I don’t think protests are the right way to address their grievances. If people protest, we can’t do business,” said Laza Brenda, who runs a roadside mobile phone repair kiosk.

For entrepreneur Ulrichia Rabefitiavana, the uncertainty has led to several international clients canceling contracts for training and seminar events.

“We have been preparing for over six months for a large-scale event involving over 2,000 people, but it was scheduled to take place this week, so we had to postpone it. Postponing everything and losing money was very difficult for us,” said Rabefitiavana.

The Indian Ocean island’s tourism sector, famous for its unique wildlife, is one of the hardest hit by a situation that will surprise most people.

“We have only had cancellations,” says François van Rens of Radisson Hotel Group. “Usually mid-September and October are our busiest times.”

“We normally run about 60 to 70 per cent occupancy, but now we’re down to 10 per cent. So it’s like we’re operating at full speed and then all of a sudden the handbrake comes on.”

The anger of the youth movement behind the protests, known as Generation Z Mada, has grown with protesters now demanding the president’s resignation.

It’s not hard to find evidence of young people’s frustrations across Antananarivo: unemployment, water shortages and sluggish business.

For example, visitors arriving at the airport with only a few bags are quickly surrounded by two or three young men eager to help in return for a small tip.

If you park your car outside a cafe or restaurant, you will be approached by two young men who will claim to have “guarded” your vehicle and then demand a fee.

One young woman selling sweet donuts on the roadside told the BBC she was earning $2.30 a week. This money is used to feed her four-year-old child.

“I can only run my business here on weekends because during the week other people use it for their own business,” she says, spinning dough in boiling oil.

Driving outside Antananarivo, it is common to see families washing clothes in rice fields, a visual reminder of the severe water shortage in people’s homes.

One of the main protest organizers, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons and agreed to meet us near the rice fields, told the BBC that he had to walk a mile every day to draw water from a well and considered himself middle class.

“You have to be strong to be a young person in Madagascar,” he adds, explaining that anxiety is rampant.

“You live in constant fear of when your house is going to be broken into, when people are going to get shot, when you’re going to be stabbed in the street. It’s like your humanity is being taken away and taken away.”

He calls for “radical change” to address the island’s chronic social and economic problems.

According to Hery Ramiarison, an economics professor at the University of Antananarivo, this is the result of decades of poor economic planning and the government’s failure to create comprehensive wealth.

“There is a huge employment problem among young people,” he explained.

“This stems from the very low level of education of the workforce, serious deficiencies in the education system in both quantitative and qualitative terms, widespread school dropout and the near absence of suitable training opportunities for them.”

The academic said it was surprising that 64 years after independence, three-quarters of the population had an education level of primary school or lower, while only 3% had received tertiary education.

President Rajoelina has asked Malagasy people to give him a year to resolve the issues driving the protests, and said he would resign if the deadline was not met.

But Professor Lamiarrisson believes the president does not understand the complexities of how Madagascar has become trapped in two vicious cycles of poverty that exacerbate each other.

One is due to weak economic growth, the other is political instability, which hinders investment and growth, pushes people deeper into poverty, and adds to social unrest.

“To escape the poverty trap, it is essential to first break the fundamental vicious cycle by addressing its root causes, that is, the key determinants of economic growth,” he said.

Madagascar has experienced repeated political turmoil since gaining independence from France, including mass protests in 2009 that ousted then-President Marc Ravalomanana, a once-famous dairy tycoon.

This led to Rajoelina, a former DJ turned mayor of Antananarivo, seizing power in the aftermath.

At the phone shop down the street, Brenda said: “When they come to power, they forget about us. It’s always the same.”