UNHCR Niger

© UNHCR 2016

Mariam a dix ans, une petite voix fluette et de jolies tresses. Mais la petite fille a le regard usé, triste, un peu vide. Il y a un an, quand cette petite peule est rentrée au campement de ses parents après des courses au village, elle n’a trouvé que la désolation. Boko Haram venait de passer. « Ils ont tous été tués, mon papa, ma maman… ».

Le chef du village voisin a cherché des membres de sa famille pour la prendre en charge. Sans succès. Il a finalement confié l’orpheline qui pleurait sans cesse à une vieille femme, une connaissance de son père. Et, ensemble, elles ont pris la route du Niger, jusqu’à atterrir au campement de Kitchendji. Là, elle profite d’un Diap, un dispositif d’appui pyschosocial. Elle joue avec d’autres enfants. Ça la soulage un peu : « Il y a des jeux qui m’aident à oublier, mais il y a certaines choses que je ne peux oublier ».

Pour plus d'information:
http://sahelien.com/viewer?id=57164142e5f42f6a17000195

Did you know that the word Sahel comes from Arabic and literally means side or frontier? I didn’t until recently. Or at least I didn’t truly understand the meaning of this word. You see, in the Sahel, frontiers are sometimes more a conceptual construction than a reality for most people.

People living at the border with Nigeria considers Nigerians as their brothers. The only thing separating them is the Komadougou River, a geographical barrier symbolizing the very concept of sides. So when the conflict in Northern Nigeria broke and forced hundreds of thousands to cross the river to find safety in Niger, they were welcomed like long lost cousins and new friendships were made.

I met Koussou and Fanta just 10 kilometres from Diffa city, in southeast Niger. Before the attack on their villages (named Assaga) they were both living at the border. Koussou was living in Assaga Nigeria, the south side of the Komadougou River and Fanta was living in Assaga Niger, north side of the River.

Uprooted by Boko Haram, they now both live on separate sides of the Route Nationale 1, the main east-west highway across Niger, now a new frontier between Nigerian refugees and Niger’s displaced. Even more unsettling, their spontaneous site, one of more of 135 of this kind, is also named Assaga, after the name of their original villages. With the road as their new separating river, a certain familiarity in this new life is teleported less than 20 kilometres away from the border.

For more information go to :
https://blogs.unicef.org/blog/diffa-the-new-frontier/

Sur plus de 120 kilomètres, la route RN1, qui longe la frontière entre le Niger et le Nigéria, est bordée des huttes des réfugiés qui fuient Boko Haram. Photo Cassius Dwem. Signatures pour Libération

Fuyant les attaques de Boko Haram, entre 100 000 et 150 000 personnes se sont installées sur les bas-côtés de la route qui longe la frontière entre le Niger et le Nigeria.
Pour plus d'information:
Source: http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2016/04/11/sur-la-nationale-1-les-refugies-en-quete-de-securite_1445530

People walk in the main market of Diffa, Niger, March 23, 2015. (Photo by Joe Penney/Reuters)

Considering the recent humanitarian crisis and the increased displacement in the region, the Vulnerability Assessment and Mapping (VAM) unit of the WFP Regional Bureau for West Africa, in collaboration with ACF and other partners, launched a regional market assessment around the Lake Chad basin. The assessment was conducted in four countries in the surrounding zones around the Lake: Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon. In Niger over a period of 10 days, WFP, Government and partners (SIMA, IRC, Save the Children, ACF, and OXFAM) collected market information with a total of 158 traders in 23 markets were interviewed.

Cereal supply dropped between Nigeria to Niger
Niger’s structural dependence on Nigerian markets for grain supply remains a bottleneck for the Diffa region in 2016. The harvest in Nigeria is generally considered “good” by the interviewed ac-tors. With the closing of Damassak market in Nigeria, the incoming grain flows are further West, via the axis: Gashuwa-Geidem-MainéSoroa. Transactions have decreased following security measures (closure of border points for all-terrain trucks) in the southwestern strip of the region, to minimize the risk of boko haram attacks.

According to traders interviewed, the change in supply routes has caused transports cost to increase. The axis of Kablewa has not been operational since the recent explosion of a mine on a military vehicle, limiting the cereal flow between the two countries. In Bosso, grain supply level has decreased due to low demand, particularly after the recent internal displacement of populations towards Yebi town. Cereal buffer stocks of wholesalers in Guigmi, Kablewa, Bosso, and Kindjandi on the central market of Diffa has helped to partially stabilize price levels. Cereal supply is steadily increasing in Diffa market (800 tonnes per week) and in Mainé Soroa, due to ongoing food assistance interventions resulting from increased presence of refugees and IDPs. Simultaneously, a constant decline in exports of animals, peppers, and fish towards Nigeria is affecting overall commercial activities. Live-stock flows around the Lake are also affected from the ongoing conflicts.

Limited price increases observed in Maine and Guigmi
Demand and cereal prices are increasing between Mainé and Guigmi. However, in the southwest part (Djajéri-Goudoumaria-Kilakam-Bouti), a general price stability was noted. The observed increase in demand and prices is attributed to seasonality, increased presence of displaced people, and cash distributions. 37% of retailers say they had fewer customers in January 2016 compared to January 2015, while 31% believe the opposite is true. With constant arrival of IDPs and refugees, the creation of circumstantial markets is on the rise. For example, Yebi market is now considered to be larger than the market in Bosso.

In a number of markets, many IDPs are becoming merchants. For example, in Bosso, most retailers are refugees (approximately 70 percent) and in Yebi, all women involved in the grain retail business are refugees.

40 percent of interviewed transporters indicate to have “suspended their activities”
A first review of responses suggests that 41 percent of carriers say they opted to “suspend their activity” due to insecurity. 33 percent of interviewed transporters used different trading routes. Similarly, 26 percent of interviewed traders say they have resorted to unusual strategies to cope with rising prices and supply problems.

Terms of Trade between Goat and Millet remain volatile
Other livelihoods are suffering as well, especially for pastoralists who have to sell goats to buy millet and are facing erratic trade conditions with constant variation in cattle value.

Cereal price increases will be observed in the coming months, while supply continues to decrease
Increased seasonal demand, reinforced by the presence of dis-placed people and monetized interventions, will be observed in the coming weeks mainly in Mainé, Diffa and Bosso N'guigmi. Almost half of the interviewed traders think that demand will increase in the coming six months. At the same time, 21% of traders believe supply will decrease during the same period.
WFP/ March 2016