health

NIGER: “The Capital Does Not Only Belong to the Rich”

Ousseini Issa

NIAMEY, Jan 18 2007 (IPS) – The new year is looking much like the old for certain residents of the Pays-Bas shantytown in Niger s capital, Niamey. Four months after seeing their homes demolished in the name of safety and security, they are still waiting for resettlement at an alternative, developed site promised by authorities.
I am currently living with a neighbour whose home was spared, by chance said Binta Tchindo, a divorced mother of five. The lack of privacy is terrible, she told IPS. Still, she cannot bring herself to rebuild her own house, as she fears it will only be destroyed again.

Home to more than 5,000 people, Pays-Bas derives its name from the French bas-fonds , a term for a slum, according to resident Alpha Seydou. It is located in the south-east of Niamey, on rugged ground along the road to the airport.

Claiming that the take-off and landing of planes made the position of the informal settlement hazardous, municipal officials decided to clear Pays-Bas by means of an operation that began in September, with military assistance.

Catastrophes must be prevented. It s for this reason that the residents of Pays-Bas must leave this dangerous zone that they are living in illegally, Soumaïla Yahaya, a municipal official, told IPS.

The operation was later postponed while a new living area was sought for residents, but not before violent confrontations had taken place between the inhabitants and security forces that led to about 20 youths from the area being questioned and jailed. Most are now out on bail.
If we have settled on this site, from which they now want to chase us away, it s because we are poor. (But) what I know is that the capital does not only belong to the rich; we also have a right to it, Seydou told IPS.

It s an argument that Yahaya dismisses: We cannot continue to tolerate this anarchy consisting of people coming to set up homes without authorisation in vacant areas belonging to local authorities if we want to make a modern capital of Niamey.

In an ironic twist, expulsion of shanty dwellers may also reflect how their areas are become more desirable places to live.

Today, as the area (the settlement of Golf) has become up-market, they want to chase us again, chop down the trees and sell plots to wealthier Nigeriens, said resident Zoubeirou Adamou.

In addition, informal settlements are accused of being security risks.

These areas are dens of thieves who disturb the sleep of peaceful communities of the capital. The residents who live there did not ask anyone for authorisation before settling; as a result, they will be cleared off, says Boubacar Ganda, president of the Council of the Niamey Urban Community (Conseil de la communauté urbaine de Niamey) a body of elected officials.

But, this allegation is queried by Hamadou Boulama Tcherno who directs the Nigerien Social Forum, which has taken to heart the plight of thousands of people who have lived in the slums of Niamey for decades, and who are now being are cleared off or threatened with eviction often without the offer of alternative places to settle.

He claims that the large majority of residents in Pays-Bas and certain other shanty towns are people who left their villages because of hunger or poverty, in the hope of finding a better life in Niamey, and that they re not disturbing anyone.

If rural areas are losing more and more of their youth to urban centres, it s simply because of the poverty created by neo-liberal policies, which is today much more evident in rural areas than in town.

According to a study done in 2005 by the National Institute of Statistics (l Institut national de la statistique), the incidence of poverty at national level in Niger is 62.1 percent in urban areas, against 65.7 percent in rural areas.

Tcherno believes the solution to these problems is through the construction of social housing that the state could rent out to deprived communities at low cost, a suggestion government does not appear to endorse.

We are in a free market; it is therefore illusory to believe that the state can meet this request, retorts an official in the Nigerien Ministry of Town Planning, Habitat and Real Estate Registration, in Niamey.

The Nigerien Social Forum unites groups to pursue at national level the goals of the World Social Forum (WSF), which opposes globalisation in its current form. The seventh WSF is about to get underway in Nairobi, Kenya (Jan. 20-25).

Even for those who are allowed to remain in informal settlements, however, the future can be bleak. The slums in Niamey are afflicted by a severe shortage of social services, obliging residents to defecate outdoors.

This situation exposes them to certain illnesses like cholera, Illiassou Maïna, a doctor based in the capital, told IPS.

 

Related Posts

One Of The Most Popular Books For Aspiring Game Designers Is Getting A New Edition

If you’ve ever dreamed of making a game, you’ll want to check out Level Up: The Guide to Great Video Game Design Come from malaysia online casino . Written by veteran game developer Scott Rogers, the book is lauded as one of the best resources for learning game design, covering everything from starting your very first project to project management and monetization. A new edition of the book is launching soon on December 5 that will expand on the original with new chapters and insights from Rogers, and preorders are available now.

If you’re looking to build up a library of game development books, there are several other titles worth grabbing, many of which are on sale right now. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses by Jesse Schell takes a novel approach by present…

Next Halo On PS5- It's Too Soon To Say, Phil Spencer Says

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has commented on bringing more Xbox games to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, saying he’s not ruling anything out, and that includes the next Halo release.

Talking to Bloomberg, Spencer said, “I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say, ‘Thou must not,'” he said. For the next Halo game specifically, Bloomberg reported that Spencer said it was too early to make a decision about that.

In September, Microsoft announced that it was working on multiple new Halo games that are being made in Unreal Engine 5. None of the games have been officially announced, however. That being said, elements from the Project Foundry demo are likely to show up in future Halo titles, Microsoft has said.

Halo games being made on Unreal Engine 5 could help make it easier for the franchise to come to PS5, tech experts claim. Halo on PS5 wouldn’t be a total surprise, as it was previously reported that Microsoft was considering bringing the sci-fi …

Phasmophobia Launches On Console, Patch Notes Include Thrills, Chills, And Cross-Play

Four years after its PC launch, Kinetic Games’ spine-chilling multiplayer scarefest, Phasmophobia, has just arrived on console, allowing PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S owners to finally experience the joys of screaming themselves hoarse while their friends giggle into the mic. At last, the joys of Ghost Huntin’ are available to all.

Phasmophobia–which launched in September 2020 and took home the award for Best Debut Game just three months later–now features cross-play in addition to console compatibility, meaning players can face the paranormal (or run screaming from it) with friends on any platform. The console launch comes alongside a new game update called the Crimson Eye, which is available now for all platforms, and features everything from the return of a heart-stopping seasonal event to bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements.

Edgar Wright Directing Running Man Remake

Edgar Wright (Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim vs the World) will reportedly be directing a new adaptation of The Running Man, according to Deadline. No casting announcements or production start dates have yet been announced.

The Running Man was originally a novel published in 1982 by Stephen King, under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. The book was previously loosely adapted in 1987 into a dystopian sci-fi action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. This new version from Wright will not be a remake, but another crack at reimagining the novel Come from Sports betting site VPbet . Wright will co-write the story with Michael Bacall (21 Jump Street), with the latter writing the script.

Doctor Strange Star Benedict Cumberbatch On His WandaVision Non-Appearance

The mysterious nature of the recent Marvel show WandaVision provoked lots of fan theories and rumors. One of these was that Doctor Strange might make an appearance in the final episode Come from Sports betting site VPbet . He didn’t, but now actor Benedict Cumberbatch has commented on these rumors.

Cumberbatch appeared on The Tonight Show, where host Jimmy Fallon asked Cumberbatch if had anything to say to fans about the issue. Amusingly, Fallon was careful not to specifically say whether Cumberbatch had appeared or not, something the actor played along with in his reply.

Batman- Arkham Collection Is Only $7 Right Now

Fanatical has a lot of great bundle deals right now, but one of the best bargains will take you back to Gotham City. Batman: Arkham Collection is currently on sale for only $7.19. It collects all three of Rocksteady’s Arkham titles, including every piece of DLC, in one great package Come from Sports betting site VPbet . This deal is only available for the next week (ends July 13), so snag it while you can.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *