Niger coup: IDPs hope to return home under military rule
After the military seized power, many of Niger’s IDPs (internal displaced people) hope to return to the villages they had to flee due to jihadist insurgencies. After France’s withdrawal from the region, a new security pact with Mali and Burkina Faso promises longed-for stability.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 An uncertain new life at the IDP camp in Saqqara.
00:03 Abdul Razak Sumana fled his home village after seeing Islamist terrorists kill his neighbours.
00:10 He managed to escape with his family at the last minute.
00:18 We have suffered so much because of the terrorists.
00:22 We were forced to leave our village.
00:25 The terrorists warned us, but we didn't believe them at first.
00:29 Then one day they came and burned all of our grain storage, took away our livestock and
00:35 destroyed all of our possessions.
00:39 And that was the day we fled to the Tilapiru region.
00:45 Having lost their animals and with no land to cultivate, the refugees are in a dire situation
00:50 here.
00:51 The local government has given them a place to put their makeshift huts, but nothing more.
00:57 The women try to earn some money weaving straw mats.
01:05 We go to the weekly local markets and try and sell our mats there, so that we can buy
01:11 at least some necessities to feed the family.
01:14 The Saqqara community has taken in more than 3,000 refugees.
01:21 At first the locals welcomed them, but then conflicts over land and water started.
01:28 That's why the mayor is pinning her hope on the new military government.
01:32 She expects the junta to get the security crisis under control so that the IDPs can
01:37 finally return.
01:43 The last few days have been really good.
01:46 The army has moved in to secure the area.
01:52 In fact, the IDPs themselves want to go back to their villages.
01:56 But what they really need first is psychological support.
02:01 Many IDPs are traumatized.
02:03 But the daily struggle for survival overrides everything.
02:07 Water is the biggest problem.
02:09 Every drop has to be paid for at the local pump.
02:11 Too often, come evening, there is no water left.
02:15 But today Hamza Abdul Wahab is lucky.
02:17 He managed to fill his canister for a price he can afford.
02:21 The demand for water is huge.
02:23 People come here all day long.
02:25 For the displaced people who come to get water from the pump, we sometimes sell it to them
02:29 at a lower price, lower than for the locals, because we know that they don't have enough
02:34 money.
02:35 Seni Alpha Zazi is the camp elder.
02:41 He tries to spread confidence in the community and to calm tempers if conflicts with the
02:46 locals over water arise.
02:48 For him, hope has now returned.
02:55 Since the day we learned that the military had taken power, we've had high hopes that
02:59 we'll be able to return to our respective villages.
03:05 We've already heard that the military are doing their best in our localities to drive
03:09 the terrorists out.
03:12 There's optimism in the town hall too.
03:17 The newly announced defence alliance between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is inspiring
03:21 more confidence than the old cooperation with France.
03:26 We have no other partners than this alliance.
03:30 We welcomed it very, very favourably.
03:34 We hope it supports the authorities.
03:37 Above all, we welcomed this partnership because it could help curb or eradicate terrorism.
03:47 But until that happens, the IDPs will have to stay and live in the camp.
03:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]