Hundreds of residents of Diffa and internally and externally displaced persons count on assistance from the Church to survive during the state of emergency declared to fight the Boko Haram Islamists.
Among the worst affected residents are the motorbike-taxi driers. The Caritas of the Maradi diocese explained that “this is a means of survival for many young people, who are now brutally left without any means” since this activity was banned during the state of emergency. More than 460 of them, with their families (a total of around a thousand people) in May received financial aid: 40,000 CFA francs each (around 61 Euro). They will receive the same sum also this month.
A 30-day food ration was instead distributed to 200 families displaced by Boko Haram violence, who sought refuge in the area: they are a total of 1,400 people from Malam Fatori, Damasak and Baga, in Nigeria, or areas on the border with Niger affected by the violence of the Islamist fighters. The Caritas statement indicates that many “are women who suffered atrocities at the hands of the Islamists and have no news of their loved ones, who were taken prisoner”.
[DM/BO]
