Waka abroad pipu protest on top lockdown wey dem extend for Niger

France 24 don talk say, hundreds of sub-Saharan African waka abroad pipu wey hook for Niger don enta streets dey protest about de kwaranteen lockdown wey dey increase for a waka abroad camp. Dese waka abroad pipu don dey for inside lockdown for more dan three weeks. Dem deport dem from Algeria and dem end up for de border town of Arliy for Niger and from dere, dem suppose carry dem go back to deir country where dem come from.

“We dey Arlit for 15 days. But for de end of de kwaranteen time, no wan come see us. We wait anoda day and still, no wan come. So we decide to demand talk with de IOM. No wan give us soap and towel. Plenty pipu who come from Algeria dey wit me wey dem deport with deir work cloth, which for mani times, dey dirti, teartear or dey covered with paint or cement,” talk Rafa, wan of de waka abroad pipu. 

De protest lead to make dem loot shop wey IOM dey hepp run wey dey full of sanitary supplies. Na at least thirteen protesters dey arrested by de police. De extended lockdown of waka abroad pipu dey linked to de border closure policy of many kountries wey be means of stopping de spread of de coronavirus. However, de waka abroad pipu, mostly from Nigeria, Mali, Benin and Guinea, talk say de camp don become hard because of poor communication, health and sanitary facilities.

Thousands of Africans waka abroad pipu don hook for inside Niger in de wake of de global coronavirus pandemic. More dan 250 waka abroad pipu dey abandoned by traffickers for the Libya-Niger border before dem dey rescued by de IOM, earlier for de month.

TMP_04/05/2020

Photo credit: Shutterstock/Torsten Pursche

Photo caption: A small village near Niamey, Niger’s capital.