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December 05, 2005

Adventures in Arlit

It was worth the seventeen hour bus-ride just to see this place. Arlit is the last town in the north of Niger, a shanty-town which grew up on account of the uranium mines which started operating in the late 1960’s.

I am staying with Anout, a Tuareg silversmith with a large and friendly family. His is the last house on the north side of Arlit, beyond which the Sahara stretches away to a flat horizon. The border with Algeria is 200k away.

I saw my first genuine mirage yesterday, amongst other things.

Between 1991 and 1995 there was a massive Tuareg rebellion in the north here. It resurged last year when the Minister of Tourism (the only Tuareg in the Niger government) was arrested and held in prison without trial for thirteen months, suspected of having arranged an assassination. Now things are quieter here, but there are still occasional hold-ups of vehicles travelling on the Agadez-Arlit road. On the day before I travelled here a French tourist was shot and killed by Tuareg bandits on the road east of Agadez (his driver had refused to stop).

As for the mines, I have an appointment to go and see them tomorrow. I have Anout to thank for that - he has the ear of the French directors because he makes silver necklaces for their wives. Here in Africa it's who you know that counts.

Posted by sahelsteve at December 5, 2005 10:42 AM