The Republic of Niger is the largest country in West Africa, encompassing an areas slightly smaller than Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico combined. Niger’s 760,000 square miles of land are covered by a total of 6,000 miles of road, only 480 miles of which are paved (and Brett tells us that “paved” is a relative term!). The capitol city is Niamey.

Niger is a landlocked, arid nation. 80% of the country is desert, with the northern borders stretching to the middle regions of the Sahara Desert. The heat can be so intense that rain frequently evaporates before it reaches the ground. The remaining 20% along the southern border is made up of dry to semi-fertile savannah (grassland) - which is where Brett’s village is located.

The land retains enough rain to enable limited agriculture, with only 3% of the country’s land being arable. The days and nights are hot except from December to February when the nights get cooler. 95% of the population lives on rain-fed agriculture, which is, as you will see, how Brett’s village survives. The CIA’s information site on Niger notes the country’s natural hazards as “recurring droughts.”

The CIA site further notes the current environmental issues as overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification, as well as loss of wildlife (elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe and lion) due to poaching and habitat destruction. (You will hear Brett talk about his not feeling threatened by large animals, as they have all been killed off.)

Brett frequently talks about Niger as the world’s second poorest nation. With an annual per capita income of approximately $230 - that’s all - it is not surprising that 63% of the country is acknowledged to live below the poverty level.

Niger’s economy centers on subsistence agriculture. Uranium is its largest export, but that industry has suffered dramatically from declining world demand. Periodic droughts, resulting in food shortages and fluctuating export prices, cause instability.

The government primarily relies on bilateral and multilateral aid - which was suspended following the April 1999 coup d'etat - for operating expenses and public investment. In 2000, the World Bank approved a structural adjustment loan of $35 million to help support fiscal reforms. However, reforms could prove difficult given the government's bleak financial situation. And the cycle continues.

One of the sure signs of a nation’s level of economic success can be found in its main consumption items. In a poor nation, consumption focuses primarily on food, and in Niger, that is the case. Niger’s main domestic consumption is of the most basic of foods - millet, sorghum, cowpeas, cassava, and rice.

In the 19th century, contact with the West began when the first European explorers searched the area for the mouth of the Niger River. Although French efforts at pacification began before 1900, dissident ethnic groups, especially the desert Tuareg, were not subdued until 1922, when Niger became a French colony.

Niger's colonial history and development parallel that of other French West African territories. In addition to conferring French citizenship on the inhabitants of the territories, the 1946 French constitution provided for decentralization of power and limited participation in political life for local advisory assemblies. In 1958, Niger became a self-governing republic within the French Community, and proceeded to full independence in 1960.

One of the observations Brett makes frequently in his letters is about the interrelation of civil unrest and extreme poverty. The history of Niger since its independence backs up his observations.

For the first 14 years as an independent state, Niger was run by a single- party civilian regime under the presidency of Hamani Diori. During the 1970s, the country’s economy flourished from uranium production, but when uranium prices fell in the 1980’s, Niger’s brief period of prosperity ended. In 1974, a combination of devastating drought and accusations of rampant corruption resulted in a military coup that overthrew the Diori regime. An estimated two million people were starving in Niger. However, 200,000 tons of imported food, half U.S. supplied, substantially ended famine conditions by year’s end. Seyni Kountche, a Hausa, and a small group of military advisors ruled the country until Kountche's death by natural causes in 1987. Kountche had installed a 12 man military government that administered to every aspect of the country’s affairs. Fighting corruption and developing Niger’s infrastructure was at the base of the Kountche administration. He formed a predominantly civilian government in 1976 before his death. Under Kountche, Niger built an extensive laterite and tar road system linking each side of the vast country, west to east to the north.

Kountche’s chief of staff, Col. Ali Saibou, a Songhai/Djerma, who released political prisoners, liberalized some of Niger’s laws and policies, and promulgated a new constitution, succeeded Kountche. President Saibou's efforts to control political reforms, however, failed in the face of union and student demands to institute a multi-party democratic system. The Saibou regime acquiesced to these demands by the end of 1990.

New political parties and civic associations sprang up and a National Conference was convened in July 1991 to prepare the way for the adoption of a new constitution and the holding of free and fair elections. A transition government was installed in November 1991 to manage the affairs of state until the institutions of the Third Republic were put in place in April 1993. The transition government was seen as weak and ineffectual. During its administration there was confusion over who administered policy and what authority its implementation had. Teachers and students were typically on strike for most of 1992 and 1993. Several times during that year armed soldiers went out on strike across the country, running amok and making demands for payment arrears without any clear organization or representation.

In 1993 the country’s first multiparty election resulted in the presidency of Mahamane Ousmane. The first order of business for the new government was to recover from the economic crisis. Progress in any area of the country, however, was delayed by unrest caused by the government’s inability to pay its employees.

Additional problems were created when the government announced pay cuts of nearly 25 percent. After settling with the public sector employees, the situation was exacerbated by the devaluation of the CFA franc by 50 percent, thereby nullifying any compensation to the public sector employees. Clashes with police over the payment of grants resulted in the death of one student. Strikes and violent protests persisted for the next several months.

The Prime Minister resigned in September 1994. A successful vote of "no confidence" in the new government resulted in the president’s dissolution of the National Assembly. Elections were set for mid-January 1995.

Problems arose soon after the elections when one party rejected the other’s nominee for prime minister. Major conflicts, including a motion of "no confidence"; continued fighting between the supporters of the president and those of the prime minister; strikes by teachers, civil servants and university students; and the eventual rejection of the government’s budget proposal, blocked the government further. The government of Niger and the country were clearly at an impasse.

On Jan. 27, 1996, there was a military coup under the command of Col. Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara. A state of emergency was declared, the constitution was suspended and political activity halted. The coup leaders formed an interim government, focused on funding arrangements with the IMF and the revision of the constitution.

With the help of two independent counsels, which included tribal, religious and former government leaders, the National Forum for Democratic Renewal laid out the plans for the revision of the constitution and electoral code and set the date for national elections. The constitution was ratified by 92 percent of the population that actually voted (only 35 percent of the total eligible public) and elections were held. Former President Ousmane, former Prime Minister Amadou, former Speaker of the Assembly Issoufou, and Maïnassara all contested the elections. However, the military leader of the 1996 coup, Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara was declared president in a rigged election.

President Ibrahime Baré Maïnassara, considered a corrupt and ineffectual leader, was assassinated in April 1999 by his own security guard. Following his overthrow of Niger’s only democratically elected government, political unrest dogged his presidency. The prime minister was retained, and the National Reconciliation Council, responsible for the coup, promised that elections would follow in nine months. In November 1999, democratic elections were held. Tandja Mamandou was elected president and desperately needed foreign aid from France and eventually the U.S. was restored.

A notable thread in Niger’s history is the role of Islam in politics. Prior to colonization by the French, Niger was significantly influenced by the spread of Islam. Koranic schools dominated education and a significant portion of the country converted. In certain areas, most notably the trading capital of Maradi, pre-Islamic beliefs survived. A blended religion accepted Muslim elements while maintaining long standing political and religious institutions embedded in a system of priests and Bori cults. The priests would maintain order while Allah, as an element of Islam, would ensure health and prosperity of the community as a whole. While to some degree this religious blending persists, the treaties with Britain and France, which enabled a peaceful movement of people to and from Maradi, increased the Muslim influence.

Today, many of the rural Hausa (Brett’s village) are only superficially Muslim, and their religious practices have been mixed with local traditions. They believe in a variety of spirits, both good and bad. Pagan rituals include making sacrificial offerings to the spirits and to the spirit possessed. Most rituals are performed by family members, but specialists are called upon to cure diseases.

The Hausa of Niger have adopted the kulle tradition of Islam, meaning that they seclude their women. This does not mean total seclusion; they are free to visit each other in the evenings and go on extended visits to relatives.

The Hausa are primarily farmers and shepherds, or traders. Markets are a traditional part of Hausa society, carrying social as well as economic significance. Male friends and relatives meet there to discuss village affairs, while young, well dressed single women pass through to see and be seen.

Most of the Hausa live in rural farm villages with populations ranging from 2,000 to 12,000. Both inside and outside the villages, one-third to one-half of the population live in small farm settlements made up of extended families. These economic kin-based units live under the authority of the male head of the household.

In marriage relationships, close relatives, preferably cousins, are chosen as partners. It is a patrilineal society, or one in which the line of descent is traced through the males. Girls often marry between the ages of 12 and 14.

The Hausa are known for being hospitable to strangers. In Niger, it has even become a source of national pride. In the Hausa language, one word, bako, is used to define both "guest" and "stranger."

According to the U.S. Department of State, Niger’s constitution prohibits discrimination based on sex, social origin, race, ethnicity, or religion. In practice, however, there is discrimination against women, children, ethnic minorities, and disabled persons, including limited economic and political opportunities.

Domestic violence against women is widespread, although firm statistics are lacking. Wife beating is reportedly common, even in upper social strata. Families often intervene to prevent the worst abuses, and women may (and do) divorce because of physical abuse. While women have the right to seek redress in the customary or modern courts, few do so, due to ignorance of the legal system, fear of social stigma, or fear of repudiation. Women's rights organizations report that prostitution is often the only economic alternative for a woman who wants to leave her husband.

Despite the Constitution's provisions for women's rights, the deep-seated traditional belief in the submission of women to men results in discrimination in the political process and in education, employment, and property rights.

Discrimination is worse in rural areas, where women do much of the subsistence farming as well as child-rearing, water- and wood-gathering, and other chores. Despite constituting 47 percent of the work force, women have made only modest inroads in civil service and professional employment and remain underrepresented in these areas.

Women's inferior legal status is evident, for example, in head of household status: A male head of household has certain legal rights, but divorced or widowed women, even with children, are not considered to be heads of households. In 1994 the Government considered a draft family code intended to eliminate gender bias in inheritance rights, land tenure, and child custody, as well as to end the practice of repudiation, which permits a husband to obtain an immediate divorce with no further responsibility for his wife or children. However, in June 1994, when Islamic associations condemned the draft code, the then Government suspended discussions. The Government has taken no further action, nor has the current legislature discussed the draft family code. Islamic militants reportedly threatened women who supported the code with physical harm.

The majority of young girls are kept at home to work and rarely attend school for more than a few years, resulting in a female literacy rate of 7 percent, compared with 18 percent for males. Tradition among some ethnic groups allows young girls from rural families to enter into marriage agreements on the basis of which girls are sent at the age of 10 or 12 to join their husbands' families under the tutelage of their mothers-in-law. There are credible reports of underage girls being drawn into prostitution, sometimes with the complicity of the family.

Female genital mutilation (FGM), which is widely condemned by international health experts as damaging to both physical and psychological health, is practiced by several ethnic groups in the extreme west and far eastern areas of the country. Clitoridectomy is the most common form of FGM. FGM is not illegal, but the Government is firmly engaged in an effort to eliminate the practice. The Government is working closely with a local nongovernmental organization (NGO), the United Nations Children's Fund, and other donors to develop and distribute educational materials at government clinics and maternal health centers.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region most affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Over 90 percent of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa is transmitted heterosexually. Unlike the U.S. where 20% of HIV/AIDS victims are women, in Africa that number is over 50% (Over 80 percent of women worldwide living with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa.)

This situation not only imperils African women, but their babies as well. At the end of 1999, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 92 percent of the cumulative total of the world's AIDS orphans (UNAIDS defines AIDS orphans as children who have lost their mother or both parents to AIDS before the age of 15). During that year, nearly 90 percent of infants who acquired the virus perinatally or through breast-feeding were African.

These numbers on their own are staggering. But they are even more so when we are reminded that sub-Saharan Africa contains roughly 10 percent of the world's population.

As for Niger in particular, 1.35% of the population is infected with HIV/AIDS. (Compare that to approximately .3% of the U.S. population that is infected.) 6,500 people died of AIDS in 1999 in Niger, while in the U.S. in that same year, that number was 15,000. Niger’s population is 10 million; ours is 276 million.