In Niger
I was going by car from Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) to Niamey
the capital of Niger; the distance is 530 km (350 miles). I had
plenty of time to speak about their country with the Nigerois
who were accompanying me. There are 11 million inhabitants in
Niger with about 20 000 Catholics. More than 70% of the population
is under 25 years of age. Only 25% of the population goes to
school! Niger is one of the most underdeveloped countries in
the world.
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Islam is preached everywhere and the fundamentalists are becoming
more and more influential and often violent. |
For the moment the Catholic Church is left in peace: like
an ant that walks by itself no one wants to step on it, it is
negligible. What about Aids? It is hard to know: there is no
statistics! When Moslems represent a majority in a country they
do not want people to think that they have as many Aids patients
than the other countries. They say that it's the debauched Christian
countries that suffer the most from the disease.
Hunger is endemic due to the drought. All are poor with
two thirds having less than one dollar per day as income.
Most of the youths cannot find a job. The best of them want
to immigrate to Europe or to North America. They say: "to
leave is to die a little but to stay is to die for sure". |
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Considering this state of misery and illiteracy, I wonder
why there is no uprising, no civil war. There are always rumors
of coups d'état, mutinies and revolts. However the Moslem
religion strengthens the cohesion of the population. It teaches
patience and endurance.
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I am organizing a retreat for a group of Church employees,
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people engaged to help in development, nuns, monks, priests
and bishops. There are 65 of them coming from all parts of Niger.
Although the heat overcomes me and that I am looking for
rain, I have the joy to discover the Church becoming more and
more African and composed of Nigerois. The Church is a seed that
will grow and will be like a ferment of the humanity to come.
It is the salt that gives taste. |