Something to keep in mind

As in all countries, there are people here who makes a living by taking things from other people, a.k.a. thieves. Here are some true stories which has happened to people I know here. First about pick-pockets:

*At the big market: A person uses its cellphone. When finished, a few moments after, the person can no longer find the cellphone and is searching in every possible pocket. Then the friend says, "but there it is!". The person takes up a cellphone, but says " no its not this one, it was my cellphone from home, this is the one I use in Niger. A few minutes after also this cellphone is gone...

*At another market: A person is carrying its child who refuses to walk in the big mass of people. When stop walking, the person is observing a guy who takes a look at the person's pocket. The person thinks "ok, now I have to be careful, this person is trying to get my wallet in my pocket." Still, 5 min. after, the wallet is gone...

These stories is to make you understand how skilled the pick-pockets are. And as soon as you walk in a crowded place, be extremely careful if you wanna keep your things. I have not yet been a victim (knock on wood). But after hearing this stories, you know it can happen to anyone.

Then there are other ways for people trying to get your things:

As I think I've already told you, I have problems to recognize people here. I'm not the only one, and this is taken advantage of:

*A european is at the market. A person stops him and says: "Hi, do you recognize me, I'm the guardian where you work. My son is ill, I need 10 000 F CFA (15 €) to the hospital, can I borrow this from you? I'll give back the money to you tomorrow at work". As the person is not sure if he knows the "guardian" or not, and don't want to make bad relationships with the guardians at work, the person is lending him the money. And of course, the person won't get this back as this was not his guardian.

And then something that happened to me today, but thanks to hearing all this stories, I did well!:

*At noon Souley and Marie leaves with the car. I'm alone at the house. Someone rings on the bell at the gate. Just when I'm opening the door to the house, a woman enters the gate. She says "oh hi, I thought there was no one here!". I say "hi". Then she comes up to the terrasse to present herself. She says she lives next door (she points in one direction), we're neighbours. First she asks me if I'll be at the house at 14h. Then she starts to talk about a tree bla bla bla... And then a snake bla bla bla... And then her child who got bitten by the snake and now is in coma at the hospital and needs antivenin bla bla bla.. And her husband is not at home so he can't give her the money. But he has a bla bla bla title, and works at bla bla bla, and he will come at 14h go give me the money back.

As this story sounds very typical to other ones I heard, I first say that I don't have any money at the house, but that I can call Souley and ask him to come over as he has the money. She says this is not necessary and then asks if I don't even have a few francs... I tell her that I don't want to give away money just like that because I've heard so many stories about people being tricked. She says she's honest and that I can trust here and that she knows Souley and that her name is Aya and Souley knows her too. So I say that I'll call Souley just to verify this, and then if it's true, I can lend her some money. She says no it's not necessary, she doesn't want to make a big story out of this. This is something about giving and helping a person and then something about God as well. So she leaves.

I admit that I thought that I don't want to risk a child's life just because I'm not trusting her. What's the worst, loose 15 € or a child's life? But then I thought, if her child really was in trouble, of course she would have let me call Souley... When she had left, I called Souley anyway just to verify. He was just going back to the house, so I exlpained him everyhing when he arrived. He immediately asked if I let her in in the house, I said no. And this is something I wouldn't have think about; If the woman was let into the house, she would have asked me to get a glass of water or something and then take stuff when I wasn't watching. Luckily I didn't let her in and now I know this for the next time!

These stories is also to show you how people here is playing with your conscience. They tell stories to make you feel bad, and I guess most people think as I do; Either you risk someone's life, either you loose some really unimportant money. But here, you have to understand that serious people would never ask you for anything. It is also important to not encourage them to continue to do what they're doing. So even if they're just asking for a few francs, don't give it to them, even if it means nothing to you.

Marie gave me the advice too that if the person asking speaks really good french, be careful. Because an ordinary nigerien wouldn't speak that good, and would also never approach you with these kind of demands. And if the person speaks good french, the person usually has a good job and can pay for himself.

And before you start to think that "oh, poor people, they don't have any money and is just trying to survive". I know a woman who earns less then 30€ a month and also has a daughter to take care of. She's not stealing. So being poor is not an excuse.