Travel Writing

My former roommate has been in Niger. She has posted a few photographs and a bit of writing about her experiences there. It's worth reading; here's an excerpt:

I think the reason Niger’s hunger crisis continues to elude the definitions of most journalists and many aid workers is because the level of poverty and malnutrition that has existed in Niger for several years is equal to the suffering that is usually only found elsewhere in the world during a humanitarian crisis. What do you call a hunger crisis that is worse this year, but will probably be bad next year and certainly killed many last year and the year before that? Endemic poverty? You can’t cure it with several months of food distributions and malnutrition clinics. The economic and environmental problems at its source will return next year, without a doubt.