Jane Hahn Photography

niger: the repentant ones

Since June 2017, 132 former Boko Haram combatants and their families have been held in an internment camp a few kilometers from Goudoumaria, Niger in a program, partially funded by the State Department, hoping to rehabilitate the men and prepare them for life back in society. But, due to financial and operational delays, the men have yet to be trained in any useful skill and wait with growing frustration with the promise of amnesty and a new life. 

"To them, their detention seems like it may be everlasting. We have promised them training and reintegration, but instead we have put them in an oven and forgotten about them" said Captain Moussa GArba Hassan, a Nigerien military official who overseens the camp. 

(Washington Post November 2018) 

  • Abukhar, 45, and his son Abukhar, 6, look out the window of their dormitory room at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018. Yassine and his family have been at the camp for 8 months.
  • Mustafa, 20 (c) and Usman, 17, stand in the window of a dormitory room  at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger in August 2018.
  • Ari,12, sits in the window as Abukar Bulama, 45 weaves a straw mat at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger August 2018.
  • A young boy plays with cracks in the concrete at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger on Thursday, August 2018.
  • Zara, 40 weaves a straw mat at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018. Shettima has spent over one year in the camp.
  • Children play soccer at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018.
  • Malam, 26 (l) and Alhaji, 23, (r)  at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018.
  • Ibrahim, 22, sits in a window at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018.
  • Luma, 6 (l) and Busam, 9, stand in the window of their room at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants and their families in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018.
  • Bubacar, 6, stands with his father, former Boko Haram combatant, Abucar, 40, at an internment camp for ex-fighters in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018.
  • Ex-Boko Haram combatants play cards in a dormitory in an internment camp in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018.
  • Ex-Boko Harma combatants pray at an internment camp in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018.
  • Mustafa, 27, (c) gathers with other men after prayers at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018.
  • Mustafa Abboubacar, 27, prays at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018.
  • An overhead view of an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018.
  • A boy stands in a doorway at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018.
  • Men lean against a wall at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018.
  • Men stand at the gate watching as others push a car free from the sand at an internment camp for ex-Boko Haram combatants in Goudoumaria, Niger, August 2018.
  • Women walk through Boudouri Internally Displaced persons camp outside of Diffa, Niger, September 2018.The original village of Boudouri housed between 200-300 people but now, because of the crisis, over 5000 take refuge with little to no aid for the last five months.
  • A tree is silhouetted against a storm outside of Diffa, Niger, September 2018.
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