Huffpost: Death From Thirst in the Sahara

HUFFPOST Article:

DAKAR, Senegal -- DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The governor of Niger's Agadez province confirms that 92 bodies have been recovered in the desert, after trucks ferrying migrants to Algeria broke down.
Col. Garba Makido told The Associated Press that the men, women and children died of thirst after being stranded in the punishing heat last month. Authorities were not alerted until a woman, who is among 21 known survivors, managed to walk to the city of Arlit, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of where the trucks broke down. The next day, Makido said, a father who had been walking with his two young daughters also arrived, though the children perished just before reaching the city.
The dozens of migrants were being smuggled along a well-established trafficking route to North Africa.

Sahel: Wilderness Innocence

The Azaouak Valley, in Niger’s Sahel, offers unexpected surprises like this lovely littleTuareg girl.

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La vallée de l’Azaouk, dans le Sahel nigérien, offre des surprises inespérées comme cette charmante petite fille Touareg. 

Unnerving Evening Door Knocks

Last Friday, October 25, at around 7 p.m., my wife Martha came down to my basement office, where I rarely see her.

     “Some people are knocking on the front door,” she said. “Very hard.”

     “Hard-knocking people cannot be friendly,” I replied. “Relax and let them knock until they tire of it. My brother in Belgium always rushes to his door when his bell rings (we removed ours), and it always ends up costing him money somehow. We’re not expecting the Nobel price and don’t play the lottery. And if by chance our neighbors think it’s time for us to rake again the leaves on our lawn, let them come back tomorrow morning.”

     Somewhat reassured, Martha went back upstairs to her own computer. But she was down again five minutes later.

     “They keep knocking,” she said. “So it could be important. What if it’s my cousin Juan Carlos driving by?”

     “And what if they are thieves?” I asked. “We know no one in town and the knockers can only be a nuisance. As for Juan Carlos, he would not visit us without giving us a buzz first. And he would call out your name. Look, there is no law forcing us to open our door to strangers at night.”

     Not quite convinced yet, Martha went back up. But five minutes later she was down again.

     “Now they’re knocking on the back door,” she said. "And now I’m scared.”

     Finally realizing Martha did need my help, I pulled myself from my desk and went up to spy on the knockers. Hiding behind a curtain I saw the back of a woman pulling away a little girl with a bow in her hair.

     “Who in the world...? I wondered, stunned.

     And then I knew. Whatever the reasons, our town’s Halloween was being celebrated nearly a week early, something I might have known had I read the local newspaper. The repeated knocks had been from different groups passing by. And as we had not prepared early for the event we had no candy to distribute. Embarrassed, we had to keep playing dead until 8 p.m.  

Living Hell On Earth

http://www.makeitpossible.com/

Brazil: Yanomami Man Hunting Birds For Feathers

In Brazil’s Amazon rain forest a Yanomami Indian is climbing a tree in search of birds with colorful feathers to shoot down for body decoration.

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En Amazonie brésilienne un indien Yanomami grimpe à un arbre à la recherche d’oiseaux dont les belles plumes pourraient décorer son corps.

French Polynesia: Egg Poachers Under Attack

On the rookery of Motu Manu, off Ua Huka Island in the MarquesasArchipelago, sooty terns attack egg poachers.

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Des hirondelles de mer attaquent des voleurs d’œufs dans une colonie de ces oiseaux sur l’îlot de Motu Manu, au large de l’ île de Ua Huka dans l’archipel des Marquises

Cameroon: African Cinema

Cameroon. Movie rental store in Bafoussam

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Cameroun. Magasin de location de films à Bafoussam

Cameroon: Bantu Elegance

Cameroon. Bantu woman in Foumban.

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Cameroun. Femme Bantou à Foumban.

Colombia: Noanama Childhood In The Choco Rain Forest.

Colombia. Noanama childhood in the Choco rain forest.

Colombie. Enfance Noanama dans la forêt du Choco.

Kenya: My Crew, My Camels In The Mathews Range

Kenya. Two of my three Samburu  expedition companions and three pack camels in the Matthews Range’s dry Milgis River. Camels are rarely ridden in Kenya.

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Kenya. Deux de mes trois compagnons d’expédition Samburu et trois chameaux dans le lit asséché de la rivière Milgis dans le massif de Matthews.