Dumped On A Dusty Street

Scrap for Africa, dumped on a dusty street in Nara.

First world scrappage  programs lead to first class scrappage sites in Africa.

A scrappage program is a government budget program to promote the replacement of old vehicles with modern vehicles. Scrappage programs generally have the dual aim of stimulating the automobile industry and removing inefficient, high emissions vehicles from the road. Many European countries have introduced large-scale scrappage programs as an economic stimulus to increase market demand in the industrial sector during the global recession that began in 2008.

In an effort to stimulate consumer spending, the German government has provided a scrap bonus of 2,500 euros ($3,570) for two million old cars in 2009.  Germany announced, however later, it would not extend the subsidy, which has proved extremely popular.

Many Germans jumped at the chance to replace old cars with new ones. But instead of being crushed here, as planned by the program, many cars end up in Africa. Nigerian dealers say they export up to 150 cars per month.

Similar, the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), colloquially known as “Cash for Clunkers“, was a $3 billion US federal scrappage program intended to provide economic incentives to U.S. residents to purchase a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle when trading in a less fuel-efficient vehicle. The program, starting in 2009, was promoted as providing stimulus to the economy by boosting auto sales, while putting safer, cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles on the roadways.

However 50000 scrapped vehicles have been exported to Africa and Eastern Europe, where newer, safer cars of the type being destroyed in the West are prohibitively expensive.

Now just add all the cars that have been brought to Africa since the 1960’s.

( more information about these programs can be found on Wikipedia)

All Dressed Up

A little girl all dressed up in a street in Nara

The little girl in the picture was my neighbour’s daughter. That day she was wearing a beautiful white and blue Western dress, matching the colors of the Sahel. The dress had been bought on the Nara market the day before. She had been attending a wedding with her parents, friends and neighbours.

Now that most of the festivities were over and the greatest heat of the day had faded, she enjoyed playing in the street all by herself.

What has become of her, I asked myself ? When going through my pictures I remember this moment clearly. I played with her for a while. Today she is a woman, may be married to a man in the Sahel, a wealthy trader or a farmer ? Still in Nara ? Or has a decision been made for her by her parents to allow her to go to school and get an education ?