NIAMEY, Niger — For tens of thousands of people from Niger, the downfall of Moammar Gadhafi has been an economic catastrophe, plunging them suddenly from a world of good pay in Libya back into the precarious universe of their home country, one of the poorest and most dependent nations.
More than 200,000 Nigeriens have fled the fighting since March, according to the Niger government, laboriously traversing the desert from Libya, where they were earning unheard-of sums, by local standards, as tailors, security guards, cooks and drivers.
A majority of those who fled are now destitute, hungry and, along with the thousands of families dependent on remittances from Libya, without prospects. The government admits it does not have the resources to help them and is pleading with outside donors for help.
