Néma is a town in southeastern Mauritania, close to the border with

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

. It is located at around at the eastern end of the Aoukar. It is the capital of

Hodh Ech Chargui Region Hodh Ech Chargui ( ar, ولاية الحوض الشرقي, "Eastern Basin Region") is a large region in eastern Mauritania, with an area of 182,700 km2. Its capital is Néma, but the largest town, in Bassiknou Department, is Fassala (or Vass ...

and of the Néma Department. While the urban population of Nema is approximately 50–60,000, the surrounding rural sites served by the city make it closer to 200,000. Mauritanians value brousse, or country living, as a throwback to their nomadic roots. " The Road of Hope," which stretches from the capital, Nouakchott, ends in Nema near the market quartier. There are ten quartiers, sections, of the city, the oldest being Edelibu Quartier, northeast of the road. Shovia Quartier, dating from the 1950s, is the only section south of the road.

Climate

Néma has a hot arid climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''BWh''). Although there is a clearly defined

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...

from July to September during which of the annual rainfall of falls, even in these months evaporation clearly exceeds rainfall.

Facilities

There is a hospital with fewer than ten doctors but the women's services section is well-staffed and efficient. It is overseen by the DRAS, or regional medical director. As it is the capital of the Hodh-el-Shargi Region, Nema has a wali (regional governor), Maire (mayor for municipal affairs), and Hakim (deals with civil matters), in descending order of influence. There are eleven madrasas (

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s), two colleges (

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

s), and a lycee (

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

). These are overseen by the DREN, or regional education director. There is a Condition Feminine, or Women's Ministry, overseen by a woman appointed by the national government. In addition, there are numerous NGOs (

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

s) present including Sante Sud, a French health organization. The

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F ...

(American) was present 2007-2008.

Demographics

The cultural demographic is predominantly Moor, but there are

Pulaar Pulaar (in Adlam: , in Ajami: ) is a Fula language spoken primarily as a first language by the Fula and Toucouleur peoples in the Senegal River valley area traditionally known as Futa Tooro and further south and east. Pulaar speakers, known ...

and Bambara present.

Transport

Nema is close to the Malian border and there is constant traffic, either heading south to Mali via Adel Bagrou, East to Bassikounou and Léré (Mali) or north to the ancient town of

Oualata , settlement_type = Commune and town , image_skyline = Oualata 03.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = View of the town looking in a southeasterly direction , image ...

(pronounced Walata).

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

picks up in November and December when the temperatures become bearable. The city is served by

Néma Airport Néma Airport is an airport serving Néma, a city in the Hodh Ech Chargui Hodh Ech Chargui ( ar, ولاية الحوض الشرقي, "Eastern Basin Region") is a large region in eastern Mauritania, with an area of 182,700 km2. Its capital ...

. The former carrier Mauritania Airways had flights from Néma to

Nouakchott , image_skyline = Nouakchott.jpg , image_caption = City view of Nouakchott , pushpin_map = Mauritania#Arab world#Africa , pushpin_relief = 1 , mapsize = , map_caption ...

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...

and

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...

. These destinations were served from October 2009 until December 2012. The most common form of transport into and out of Nema is via car, though donkey cart, camel, and foot is always available. There is one hotel, Hotel Deraha, on the west side of the city right off the road. Mauritanians are always hospitable, though, and it is entirely possible to find short-term lodging with complete strangers. Nema is bounded on the north and east sides by small mountain plateaus and provides many opportunities for hiking.

Recent history

al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ( ar-at, تنظيم القاعدة في بلاد المغرب الإسلامي, Tanẓīm al-Qā'idah fī Bilād al-Maghrib al-Islāmī), or AQIM, is an Islamist militant organization (of al-Qaeda) that aims to o ...

(AQIM) became active in the desert regions of Mauritania, including Hodh el Chargui, in the summer of 2008. The area is considered dangerous to

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

foreigners.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nema Regional capitals in Mauritania Communes of Hodh Ech Chargui Region