The Foreign Service Journal, October 2018

78 OCTOBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LOCAL LENS BY GEMMA DVORAK n SAY, NIGER Please submit your favorite, recent photograph to be considered for Local Lens. Images must be high resolution (at least 300 dpi at 8” x 10”, or 1 MB or larger) andmust not be in print elsewhere. Include a short description of the scene/event, as well as your name, brief biodata and the type of camera used. Send to locallens@afsa.org. C heered on by one of the organizers, the winner of a Tuareg camel race crosses the finish line. We had been invited to this significant event in the desert outside of Niamey in which 30 racers participated, and which was honored with the presence of the local prefect. Hundreds of people had gathered to watch, but they were held back from the racetrack by a number of security guards and thus are not in the photograph. The 17-kilometer race took about 25 minutes for the fastest rid- ers to complete. The second- and third-place camels are visible at the left, alongside the pace-setting vehicles. The prize for the winner was 200,000 CFA (about $400, or half the aver- age yearly income in Niger). n Gemma Dvorak is an EFM currently living in Niamey, Niger, with her spouse on their first overseas tour. A freelance editor and photographer, she is enjoying the FS life and making the most of the opportunities this post affords. She is a former associ- ate editor of The Foreign Service Journal and editor of AFSA News. This photo was taken on Feb. 4, 2018, with a Nikon Coolpix P7000 camera, 1/813 sec exposure, ISO 100.