As part of a global strategy, the European Union launched a security cooperation project in the Sahara and the Sahel regions aimed at combating terrorism and curbing migration flows toward the Mediterranean. Despite these efforts and new approaches, however, violence, criminal activities and a massive drug epidemic among young people and children persisted. Public dissatisfaction eventually led to a military coup and the end of the European presence in Niger. Three residents of the historic desert town of Agadez describe how the international migration crisis and interventions by the EU, US and Turkey have changed their lives over the past five years. Salesman Ahmed Dizzi nostalgically recalls a time when European tourists brought a cosmopolitan flair to the town. Radio reporter Tilla Amadou questions the effectiveness of European training programmes for border guards, while former mayor Rhissa Feltou reflects on the rise of systemic violence and warns that the new border restrictions threaten the traditional nomadic lifestyle of the Tuareg people.