In the east of Burkina Faso, still many problems as term starts
While the security situation in Burkina Faso has improved slightly, some regions are still suffering from terrorism and misery. On the eve of the new school term, young people are at the heart of the challenges.
The first of October will mark the start of school term in Burkina Faso. Last year, 222 students from the town of Pama, in the Diocese of Fada N’Gourma, in the east of the country, were able to benefit from the support of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in paying their school fees. During a recent visit to the international headquarters of the Catholic charity in Königstein, Germany, Br Alain Toughma FMC, delegate of the African Superior General of the Missionary Brothers of the Countryside, made a request for ACN to likewise cover the school fees of 235 students this year. They have all come from internally displaced families who have fled Pama, the main city in the province of Kompienga and the place where the regional house of Br Alain’s congregation was located, although it has now pulled back to the capital Ouagadougou.
“Last year we likewise received from ACN food aid to cover households for four months, with a monthly distribution of 50 kilos of maize, 50 kilos of rice, a kilo of salt and five litres of oil: that saved many lives,” said Br Alain happily. He had been overwhelmed with requests for aid.
Also, since the beginning of terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso in 2015, one of the great questions which preoccupies young people is that of their future. In this connection, “the words of the Pope on 6 August last year in Rome, calling on young Burkinabé Christians to be artisans of peace in their own places was an encouraging breath of fresh air,” said Br Alain. He added that the state is not outdone by the local Church which is working among young people so that forgiveness and reconciliation may overcome the reality of terrorism. “The state,” he said, “is doing a great deal to create public spiritedness and respect for the country’s law, to raise awareness of morality and the importance of not giving way to ethnic or religious stigmatisation.” And to emphasise that Christians are generally threatened as much as the rest of the population, he added: “The enemy is that of the whole nation even if everyone is wary about who is who.”
And because young people are the future, “investing in them is not in vain,” he emphasises. “That’s why we have great joy in thanking ACN’s benefactors, whether relating to schooling or food aid. It’s very profound. Many thanks for having heard the cry of afflicted Burkinabés especially as the gesture is accompanied by prayer.”
Another need submitted to ACN is that of spiritual and psychological accompaniment for the population which has suffered numerous traumas connected to the scenes of terror which the people have lived through. In this connection, and to help the people move forward, “the Missionary Brothers of the Countryside would like to found a centre 50 kilometres east of Ouagadougou to respond to this suffering” which is present now and will be in the future, even if peace is restored in the country.
For the moment, in the east of the country, the security situation remains very complex, notably in the Fada-Ngourma region on the borders with Togo and Benin. None of the villagers in the areas of Pama and Kompienga are able to return home. The roads and the fields are mined. Neither is it possible to get from Fada to Niger. “We ourselves, who were operating in this zone have had to leave it, but we go there from time to time to celebrate the Eucharist and bring some aid because there is a small remnant – of Christians and non-Christians – who still live there; but there aren’t priests. We can only get to Pama or Kompienga by air or by army convoy because there are terrorists present in the zone,” explains Br Alain. The thickness of the forest which surrounds Pama adds to the complexity and permits the terrorists to easily take control of the zone and prepare their operations even if the army tries to take action. “The army,” he adds, “has endeavoured to make an area safe so that the population which has remained can cultivate some plots of ground in Kompienga. That has helped a lot this year, because since 2022 that has been impossible.”
As to the brothers’ novitiate, it is still relocated in Togo. “It’s not that we don’t we have vocations, but some people don’t have the courage to cross the border and others prefer to stay in the safe zones,” acknowledges Br Alain. Despite everything, six novices pronounced their first vows on 3 October, and four young men became postulants on 1 October. As well as Burkinabés there are Togolese and Beninese.
Finally, although not able to cover everything, Br Alain confirms a slight improvement in the country. “There is certainly a lull, but the strength of the terrorists is unpredictability. The army is making efforts, but the evil remains very deep and the new means which the terrorists have at their disposal complicates things.” Before, they attacked with bombs, now they place bombs remotely controlled by infrared, use drones, and also decoys to distract the attention of the soldiers and make them waste their ammunition. But on the whole, the population has been able to reestablish itself in the villages of the east, especially in the Diocese of Banfora, where the situation is better. It’s the same for the northern part of the country where it was impossible last year to go by land from Ouahigouya to Titao. The Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP) take their turn from the army in keeping these zones relatively safe.
In the north, the Diocese of Kaya remains, however, still very affected.
