Burkina Faso - Introduction

Burkina Faso (buhr-KEE-nuh FAH-soe), literally "Land of Upright Men", is a majority Muslim country of West Africa without access to the sea. After several political changes, on August 4, 1984, on the first anniversary of the Revolution, Upper Volta became Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso is ‘The Homeland of the Proud People’, translated from two local languages - Burkina, meaning ‘physical strength’ or ‘pride’ in Moore, the Mossi language, and Faso, meaning ‘homeland’ or ‘democracy’ in Dioula.

Burkina Faso has a population of 13.6 million, a landlocked nation in West Africa, south of the Sahara, and a country known for its simple and hard-working national character. Thirty percent of its citizens are Muslim and many local languages are spoken including Mooré and Dioula in addition to the official language which is French. Burkina Faso is subject to extreme heat during its dry season and is said to be one of the poorest countries in the world.

Besides contrasting sharply with American culture, Voltan culture contains within itself the characteristics and qualities of the traditional Black Sudanese cultures in a purer form than do the more prosperous coastal countries of Africa that are undergoing rapid social change through commerce with the West. Furthermore, Upper Volta is a country that is yet to be discovered by Americans. Although it is the most densely populated country of West Africa and has a culture of great sociological interest, few Americans have ever heard of it. Very little has been written about it in English. Almost all the documentation and research about the country is in French, and much of that is out of print and hard to find.

On the African continent, Burkina Faso has a stellar reputation for the arts, including traditional music, dance, singing, mask festivals, and more. Burkina Faso hosts the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou and the International Arts and Crafts Show, two major international events that highlight Burkina Faso as a country devoted to cultivating the arts. Artists and art connoisseurs from all over the world attend these events.

Burkina Faso remains one of the world’s poorest countries, ranking 161 out of 169 countries in the 2010 UNDP Human Development Index, with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of $580. About 80% of the population relies on subsistence agriculture. Burkina Faso was ranked 176th out of 177 countries in the 2007 UN Development Programme's (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI), ahead of only Sierra Leone.

The resourceful Burkinabe are grappling with being one of the poorest countries in the world, with a high population density and few natural resources. Over 80% of the population (11,266.393 in 1998) is engaged in subsistence agriculture, highly vulnerable to variations in rainfall. By 1990 only 37% of Burkina Faso’s estimated 1.8 million children aged 7-12 years were able to attend primary school, substantially lower than the average gross enrollment ration of 68.3% for sub-Saharan Africa as a whole (UNESCO 1993).

Ouagadougou [French pronunciation: wagadugu] (population 800,000), is located in the heart of the country. In odd-numbered years, ‘Ouaga’, as it is known to locals is the national capital. The country’s second capital, Bobo Dioulasso, lies about 385 kilometers away in the South-west of the country. Bobo, as it's widely known – may be Burkina Faso's second-largest city, but it has small-town charm. The amazing Bobo Dioulasso Grand Mosque is impressive representative of the traditional Sudano-Sahelian architecture.

Burkina Faso consists of an area that was controlled by the Mossi from the 14th century until 1895, when the French took control. It was made part of the Franc Zone and it was named Upper Volta in 1919 after having been marked out from the surrounding territory. It was divided in the 1930s to form 2 states but returned to a single unit in 1947, changes which led to the border disputes with Mali.

As a landlocked country, transport costs are a significant constraint on export growth and economic development. Although progress is evident and GDP growth is relatively high, the economic structure is weak and large deficits are recorded in the fiscal and the current accounts. Around 80% of the population is engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture, which is vulnerable to sharp variations in rainfall. The small industrial sector remains dominated by largely unprofitable government-controlled corporations. Moreover, the economy is over-dependent on the export of cotton and gold. As a result, the economy is highly exposed to exogenous factors, including weather, plant diseases and pests and global prices of agricultural products and precious metals.

Upper Volta was one of the most poorly developed countries in the world. Devoid of useful minerals and landlocked, the country is France's forgotten former possession in West Africa. By the 1980s over 90 percent of the country's seven million inhabitants were illiterate. One doctor served approximately 60,000 people. According to UN data, three quarters of Upper Volta's inhabitants lived in conditions of poverty and were hungrey. Development of agriculture, in which the majority of the population is involved, was hindered by a water shortage, poor soil, and antiquated equipment. In the international arena, the country's leaders were trying to strengthen ties with neighbors and other African countries.

The 15 January 2017 terror attack on the capital killed more than 30 people and injured many more. The attack on the luxury Splendid Hotel and Cappucino café was claimed by Al-Mourabitoun, an affiliate of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb based in the Sahel region of northern Mali. Until recently, Burkina Faso had been spared the Islamist violence afflicting nearby countries like Mali and Niger.

In the context of the attacks in Bamako, Ouagadougou and Grand Bassam, the regional terrorist threat to West African countries, including Burkina Faso, has to be taken into account. Increased vigilance in travel is always appropriate. Due to the increasing number of serious incidents in northern Burkina Faso (terrorist attacks on Burkina Faso security forces and attacks on official buildings, assassinations and settlements, threats against teachers, etc.), including the operations of the forces Security and defense, it is strictly recommended not to go to the red zone (border of Mali, especially in Djibo).

Outside Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, travel must be accompanied by reinforced security measures: security escorts, secure accommodation. It is advisable to remain discreet about the routes taken and the places of destination of these trips. In Ouagadougou, it is recommended to ensure that accommodation and frequented places (hotels, restaurants, bars) are sufficiently secure: strictly closed airlocks at the entrance, armed guards, perimeter walls, easily accessible emergency exits. It is advisable to avoid settling in open places or too close to the entrance.

Many crooks, called “grazers”, take advantage of the naivety of certain people to move their interlocutors and extract money from them, during exchanges by electronic messages. Criminals sometimes go so far as to usurp the identities of well-known people and provide false official French or Burkinabe documents. People may receive a request for funds from an interlocutor, on the pretext, for example, that he is in difficulty or that he has received a mandate to send materials.

Traffic and road conditions in Ouagadougou make driving so difficult and hazardous that most expatriates experience an accident or two during their stay here. In addition to regular car and truck traffic, there is a huge volume of mopeds, pedestrians, bicycles, donkey carts, hand-cranked wheel chairs, and hand-pulled wagons on main thoroughfares. As a result, the average safe speed is 25-30 MPH, making for long commutes around Ouagadougou.

Paved roads connect the largest towns and cities in Burkina Faso, and fairly well-maintained buses service these routes on relatively consistent schedules. Smaller towns and villages are served by “bush taxis,” typically overcrowded and poorly maintained minibuses, which do not normally run on fixed schedules.

Pedestrians, bicyclists, and mopeds haphazardly dash in and out of traffic, often directly in front of oncoming vehicles. Drivers of every type of vehicle selectively obey traffic laws, often engaging in unsafe driving practices. Mopeds have the right-of-way, and operators seem to believe this permits them to drive with complete disregard for their own safety or that of others.

Hazards on both paved and unpaved side roads can be worse than on main thoroughfares. Commercial areas are overcrowded with pedestrians, taxis, trucks, hand carts, innumerable vendors, and even small children begging. On neighborhood roads, drivers may encounter young children at play in front of homes and businesses, dogs scavenging trash piles, and livestock grazing on any available vegetation. Exposed rocks, loose gravel, potholes, broken concrete and tile, and scattered pieces of wood often litter the deeply rutted dirt roads. The streets in the neighborhoods where many expatriates live may be paved, but the asphalt may be crumbling in places, especially at the edges.

Few streets are named, and some street names have changed in recent years, sometimes repeatedly. When navigating the city, it is useful, if not essential, to note landmarks, such as neighborhood pharmacies, specific buildings or permanent signs, and roundabouts. The majority of paved roads do not have adequate markings, which leads to confusion among drivers. Drivers must go well beyond norms of defensive driving here.

Traffic and road conditions in Ouagadougou make driving difficult and hazardous. In addition to regular car/truck traffic, there are large numbers of mopeds, pedestrians, bicycles, donkey carts, hand-cranked wheelchairs, and hand-pulled wagons on main thoroughfares. Commercial areas are overcrowded with pedestrians, taxis, trucks, handcarts, innumerable vendors, and beggars. Most roads are gravel surfaces or dirt tracks. Hazards on side roads can be worse than those on main thoroughfares. Drivers may encounter young children at play, dogs scavenging in trash piles, and grazing livestock. Exposed rocks, loose gravel, potholes, broken concrete/tile, and scattered pieces of wood often litter deeply rutted dirt roads. The streets in the neighborhoods where many Embassy staff live may be paved, but the asphalt may be crumbling, especially at the edges.

Pedestrians and mopeds dash in/out of traffic, often directly in front of oncoming vehicles. Drivers of every type of vehicle obey traffic laws only selectively, and often engage in unsafe driving practices. Mopeds have the right of way; operators seem to believe this permits them to drive with complete disregard for their own or others’ safety. The law requires moped operators to carry driver’s licenses and wear helmets, but the police do not enforce this law. As a result, it is quite common to see accidents involving mopeds with serious injuries/fatalities.

Drivers must go well beyond the norms of defensive driving. Burkina Faso theoretically follows European rules of the road. Yield to aggressive drivers and maintain a cool head in traffic – even if you have the right of way. All personal vehicles in Burkina Faso must carry local third-party liability insurance.

Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorbikes, livestock, donkey carts, cars, buses, and trucks shared paved roads between major cities. Any vehicle on the road may be overloaded or in a state of disrepair. There may be long stretches between major cities where one must detour to an unimproved road.

The same carelessness and general lack of safety awareness among drivers presents even greater dangers at night. Many cars and motorbikes do not have or use headlights, and most areas do not have streetlights. Bicyclists and pedestrians in dark clothing are practically invisible in the dark. In some neighborhoods, packs of domesticated dogs roam the dark streets. All these factors combine to create a very taxing, perilous nighttime driving experience.

The crime rate is high. Criminogenic situation is unfavorable. Outside the city, attacks and robbery are possible on the roads. Going outside at night is not recommended. In Ouagadougou, it is not safe to visit the Pissin, Sisin, Tampuyi, Tangen, Somgandae areas. There is a ban on visiting the northern and eastern regions of the country, where a state of emergency has been introduced.

In order to feel comfortable on the street and not attract extra looks, it is advisable not to go out to people while intoxicated. It is not recommended to walk in defiant clothes that may offend the feelings of representatives of various religious denominations.