In Burkina Faso, students, "betrayed" by political elites, place their hopes in the junta

Hati Ouedraogo, 24 ans, est resté collé à son poste de radio pendant quarante-huit heures. Dimanche 23 janvier, puis lundi, il a suivi le putsch de militaires burkinabés minute par minute, des premiers tirs dans les casernes de la capitale jusqu’à la déclaration de la junte à la télévision nationale, partagé entre incertitude et espoir. « Les militaires vont peut-être nous aider à venir à bout du terrorisme, on verra bien », souffle l’étudiant.

A few days before the mutinies in the country, he chatted with friends in the shade of the caïlcédrats, in the courtyard of the UFR of letters of Joseph-Ki-Zerbo University in Ouagadougou.All "brothers of the Sahel" and from the north of the country, they used to exchange news of their loved ones who stayed in the village by sharing a glass of tea.Student in the second year of German, Hati Ouedraogo has not returned home for four years.His whole family had to flee from the arrival of jihadist groups near Tongomayel and several of his uncles were killed.

Sitting on a metal bench by his side, his comrades come from Djibo, Arbinda and other localities close to the border ... In a few years, they too saw their land empty, their village almost striped from the map becauseviolence."How to project yourself into ten, twenty years, when you don't even know what tomorrow will be," laments the student, raising his shoulders in his black down jacket.Like him, there are more and more young people to wonder about their future in a country that has been getting bogged down in the crisis since 2015.

"Not the right to fail"

In Burkina Faso, almost half a million students no longer go to primary school and secondary school, closed because of the threats of jihadists.And only 8 % of young people continue their studies at the next level, for lack of means.In the streets, some have since been converted into itinerant traders, began to red lights or, worse, are recruited by armed groups.

Barely out of his German assessment, Hati Ouedraogo, back on his back, climbs on a worn bike.It is 6 pm, it is already late to start its "second day" of work.Every night, to pay for their studies and the canteen, the student keeps the door of a villa in the capital, until 8 am the next morning."I take this opportunity to revise.During the day, I try to sleep two hours here and there, "he explains, the darling gaze of dark circles.

His parents, refugees in a camp in Djibo, lost everything, their cultures and their herds."I find it hard to concentrate, I am constantly worried about them," says Hati Ouedraogo, who is thinking of giving up his dream of becoming a teacher.Anxiety, stress, nightmares ... "Many are depressed, but hey, if our parents resist there, we are forced to fight for them," adds Adama Sadou Tamboura, 23, law student and president of the association ofpupils and students from the Soum province.Friends are "not allowed to fail".

@jvgraz The kicker is that I work for Big Pharma. You'd think that would buy me a little extra coverage. Yeah, right.

— Steven Perez Tue Jul 02 11:55:48 +0000 2019

Many are forced to multiply the odd jobs on the sidelines of their studies to send some money to their families some money.Adama Sadou Tamboura and his association also organize support courses for children out of school during the holidays in Djibo and collections of university clothing for the displaced.He also tried to challenge the authorities and propose to recruit students to teach in closed establishments.But "all these requests remained a dead letter," he says.Will the military in power be more receptive?In any case, Hati Ouedraogo does not regret the fallen president."He was unable to secure us, he forgot us, abandoned our region," he saddens.

" Breathless "

The euphoria of the popular insurrection of October 2014, then the hope created by the election of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré in 2015, after twenty-seven years of reign of Blaise Compaoré, gave way to disenchantment.“The young people hoped for deep changes, the end of corruption, nepotism and the poor manner.Many feel betrayed and no longer trust the political elites, the system of representation by the ballot boxes, as it works, is out of breath, "observes Cheickna Yaranangoré, researcher in political science and doctoral student at Thomas-Sankara.

While 64 % of the population is under 24 in Burkina Faso, young people remain largely underrepresented in political life.Before the putsch, only a deputy was under 35 in the Assembly, while the youngest ministers were in his forties.In 2020, for his re-election, the former president failed to convince the youth, the 18-35 year olds representing only 38 % of the enlightenment on the electoral lists.

Hati Ouedraogo is part of this majority that abstains, but he likes to debate.Often, he goes to the discussions "two hours for Kamita, two hours for Africa", organized every afternoon on his campus.He is a former student, Serge Bayala, who created this framework in 2013 to experiment with a "new form of participatory democracy".

The debate we attended took place a week before taking power by the army in Burkina Faso and a week after the arrest of a dozen soldiers, already suspected of fomenting a putsch.The theme: "Attempted coup: instrumentalization or real fact?"May those who want to throw themselves into the water!"», Harangus the moderator, standing on a cement table.

" We've had enough !»»

Thousands of civilians killed for six years, the lack of army means, the helplessness of the authorities to stem the violence ... In turn standing on a table, facing his comrades, Gnanou Nible, 27, student in thirdYear of Maths-Physics, says his anger but refuses to resign himself.On Monday, he joined the Place de la Nation, in Ouagadougou, like several hundred people, to shout his joy and brandish the Burkinabé flag, in support of the putschists."I have confidence in Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba.He is an intellectual, he fought in the field and studied the problem of terrorism in the Sahel, he is more able than politicians, "said the student.

In the place, anger at France and the Economic Community of West African States (Cédéao) was heard, more noisy, even more violent than the previous times.President Emmanuel Macron sentenced the coup on Tuesday, and the sub-regional organization regretted "a major democratic decline", announcing an extraordinary summit on Friday.

"We always hear them condemn and judge the best model of democracy for African peoples, we have enough, it is up to Burkinabés to decide!"Harts hammering Gnanou Nible, who had already demonstrated on Saturday to" support the Malians "in the face of the sanctions of the Cédéao aimed at the junta in power and participated in the blocking of the passage of a convoy of the French army in November 2021, in the peripheryfrom Ouagadougou.Gnanou Nible and his friends, they want to "start to hope for and dream".