Independence Day

August 5th, 2009

We sit on vibrantly colored mats beneath a clump of trees. It’s hot, but not nearly as hot as under the direct gaze of the sun. We’re learning about the history of Burkina, translated into English by the strongest French speaking trainee, Coleman. I used to think of America as a very young country but after a couple hours of learning about the history of Burkina Faso I no longer do so.

The French first claimed Burkina in 1895 and added it to the French West African colonies. The next decade saw several campaigns aimed at quelling resistance in what the French called Upper Volta. The French remained in control, with not much changing until after World War II, when the French could no longer afford to have so many provincial governments. Upper Volta was dissolved into neighboring countries in 1932. The colony was reestablished in 1947 and peacefully proclaimed independence from France on August 5th, 1960.

The following twenty four years saw many different leaders, and many military coups. The transition from French rule was difficult, as now that everyone was free, each group of peoples wanted representation and sovereignty. On August 4th, 1984 Upper Volta went through a facelift which pleased most of the population. The countries name was changed to Burkina Faso, which combines two of the countries three main languages and means “The land of the upright people” or something close. The inhabitants of Burkina Faso were to be called Burkinabé, which makes use of the third major language.

Since then Burkina has had a few democratic reforms under the leadership of Blaise Compaoré. He was elected to serve the maximum time of two seven year terms, after which the constitution was changed so that presidents served five years terms and could serve a maximum of two terms. Blaise’s party, who have held a large majority during this time, decided that since Blaise had not served any five year terms, he was eligible to run for two five year terms. The first of these five year terms will end during my time here, in November 2010. It should be an exciting election.