Burkina Faso: Displaced Christians feel like the exiled people of God
Father André Poré is the parish priest of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus in Burkina Faso. His parish has received many refugees from elsewhere in the country, including 2,000 people from Rollo Department, who were forced out by terrorists in May of 2023. During his visit to the international headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the priest from Ouahigouya – a diocese deeply affected by terrorism – described the refugees’ dire situation and the challenges faced by their host communities. He likewise insisted on the importance of the aid provided by ACN, for both the physical and spiritual survival of the displaced people.
In May of last year, about twenty villages in Rollo Department were attacked by terrorists. Unfortunately, these attacks are very common in your diocese. What ordinarily happens when terrorists raid a village?
When the extremists arrive, either they kill the whole population, or, having killed several people at random to show that they are serious, they force the people to leave their houses by nightfall. In Rollo in particular, the terrorists ransacked and burned everything, and the next day, they killed several people who were fleeing along the road. Among the victims were people who came to Rollo to collect their goods.
The 2,000 or so refugees had to cover about 25 miles on foot, in the middle of the night, as far as Kongoussi, along roads mined by the terrorists. Among them was Father Étienne Sawadogo, the parish priest of Rollo. That was very hard. A mine exploded that very night, killing some of the livestock they had taken with them, only a few seconds before the men, the carts, the women, and children passed by… The people could all have died. But God’s hand was with them.
So, the population of Rollo arrived at Kongoussi and Séguénéga – two towns which were unprepared to receive so many displaced people…
Indeed, the people came to us unexpectedly in the early hours. Tired, traumatized, empty-handed. But everyone set about helping them, providing food and clothes, including our parish of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Some refugees had relatives or acquaintances in the surrounding area and could be welcomed by them, but for most of them, it was very difficult. We had to wait days before the displaced people could receive help from the state, because first, people had to register and wait for a project to be put in place. Because of this, it was important for us to respond urgently. To be displaced is terrible; it’s like the Exodus. You must abandon the land which you have cultivated and bring yourself to live in extreme poverty.
What is the situation of the displaced people from Rollo today?
Most of them live in makeshift shelters, under a tent. It’s a very difficult situation, especially for older people, because under a tent, you are sheltered neither from the rain nor from the heat. From March to May, temperatures can reach 45 degrees [Celsius, or 113 degrees Fahrenheit]. Since the start of the year, we have already recorded 400 deaths among the displaced people. Most are victims of unsanitary conditions. We help as we can, but we don’t have enough resources for everyone. The state’s aid is essentially one-off, and for the long-term, the Church needs to intervene; that’s why the support of ACN is so precious to us. What Father Étienne, who is now my curate, received from the foundation has helped enormously. We have been able to buy tons of food and take care of the medical prescriptions of sick people. I would like to say a big thank you on behalf of Father Étienne and the displaced population of Rollo.
The impossibility of earning their daily bread is likewise a major problem for the displaced people. Women collect sand along the side of the road to sell to lorries transporting construction material. Others try to sell doughnuts they make and earn a couple of dollars a day. When you have a husband and three children, that’s hardly enough for a single meal. In town, everything has become very expensive. The men try to work as day laborers in bricklaying or gardening, for example, but some have to stay in their tents the whole day because nobody hires them. I’m currently reflecting a lot on possible employment, because the parish has land which could be cultivated, but for that, we need water and tools.
Could you tell us how the Church helps the displaced people, psychologically and spiritually?
Helping people to be healed from their trauma is a very important task for the Church. Thanks to ACN, a priest from our diocese has been able to do training in Kenya on taking care of traumatized people. The aim is that he in turn will be able to train others. Spiritual support is likewise crucial when it comes to discouragement. We want to live this experience in faith and hope. Since the arrival of the displaced people from Rollo, we have intensified our pastoral work. We regularly organize times of recollection, including Mass and confessions. During one of them, I did a catechesis on the deportation of the people of Israel to Babylon. We can well see how, despite the different connotations, there are evident parallels with our situation here. What we are living here is something which the people of God have already lived in history and which we know through the Bible.
In Burkina Faso in general, many places have been attacked by terrorists. Will the displaced people be able to return to their villages one day?
When the terrorists attack a village, they generally mine the houses and the surrounding roads. After the attacks, the army tries to make these zones safe by using mine detectors. When that is finished, about 80 percent of the population will often return home, because staying in the town is difficult. But in their hearts, the people remain uneasy because there are already several places where the terrorists have returned. The army stays in the area to protect the population, but unfortunately, it can’t be everywhere. In Rollo itself, the FDS [armed security forces] are in the process of making the zone safe, and we hope that the people will be able to return soon.
Burkina Faso is known for the peaceful cohabitation of Christians and Muslims. Has Islamic extremism caused these relationships to deteriorate?
No, on the contrary. To me, the relationships between Christians and Muslims have been strengthened. We are together. We have many more inter-religious meetings today. Since the parish doesn’t make any distinction between confessions, the distribution of aid to the displaced people has reached the Muslims and strengthened our relationships. Christians are in the minority in Burkina Faso, so among the displaced people, there are more Muslims than Christians. Sometimes we ask for aid just for the Christians, for example, for pastoral and spiritual activities, but for humanitarian relief, everyone is welcome, because we are all creatures of God.
In 2023 and 2024, ACN supported the Diocese of Ouahigouya with the care of displaced people from Rollo, especially with food, construction, healthcare, education, employment, and pastoral work. The foundation has also helped priests by providing motorbikes and Mass stipends.
