Just a few days ago the curfew was lifted. It doesn’t make much difference to my daily routine, but it’s a sign of the country getting back to normalcy.
I mentioned in my last post “Six Days to Social and political change in Burkina” how impressive it is to see how everything has gotten back to normal as if nothing had happened. One day we were being stoned, and the next, everything is back to normal…just like that….
Just over three weeks have passed since that historic October 30, the date on which the Ex-President Blaise Compaore was obliged to relinquish power after 27 years. In these three weeks, political events have happened back-to-back to restore normalcy within a timeframe that is to my mind exemplary.
Lieutenant coronel Zida, who had assumed the Presidency, after long negotiations with the different sectors of society (the political class, civil society, the military, the various religions and traditions), ceded the transition presidency to a civilian “to everyone’s taste” – M Kafando, a career diplomat. In exchange, Zida negotiated his appointment as Prime Minister. And he announced general elections for November 2015.
Five days later we had the government formed: 26 ministries, two of which – the foreign affairs ministry and the defense ministry – were occupied by Kafando and Zida, respectively. Only one of the appointments – the Minister of Culture and Tourism – was rejected by the people because of supposed involvement in the murder of the journalist Norbert Zongó, as yet unresolved. Within 24 hours the minister had resigned and a new one appointed.
These days I’ve tried to take the city’s pulse a bit. Wherever I go I ask people how they are coping in these early weeks of transition. Their reactions differ widely. The general mood is proud. They are happy. Yet there are those who are easiest to please – happy enough that Compaore has left power. Others are uncomfortable that they are unfamiliar with the new people in power, but they trust that the change will be for the better. And others – especially the youngest – are visibly distrustful, but await patiently the 2015 election.
Once again, this country, called the land of the upstanding man, has taught me a lesson. How have they been able to get out from under a 27-year dictatorship in such a short time9 with an official count of “only” 24 dead and 624 injured), to begin anew?
Those who have assumed power have a year ahead of them – a year to demonstrate to everyone that they are in transition in order to pave the way for the most democratic elections possible in 2015.
I have no doubt- I never have – but I think I know now more surely that it’s worth it. Yes, it’s worth it to keep helping good and humble people – people who light up the streets with the characteristic smiles and expressions of modest nobility that I fell in love with the day I set foot in this land.