Here is a November update of what's been going on in Ouagadougou!
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Monday, November 22, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Presidential Elections 2010 – Burkina Faso
Burkina's current president has been in power since 1987. Go look up the events surrounding that year. It's very interesting. Of course, I don't want to say too much on this blog that could get me into trouble. So I will just comment on the campaigning. It is really the current president who is the only candidate of the 2010 presidentials that has the funds to put together a campaign. The strategies involve billboards and T-shirts. (Give a village woman a new T-shirt, and you will have one happy Burkina mama!) I have yet to see any advertisements from other candidates. I heard of one, though – a billboard of another candidate that was on the wrong side of the road so you could hardly see it.
The president's campaign seems based on one theme: experience. Who else knows how to run a country and keep the peace? I used to long for a change here in Burkina. I still hope some day that change will come. But I have to ask myself: If I were Burkinabé, who would I vote for - the status quo or the unknown? We all know Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. But is peace worth sacrificing for social and political change?
One of our church members said the other day that Africans want change, but they are scared of tomorrow. What if the next guy makes things worse? So, how do you change a country peacefully? Interestingly, on the university level, there are ideas. First, you need a valid opposing candidate. Then, organize the students so that each one goes back to his or her village and educate their village on the political position of the candidates. Maybe someday a new generation will be brave enough to try something like that. For now, we will all be surprised (and frankly, somewhat panicked) if the status quo is not maintained this coming Sunday.
The president's campaign seems based on one theme: experience. Who else knows how to run a country and keep the peace? I used to long for a change here in Burkina. I still hope some day that change will come. But I have to ask myself: If I were Burkinabé, who would I vote for - the status quo or the unknown? We all know Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. But is peace worth sacrificing for social and political change?
One of our church members said the other day that Africans want change, but they are scared of tomorrow. What if the next guy makes things worse? So, how do you change a country peacefully? Interestingly, on the university level, there are ideas. First, you need a valid opposing candidate. Then, organize the students so that each one goes back to his or her village and educate their village on the political position of the candidates. Maybe someday a new generation will be brave enough to try something like that. For now, we will all be surprised (and frankly, somewhat panicked) if the status quo is not maintained this coming Sunday.
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