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When film students Lizelle Bisschoff and Hanna Sommerseth arrive in Ghana’s neighbour, Burkina Faso, they find a country eager to share its wealth.
BURKINA FASO FACTFILE Location: Western Africa, on the edge of the Sahara desert Upper Volta, a former French colony, achieved independence in 1969 and changed its
name to Burkina Faso. Population: 14 million. Capital city: Ouagadougou.
Ouagadougou has recently become the focus for African film.
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yen anrorrg African destinations. Burkina l‘ttSt) is
unlikely to he friglr on the list for rrrost Western
tray ellers. landlocked in the interior of the west African Sahel. dusty and sweltering Bur’kina often finds itself in the shadow of more familiar countries in the region such as Mali. Scrregaf and (ihana. But it is a mistake to dismiss this srrrall cotrntry in layonr of its seemingly rrrore interesting neighbours. Since independence. Burkina has enjoyed peace and stability unknown to most of its surrounding countries and is well worth a \isit. particularly during its biennial filrrr festival. l‘liSl’/\(‘(). lint arriying into the capital of liurkina l'aso. ()uagadougou or ()naga (pronounced ’Waga‘). the first thing that strikes is the intense. stilling heat. It is 8pm in the eyening.
()n arriyal in the entrance hall we are engrrlfed in the rrraylrerrr of African trrbarr life. llordes of local people gather at the airport especially for the ar‘riyals of flights from liurope. in a hid to make new fr icnds and gather more custorrrers. With
the aid of many helpful hands
we get our stuff otrt to a land.
an old l’eugeot that has
clearly seen better days. A CONSTANT REMINDER
'l hongh guidebooks do their best to warn you. African city traffic still comes as a shock. As the tasi stalls seyeral times we notice that the driyer does riot in fact haye a key. but starts the car by hotwiiing it. Still. we arriye
safely at otrr budget hotel.
construct a makeshift
mosquito net oyer our beds
arid sit down on the terrace
with a beer. taking in the sounds and smells that any trayeller to this continent will he familiar with.
Stepping into the streets of ()uagadougou we become acutely aware that we are trtrly in what the West calls a ‘deyeloping country”. ’l‘he poyerty is striking. Run—down mopeds compete for space on the unpayed streets with eyen more ttlll down cars. Old and young sit by ramshackle stalls right on the roadside. selling anything from fruit and \egetables to sim cards. 'l‘he red-brown dust that coyers eyer'ything is a constant reminder that you are on the outskirts of the Sahara. Western tourists. especially women. should be prepared for an entorrrage of salesmen. beggars and locals. wheney er they leaye their hotel.
Despite \er difficult liy ing conditions. life in lintkina is not all a struggle and the Burkinabes we meet are strikingly sociable. friendly and positiye. ft is easy to rrrake friends and we soon acquire a loyal group of self proclaimed body guards. proudly African aml deeply knowledgeable about their histories and cultural heritage. As we share some cheap Spanish wine and bottles of local beer. listening to their tales during sweltering nights on the hotel terrace. the West begins
to feel may faraway.
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