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| Bazier, President of the Association |
There
are lots of ways to know a country. Those people who have money, time and
chances can go directly and get immersed in the culture, traditions and
particulars it has to offer. Some prefer to rely on a tour guide that shows the
surface of the destination. Some others would like either manner but…there are
no instruments. Well, then we should add a new one, especially for the latter
ones. A lovely alternative that links the Spanish city of León and the African
continent, specifically Burkina Faso.
Mr. Yiboula Bazier Emmanuel leads the HumanitarianAssociation of Help and Cooperation for Development for Burkina Faso, an
initiative that was born two years ago with the purpose of approaching and
getting to know his country to Spaniards by means of setting projects to
improve the situation there. “Many people used to ask me about my fatherland,
were curious about our costumes, had lots of stereotypes and a lack of knowledge
about Burkina too. That is why a group of friends came out with this idea, thus
reaching two aims at the same time: help the nation and spread the wide range
of things it has to share”, he explains.
This collective is formed by eight members of whom he
is the only Burkinabe and the rest are citizens of León, mainly nurses. In
fact, Bazier cannot help thanking the hospital of this city for having donated
plenty of stuff, as well as the company Enrique Blanco which gave an ambulance
that will assist two areas of the country. It is precisely through this vehicle
that the organization recently transported thousands of technical equipment to
Burkina supported by some local authorities.
Currently, the association is trying to see and check
the feasibility of diverse plans they have in mind to be executed throughout
the territory. “The most imminent one is building a teaching-and-formation
centre for girls. A space where they can learn a profession and, therefore, be
free. We already have the soil and we are searching for funding that allows us
to buy and carry the materials, begin with the operations and pay the staff in
charge”, details Bazier. It would be located in Dédougou, a city in western
Burkina Faso, capital of Mouhoun Province and Boucle du Mouhoun Region, whose
female population is slightly higher than the male one. Women along the country
are starting to join the University what marks “an important step forward as
population was oppressed before”.
Likewise, this association expands the limits of its sphere
of acting and wants to assist every compatriot living in Spain and, to some
extent, Portugal –regardless of their location- as well as working as a Pan-African
community. “The nearest embassy is in Paris, but we all have issues to resolve
sooner or later and not everyone has resources to go there or communicate with
it, so we must do our best and help each other”, underlines Bazier who arrived
to Spain nine years ago thanks to the call and interest of Mr. Antonio Martínez
Rodríguez, ophthalmologist in León, who went to Burkina as an aid worker. Over
there is where these two men met each other and started their friendship.
It is, actually, speaking about these origins when
Bazier takes advantage to express his point of view on the Spanish
collaboration with Africa. “It is a very caring country. It doesn’t have too
much, but tries to help. Spaniards are very welcome in Burkina because they are
thought to be supportive. It has developed a very good image”, states.
Multiculturalism over tribalism
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| Association's logo |
Despite
all this time living abroad, and even going back at least once a year, he
obviously misses his culture, traditions and gastronomy. Several tribes compose
the sociological landscape of this West African nation, and each and every of
them very much respect and preserve their own customs, although there have been
many attempts to Europeanization. One should not forget the French colonial
past of the territory. This multiculturalism is positively seen by many, but
some elites prefer playing with it and applying that of ‘divide and conquer’ to
perpetuate in power and rule easier. Asked about this, Bazier answers
categorically: “I am aware and proud of my tribal background and I consider
myself Burkinabe. We all are Burkinabe. We all are Africans. We all are
citizens of the world”.
With
such a diversity, it makes sense to believe that there are a lot of languages
and that is true. Forty-five. But again, a certain dosage of manipulation can
take all the benefits of this variety down the drain. And this consists of
rejecting both the use of French and spread of one the main local tongues
because it would mean the loss of traditions. For this reason, Bazier works on
erasing this misunderstanding among his countrymen. “Apart from mine, I can
speak the local language of nine other ethnicities, but any time I talk to
people belonging to these I use French. That way I foster them to widen their
circle. Using a lingua franca is not confronted with losing traditions. At the
contrary, it will help us grow and strengthen as a country as we will be able
to communicate with each other; it will let us see how miscellaneous we are and
therefore safeguard our own identities”.
Indeed
Burkina Faso, formerly known as Upper Volta, takes its name from each of the
two country’s major languages: Burkina
-from the Mòoré- means ‘men of
uprightness’, and Faso -from the Dioula- means ‘fatherland’, hence
resulting in Land of Honest People.