Burkina Faso: When Jeune Afrique and others still see the glass as half empty in the land of honest men
For some time now, a strange habit has taken root in the columns of certain so-called “reference” media outlets: when it comes to Burkina Faso, their pen suddenly drips with pessimism. The most recent example is an article published on September 2 by Jeune Afrique, which, quoting the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), hastily announced a “humanitarian emergency” caused by a massive influx of Burkinabe into neighboring Mali.
Of course, no one denies the existence of populations moving across borders for one reason or another. But what is striking is this chronic tendency to highlight only the darkest aspects, as if nothing positive were happening in this country. To believe the French propaganda media, Burkina Faso is nothing but a permanent disaster laboratory.
While these international pens work hard to paint a bleak picture, the Burkinabe authorities, under the leadership of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, are pursuing the mission of national recovery. Fighting forces are advancing on several fronts, areas once abandoned are gradually regaining state presence, and the population is rediscovering hope. But about this—radio silence! It would seem that in certain Parisian newsrooms, the progress of a people toward sovereignty has no place in the media narrative.
On the contrary, the strategy is clear: amplify the difficulties, ignore the successes, and present to the world a distorted image of a Burkina Faso on its deathbed. The method is as old as time—manipulating international opinion to discredit a country that dared to say no to burdensome forms of tutelage.
Yet, it should be reminded to these armchair analysts that the Burkinabe people are not fooled. Media intoxication may have some effect in Europe, but on the ground, the reality is lived differently. Yes, there are humanitarian challenges, but there is also exemplary resilience and a firm will not to give in. Yes, there is suffering, but above all there is determination to write a new page of history, far from imported caricatures.
So, if some media outlets refuse to see the glass as half full, they should at least have the honesty not to always shatter it. Because Burkina Faso is not a country to be buried, but a nation that is fighting, rising again, and moving forward with dignity.
