Burkina Faso ; Land of the Honest People

« Faso » in the Joula language means « country ». Burkina in Mouré means « honest » or in French, « intègre ».  So, Burkina Faso is the land of the honest people. Joula and Mouré are the two dominant languages of this land-locked Sahelian country. Marcel, the young man who cleans up around the church grounds where I am staying taught me that. The languages are very different. Marcel speaks those languages and very good French as well. Many Africans are polyglot learning the language of their neighbours as well as the former colonial language.

I arrived on Thursday from Paris to Ouagadougou, the capital. Alain met me in is well-cared for but ancient 2CV. I thought to myself, « are we going to drive all the way across the country in this ? » No, I just stayed the night at Alain’s bed and breakfast he and his wife built and the next day I took an air-conditioned, modern bus to Bobo Dioulasso.

Marcel shows a map of Burkina Faso.

Buses are a great way to meet people. Next to me on the sold-out bus, was Clément, a mechanic in a gold mine near the Niger border. He was going back to Bobo to visit his family. Clément seems to be a happy young man.  « They treat us well at the mine (owned by a British company) and I have a good salary, » he tells me just before his smartphone rings. Clement works 7 days of 12-hour shifts and then has 7 days off. He makes the all-day trip by bus every week instead of hanging out in the capital. « I don’t feel at home in Ouaga. My friends and family are all in Bobo. » He says he always looks forward to seeing the family and drinking beer with his mates. I have the feeling he probably gets more rest at the mine !

Clément may be one of the lucky ones. Walking around Bobo, many young men, even boys, ask me to come look at their necklaces, paintings and other souvenirs. Bobo has a cooler climate than the capital and is clean and calm. But tourists have stopped coming. « With what is happening in Mali, people are scared to come here, » laments Roger.

I am in Burkina Faso to do a story on a programme supported by the Foundation Follereau de Luxembourg to help underprivileged children learn a trade and get a basic education.

Mixed marriage, refugee rights and just a good day.

A beautiful day and no work to do. So I went for a walk in Nancy, France, a short hour and a half train ride from here. Off the train and a nice walk to Place Stanislas, the touristic heart of the city. Lot's going on there and a fine place to sit and watch. First, lots of noise from a wedding. There was a Moroccan group with a very long trumpet and drums. The couple looked like a mixed marriage. The kids will surely be very international!

From there, I walked to the other side of the square and saw the 24 hours of Stan: a student gathering where each faculty pushes around a float for 24 hours. They weren't pushing anything yet, but were getting sprayed with paint and water and basically making as much noise as they could! 

Next, back the the Place Stanislas, where a protest was beginning to protect the rights of immigrants in France. France has always been known as "Terre d'asile", a country of refuge. The participants are hoping that the new Socialist government will be more human toward those just seeking to better their lives. Maybe we should just get rid of borders all together and just live like humans?

Nowrooz in Tadjikistan

I am in Duchanbé, Tadjikistan to cover the Nowrooz festival. Nowrooz was originally the Persian New Year. As the celebration preceeds Islam, it is forbidden in Iran today, although most people celebrate it privately at home. Nowrooz is probably the most important holiday in any country which was part of the Persian Empire, all the way to Kazakhstan. But the holiday has been often falls victim to politics. Nowrooz was illegal here during the Soviet Union.

However, there are a lot of Iranian journalists here because Akhmadinajad will arrive in a couple of days. But they aren't covering the festivities. On the 25th, they will celebrate International Nowrooz here in Dushanbe, with 600 foreigners from some 30 countries. Many heads of state will be here including from Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are trying to get interviews with all these important leaders.

Long trip

Much better place to stay this time.

Just arrived in Haiti from Yeosu, Korea via New York. But the trip went well and I got to sleep a night in New York. Weather in Korea was windy with temperatures just above zero. It actually snowed for the first time this year in the captial, Seoul. New York's weather was beautiful. Would have loved to go to the city, but just had a few hours to sleep and back to the airport. This is the best time of year to visit Haiti. It is 30 degrees C with a light wind and white puffy clouds. We are here to do a story with the Red Cross. I will have more on that later.

Two years after the horrible earthquake. I haven't seen much yet, but the airport is looking much better. The parking lot where we slept two years ago, is full of cars. The tarmac is empty compared to two years ago when it was filled with aid boxes, big C-130 planes, soldiers and aid workers, not to mention journalists. The accomodations are better this time, staying at the Red Cross base camp on the other side of the road from the airport.

I wonder who my neighbors are?

I have been here to cover elections and filming in the city was dangerous because of a high crime rate. During the earthquake, though, I felt we could go anywhere, even places off limits before. People were more concerned with finding food and water than with a foreigner with a camera. I asked the driver how things were now. "It's dangerous again," he chuckled. In some sense, I guess that is progress.

Preparing the Fantastic

The site of "The Living Ocean and Coast" Expo 2012

We came to Yeosu on Korea's southern coast to film the preparations for World Expo 2012. It is still work-in-progress, but this 3 km2 site will be full of imagination and discovery. From Beluga whales to high tech laser, water and pyro shows to the largest pipe organ in the world, Expo 2012 will probably surprise even the most blasé.

2012 marks the end of the commitment period of the Kyoto Protocal and the 10th anniversary of the Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development. The theme of the ocean and coast, man living with the ocean underlines the importance of respecting nature. The ocean is 71% of the earth's surface and 40% of the world's population lives on the coast or within 60km of the shore.

Nam Jae Heon and his Big O under construction.

The Big O with be a central attraction. It is an engineering feat combining the latest in pyro, laser and water technologies. A Californian company is putting in the entertainment side of the O and says there will be nothing like this anywhere else in the world. Mr. Nam, head of the Big O project says it is a delicate project. "The Big O is floating and we have to take into consideration a tide change of 11 metres and we have to think of the effects of bad weather," explains Mr. Nam.

So far 106 countries will be participating. We went to see the USA pavillion which will be huge. Philippe Cousteau will be the official US representative to the Expo. General World Expos happen every five years. In between, there are World Expos based on themes. Expo 2012 will be in Yeosu, Korea from May 12th to August 12, 2012.

Sunset over the hills and islands in Yeosu, Korea

Yeosu is a city of almost 300,000 people in the south of Korea. Fishing is maybe a traditional occupation, but the city is now a major port and the site of an amazingly huge area of large factories that light up at night with the same colour lamps making it look like a stary night on earth.

The city is gearing up for some 8 million visitors, mostly from Asia. I have often been to Korea and can only say it is a great place, so you can visit the Expo 2012 and take time to see the rest of this fantastic country. You can see our report on www.euronews.net/focus during the week of 19 December.

Ninja miners

Heading out under bright blue skies.

Jargal, our fixer, read my last entry and told me she said Mongolians were now into mining, not money. It seems like the first is the way to the later, so maybe the sense is the same. But she told me there are many people who go out to areas left by the big mining companies and try to dig up the rests of any gold the big machines of the mining companies might have left behind. Because they go out with sacks hung over their back and thus look like Ninja turtles, they are called Ninja miners.

Offered vodka, but I perfered buttermilk tea.

Today we visited a family of hearders. They seemed pretty well off with solar panels and satellite dishes on their yourts. Galbadrakh Dambiinyam's  yourt was decorated with many medals for horse racing. He said he couldn't imagine a different life. "If things get bad here, I can go to the west of the country," Galbadrakh said confidently.

Mongolia, 20 years later

A clear cold day in Ulaan Bataar.

Winter came suddenly this year by travelling from mild weather Europe to Ulaan Bataar, the capital of Mongolia. Today, the temperature was -20 C. This is my second visit to this amazing country, but I was here over 20 years ago and at least the capital has changed completely. One interesting change is that in 1992, everyone spoke Russian here. Everything was written in Russian. Today, signs are in Mongolian, albeit in Cyrillic letters and not the traditional Mongolian letters. English is the language of choice of the youth.

Ghengis Khan and his soldier look out over the Capital.

We have come to Mongolia to do a story on the heavy migration of people to the cities. Many are herders seeking a better life after bad times in the steppes. Some are simply people hoping to get a better education for their children.

This is our first day and after a two-day trip to get here through Seoul, Korea, we are just getting our bearings. We have learned that one of the biggest threats to this city is an earthquake. At these temperatures, not so many people would die in the earthquake as in trying to survive without heating if the big heating complexes are destroyed.

Mostly only people over 40 still speak Russian. I was able
to speak with these ladies, working 7 hours a day in the
freezing cold shoveling snow.

We met our fixer today. A fixer is a local journalist who can help us get oriented and has a thick address book of local interviewees on all different subjects. Jargal says Mongolians are extremists. "A long time ago, we were into fighting, so we took over the world," says Jargal, her arms spread wide to accentuate the exploits. "Then we got into religion, Buddhism. 90% of the men became monks and the population took a dive. Then came communism and we became Russian. Now, we are independant again and everything Russian is gone." Jargal is young, but unlike many, she speaks fluent Russian as well as the more popular English. Forward thinking, she is now learning Chineese. She ends her quick description of the Mongol mentality with a bit of regret... "Now we are into money."