Committed mechanic, active butcher, welcoming dolotière; the inhabitants of this large village in the North Centre, thirty kilometers from Kaya, have regained their activities and their desire to fight, after having been dispersed due to terrorist attacks.

They collaborate with the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) and with the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP). They are no longer ready to abandon their area as in the past. They are the inhabitants of a village located about thirty kilometers from Kaya, the capital of the region.

One of them is a mechanic, Ali by his assumed name. He had to flee to escape the abuses of the terrorists. ‘We did it at one point because we didn’t have the means to defend ourselves,’ says Ali.

Indeed, a year ago, his town suffered a large-scale attack, during which the FDS were killed, pushing residents to take refuge in Kaya.

Since then, the mechanic has joined as a Volunteer for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) in the Center-North, alongside the Defense an
d Security Forces (FDS).

His will: Defend his village and his people with determination and sacrifice.

“I am a mechanic. But at one point I was forced to flee my village because of the actions of the terrorists. With the new authorities, we had the opportunity to learn to defend ourselves,’ explains Ali the mechanic.

Today, the village has regained serenity, thanks to security operations carried out by the FDS and the VDP. Hope is reborn in this village of 6,000 inhabitants.

‘We are now ready to face any eventuality,’ said Ali, who works in his workshop while remaining ready to respond to any command from his hierarchy.

‘Tear doesn’t stop me from repairing motorcycles. On the contrary, it allows me to defend myself and protect my activity. I am no longer ready to flee my village and my activities. We did it at one point because we didn’t have the means to defend ourselves,’ says Ali.

This scene is not isolated in this village, once a bastion of terrorists for a year and currently on the way to becoming
“an impregnable citadel” thanks to the action of the FDS and VDP.

Not far from Ali the mechanic’s workshop, other VDPs watch over market gardeners in their own fields. In the fields, farmers produce several crops to supply their daily ration but also to sell the surplus.

The village butcher is not VDP but he is driven by the same determination to defend his land and to collaborate with the FD defense and security forces.

Because, he says, ‘I am no longer ready to relive the trauma of the IDP camps. I avoid even thinking about it.’

The village dolotière has resumed its activities. Sitting on two benches, the very first customers ‘syrup’ the local drink. The comments are going well. ‘We have been here for a few months and everything is going well. I don’t have enough customers like before, she said in the presence of a few customers. ‘People don’t have any more money. Food became expensive because they could not grow crops during the rainy season,’ she said.

One of his customers explains to us that he stop
ped by to take a sip before returning to his market gardening field. ‘If we are at the cabaret that means there is security. A few months ago, it was impossible because of insecurity,’ he adds.

At the administrative level, the Center for Health and Social Promotion (CSPS) still bears the scars of a terrorist attack. The impact of the bullets remains visible on the front door.

But the center has resumed its activities despite some difficulties, to the great happiness of the residents.

‘They took away the CSPS refrigerator and my personal vehicle on the grounds that it is a State vehicle,’ says the CSPS department head.

‘As we no longer have a means of preservation, there are a certain number of products that we no longer order. Also, we chose only one day of the week for vaccinations, because the products need to be preserved,’ specifies the head nurse.

The solution found, the products directly administered to the population as soon as they arrive from Kaya.

Overall, life has resumed in this village of a
round 6,000 souls located around thirty kilometers from Kaya. The populations were resettled by the FDS and VDP and are trying to rebuild.

Source: Burkina Information Agency