New Blog

Well I have decided to start a new blog, as my Burkina travels seem to be moving to Abidjan, at least for the time being.  As indicated in My Burkina Journal, the situation on the ground there has become increasingly dangerous.  Recently I have read that children of American Embassy personnel are being evacuated, and seemingly random killings and kidnappings continue.  Even sectors of Ouagadougou are considered dangerous. The State Department's Travel advisory as of November 26, 2019 reads: 


Do not travel to Burkina Faso due to terrorism, crime, and kidnapping. 

Country Summary: Terrorist groups continue plotting attacks in Burkina Faso. Terrorists may conduct attacks anywhere with little or no warning. Targets could include hotels, restaurants, police stations, customs offices, areas at or near mining sites, places of worship, military posts, and schools.

Kidnapping and hostage taking is a threat throughout the country.  On May 10, 2019 a hostage rescue operation freed four international hostages that had been kidnapped in Burkina Faso and in neighboring Benin.   

The Government of Burkina Faso has maintained a state of emergency in the entire East and Sahel regions, the provinces of Kossi and Sourou in the Boucle de Mouhoun region, the province of Kenedougou in the Hauts Bassins region, the province of Loroum in the North region, and the province of Koulpelogo in the Center-East region.

The U.S. government is unable to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens throughout most of the country, as U.S. government personnel are restricted from travelling to regions outside the capitol due to security concerns. The U.S. Embassy prohibits U.S. government personnel from personal travel to the Karpala, Balkiui and Rayongo (also known as Dayongo) neighborhoods of Ouagadougou’s Arrondissement 11 due to the potential for security operations.

On November 26, 2019, the Department ordered the departure of all minor family members of U.S. government employees, and the voluntary departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members.


Much has happened in the world during even these last few weeks as well.  There have been out-of-control wildfires in Australia, problems in France : first the Gilets Jaunes movement and marches in major cities every Saturday, then more recently daily strikes in that country over potential changes to the rules governing retirement. We have witnessed the impeachment of a President in our own country, and a now we face a frightening situation with Iran...  

But on a more positive, personal note, both my passports have arrived--my new one--and my old one [returned] with two still-valid 5-year visas (for Mali and Burkina Faso).  Visas can be quite an expensive proposition, so I am overjoyed to learn that they will still be valid if I carry both passports.  I have obtained my malaria prophylactic (mefloquine), have applied online for my Côte d'Ivoire visa (to be picked up at the airport in Abidjan) and have my housing reservations lined up there. In fact, I have just finished reserving an airport shuttle ride since there is likely to be no public transportation in Paris (RER, metro, and airport buses, etc.) because of the strikes.  On the RATP (Public Transport in Paris) website, it warns prospective riders about potential problems with the following message in large letters in four languages: "Strike: in the upcoming days, we recommend avoiding public transport."  It appears I am going to be doing a lot of walking in the city...  It has also just occurred to me that I should probably book the same airport shuttle for my ride to the airport on the 16th to Abidjan--but I'll wait a day or two to see how things go...

I decided to splurge and have a tree again this year--it would have been too sad not to have had one, I think.  Though smaller than many I have had in the past, it is bushy enough, and gives off that faint but pleasant nostalgic pine scent. I didn't take out all my ornaments, so it will be easier to take down, but it looks cheerful enough, especially lit up with the tiny white lights.  Since I bought it a week later than I usually do, it will stay up until tomorrow--Epiphany.

I am pretty much already packed as there were many items I needed to track down to be sure to bring with me. As is frequently the case, I will be carrying "mail" for those in the Côte d'Ivoire. We, in the US, have an amazingly wonderful, efficient system, both public and private, compared to so many places in the world. Yes, there are occasional glitches, but it is really quite reliable. As in Burkina Faso, there is no serious mail delivery, as we know it, to individual households in the Côte d'Ivoire, and mail may often need to be picked up at the post-office. Worse yet, mail can take weeks, or months, to reach the intended destination. One of the problems is that there are many streets without names or house numbers, so that having a PO box at the post office make more sense for most people, meaning some 150,000 PO boxes for a population of nearly 24 million. This is changing slowly, particularly as the middle class grows [with needs for mail delivery], but the country is not quite there yet.

I have also had some French book titles that I ordered from [the French] Amazon delivered to my Paris place, and will bring those with me when I visit Abidjan.  Just a handful though, as books are heavy, but I will give them to Ezechiel to take back to Burkina Faso when he visits me in the Côte d'Ivoire.

Christmas in Rockville

Christmas crêche from the Côte d'Ivoire (gift from Fina Linan)