BURKINA FASO: Charity steps up emergency aid amid growing displacement crisis
A leading Catholic charity has announced plans to increase vital basic help for people in Burkina Faso desperate to escape Islamist extremists who have seized control of more than half of the country.
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) will provide more emergency help, trauma counselling programmes and other help in response to the “immeasurable suffering” of displaced Christians, according to Marco Mencaglia, director of projects at ACN (International).
Mr Mencaglia said that the charity would “help the local Church to provide emergency aid and trauma management programmes for the internally displaced, as well as to carry out its pastoral and educational mission”.
He added: “We have children who witnessed their parents having their throats cut, women who saw their husbands murdered in cold blood and others who were raped by terrorists.”
He explained: “ACN will be providing training in psycho-spiritual support and trauma healing to hundreds of priests, religious and catechists, so that they can offer quality help to the thousands of people who have suffered serious trauma.”
ACN’s emergency response will also include food, medicine, hygiene products and help with children’s education.
Except for the central region around the capital Ouagadougou, the whole country is affected by the escalating violence.
The fighting has caused one of the fastest-growing displacement crises in the world, with more than two million people – 10 percent of the population – forced out of their homes.
Mr Mencaglia said that anybody who does not follow the radical Islamist ideology is a potential victim.
Bishop Justin Kientega of Ouahigouya, northern Burkina Faso, told ACN that in his diocese the people’s faith has been strengthened despite the conflict and devastation.
The bishop said that Christians have refused to remove external displays of the Faith, such as crucifixes, even though these can put them in fatal danger.
An ACN project partner on the ground told the charity that the challenge for the community is to embrace the “mission” given to them by Christ, adding: “It is not a question of enduring this crisis, but of living it in the spirit of Christ, so that it becomes an opportunity to bear witness to the Faith.
“A disciple of Jesus has to see everything that happens through the eyes of Christ.”
Mr Mencaglia said: “The terrorists are trying to cause division among a population which, until now, has been an example of harmony.
“The Catholic Church is doing what it can to maintain good relations between Muslims and Christians.
He added: “ACN is trying to contribute to a more peaceful future in the country through projects that help to promote interreligious dialogue, such as diocesan radio programmes and school-based initiatives.”
With thanks to Sina Hartert