Burkina Faso plans training support for miners expelled from Guinea
CONASUR says more than 37,000 Burkinabe nationals, including some 8,000 children, had been repatriated by November 11.
Burkina Faso’s government plans to provide schooling, vocational instruction and employment reintegration support for miners returning after their expulsion from Guinea over illegal gold mining. By November 11, repatriations had reached more than 37,000 Burkinabe nationals, including some 8,000 children, according to the National Council for Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation (CONASUR).
Returning miners passed through Bobo-Dioulasso, a transit hub on their journey to their home communities. Omar Bandé, a Burkinabe gold miner, told Africanews that the expulsions came without advance warning, followed by a 24-hour ultimatum. He alleged that miners’ gold, money and other belongings were taken.
Bandé called for government assistance to help the returnees establish new livelihoods. He said some could pursue livestock farming, while others could join the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland.
Members of the Civic Monitoring Movement have organized to welcome the returnees and welcomed the government’s planned measures. Ousmane Kindo, the movement’s president in Bobo-Dioulasso, said training would offer those returning an opportunity to learn practical trades and contribute to the country’s development.
