Abidjan, Ivory Coast -โ Driven โfrom their โancestral lands by escalating violence, herders fromโฃ Burkina Faso and across the Sahelโค region are โขabandoning a centuries-old way of life and seeking refuge in coastal โcities like Abidjan, facing economic hardship and an uncertainโค future. The influx represents a growing humanitarian crisis fueled by increasingly brazen attacks from armed militantโข groups and the inability of regional governments to provide โsecurity.
Ibrahim, a 42-year-old โขwhoโค fled his village three years ago after militants raided his livestock – even taking the chickens – embodies this displacement. โฃ”What is theโ point? the entireโค population has left โfor the city. โคThe village is deserted,” he saeid,now tending to other people’s herds in a wasteland outside Abidjan. His โคstory is increasingly common as conflict overwhelms the Sahel, a vast semi-arid region south of the Sahara Desert. Experts warn the situation is deteriorating, with no immediate prospect of safe return for the displaced.
The conflict in the Sahel is intensifying, with military juntas in countries like Burkina Faso struggling to containโฃ assaults from multiple armed groups. Oluwole Ojewale, a conflict โคexpert at the Institute ofโ Security Studies in Senegal, โขstated, “The crisis is โฃfar from โover.” This escalating โinsecurity is โคforcingโฃ communities who have traditionally โขrelied on โpastoralism โฃ- herding livestock -โ to abandon their nomadic lifestylesโ and seek opportunities in urban centers.
Though, โadapting to city life presents criticallyโ important challenges.โค Ibrahim, like many others, finds the cost of living prohibitiveโ and the โคneed for consistent wage labour a stark contrast to โthe freedoms of โขhis โpast. “It was total freedom. You’re with your animals, you can rest,”โค he recalled with nostalgia. “In the city, everything is crazy โexpensive. You haveโข to work hard to โget paid, and when you pay โคfor what you need to live, โyou have nothing left, so you have to go backโ to work.”
The Associated Pressโ receives financial support for global health and progress coverage in Africa from the โขGates Foundation. The AP โขis solely responsible for โฃall content.โฃ AP’s โstandards for working with philanthropies, a list of supportersโค and funded coverage areas are available at AP.org.
