Their loved ones were slaughtered by Islamist extremists or government-affiliated fighters. Their villages were attacked, their homes destroyed. Exhausted and traumatized, they fled in search of safety, food and shelter. This is the reality for over 2.5 million displaced people across the West African nation of Burkina Faso, torn apart by years of extreme violence.
But unlike others displaced in the region, they are seen as a challenge to Burkina Faso's military junta that took power two years ago on the pledge of bringing stability. Their existence contradicts its official narrative: that security is improving and people are safely returning home.
Those who fled to Ouagadougou, the capital, which has been shielded from violence, find fear instead of respite. They are made into shadows, with many resorting to begging. Most of them are not entitled to support from authorities, and international aid organizations are not authorized to work with them.
The Associated Press reached out to several international aid groups, Western diplomats and the United Nations. None would speak on the record about the issue. With no official displacement sites in Ouagadougou, no one knows how many people shelter in the capital or sleep on the streets. A rare acknowledgement of their existence by authorities noted 30,000 last year.
