Burkina Faso vows support for gold miners expelled from Guinea
Thousands of Burkinabe miners expelled from Guinea for illegal gold mining are arriving home, with the government promising education, training and reintegration help.
Thousands of Burkinabe gold miners expelled from Guinea over illegal gold mining activities are returning home, reaching the transit hub of Bobo-Dioulasso before heading to their communities. Gold miner Omar Bandé told Africanews that the miners did not object to being expelled but said their gold and money were taken from them, and that some Guinean citizens lost their lives in the process.
Bandé said the miners received no prior warning and were given a 24-hour ultimatum to leave. Some of the returning miners could join the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland, while others could take up livestock farming, and he asked the authorities to support these plans. The Burkinabe government has announced access to education, vocational training and professional reintegration programmes for the returnees.
Members of the civic monitoring movement have mobilised to receive their fellow citizens and have welcomed the government's measures.
Why it mattersMiners who lost their gold and savings now depend on state training and job programmes to rebuild their livelihoods at home.