My Monthly Pilgrimage to Ouaga, My Mecca

I try to come into the capital at least once a month. Besides Ouaga being my Mecca, I have to come for reasons of maintaining my sanity. In early March, I attended FESPACO, which is the biggest film festival in Africa. That was really fun as I got too see a lot of great Indy movies/documentaries and the like. The last time I was here, I attended a soccer match between Burkina and Guinea. Each team was vying for a spot to make it to the Africa Cup. From there those qualifying teams from the Africa Cup will then go on to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. Soccer is huge here. At the last game I attended, I was almost stampeded. That’s right. Stampeded. Like a bunch of PC volunteers running towards the Fanchoco cart (Burkina’s version of America’s ice cream truck) in a 120* heat, a group of grown men ran me over. And it wasn't even when the match was going on! It was half time! I was getting up to leave to go find something to eat with my friends outside of the main arena. As we were almost to the gate, they open the gates, and all hell breaks loose. Men were pushing and shoving to catch a glimpse of the game that was not even playing….. Logic? People were shoving to get in the gate as other people were shoving to get out. I lost my friends in the throng and I was going down the stairs when a guy pushes me down. Do any of the other men offer to help? Nope, they either choose to step on me or around me. Mostly the latter. I ask you this: where is the chivalry??? I finally manage to get up when I get pushed down two more times. At this point I am almost in tears and I manage to get up and push the man in front of me and say, "STEP BACK!" Granted this guy had no idea what I was saying, but it brought me some consolation. Even though there were guards/policemen? at the gate they had no control over the situation. Beating Guinea 4-2, Burkina will be playing Cote d'Ivoire June 19th for advancement to the Africa Cup. Burkinabe love their soccer but Cote d'Ivoirians (is that even a word? well, it is now) are absolutely nuts about soccer. This game is like the best thing to happen to Burkina since its independence in 61’. Especially since Burkina is awful at soccer but has somehow managed to make it far enough to play Cote d’Ivoire. At the last Cote d’Ivoire game last month, 19 people died and 100 were injured in a stampede. I have heard that the arena holds 33,000 people, but yet, 50,000 want tickets—most people but tickets the day of…at the arena. Now you would think I would learn from the Burkina game and not attend the next match. But nope, I don't have enough sense for that. I will be in my Burkina gear and waving the flag.