Word: burkina
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso (pop. 6.9 million), formerly Upper Volta, has lost little of its charm since the country gained independence from France in 1960. But the spacious avenues, bustling with mopeds and bicycles, belie the surrounding poverty. About 850 miles away in Accra, the capital of neighboring Ghana (pop. 14.3 million), where decrepit vehicles clog potholed streets, decay is all too evident. Yet despite the dilapidated economies of the two countries, they share a surprising amount of hope, largely because of the determination of their leaders. Once backed by extreme leftist elements, both men now appear committed...
...expulsion was announced without explanation on April 15 by Nigeria's Minister of Internal Affairs, Major General Mohammed Magoro, who declared simply that "all illegal aliens are to leave before the tenth of May." About half the immigrants targeted for expulsion originally came from Ghana, the rest mainly from Burkina Faso, Niger, Liberia, Chad, Togo, Gambia and Benin. Many had entered Nigeria illegally in search of jobs; others had fled from drought and starvation...
...been suffering from recurring drought that has caused widespread hardship and political instability. This month Upper Volta shed the name that the French bequeathed along with independence 24 years ago. President Thomas Sankara, 34, who seized power last year, decreed that his country would hence forth be known as Burkina Faso...
...change is but the latest of a series that has kept cartographers busy as independent African nations shed their colonial past. The new name was derived from two of the country's main languages. In More, spoken by some 3 million people, burkina means "ancestral home" faso means "those who are dignified" in Dioula. Sankara also redesigned the flag and commissioned a national anthem that can be performed with traditional instruments. "Our new name represents a psychological and spiritual change,"explains Minister of Environment and Tourism Basile Guisso. "It will help revolutionize the way people think and help them...