The end of jihadist attacks, which have claimed the life of dozens of Christians and forced hundreds of thousands more to flee, is not yet on the horizon. Current figures indicate that there are 765,517 internal refugees of which 369,139 are children and 89,783 are families , all living in 169 refugee camps.
Father Claver says that a significant number of the younger generation try to get employment or apply for education in the Arabian Peninsula. The real problem is that

these people are “bringing back another kind of Islam, a more fundamentalist version that has a serious effect on relations in the neighbourhood and peaceful co-existence between different religions.”

“Some of these people and other foreign terrorists, with weapons in their hands, want all of our continent to become Muslim. This includes the introduction of Sharia law,” he added.

Regardless of the perceivable indifference of the world and even if there are just a few  international charity organisations that help, Christians of Burkina Faso do not abandon their faith.

“Quite the contrary, terrorist attacks on our community have only strengthened  our faith. Despite the threats against our life, believers are proud of their Catholic faith,” Father Claver highlighted.

The Catholic Church of Burkina Faso always has and always will support the hundreds of thousands of people who had to leave their place of work. This year the Church will organise a forum to discuss different topics such as pastoral and security issues. This will be an opportunity to express how we can live as Christians and believers in an atmosphere of insecurity and terrorist attacks against the structure of the Church.

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