Imagine being a medical student from Burkina Faso, Niger or Mali or Niger but you go to school in France. You travelled back to your country for the holidays and when it’s time to resume school you discover that you can’t travel to France because your visa has been suspended. And it was suspended for no other reason but because you are a citizen from either Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali. How would you feel? And mind you the visa suspension is indefinite. This pitiful picture we just painted is not just something that was cooked up, it’s the reality of thousands of students in the Sahel countries who school in France. Ophelia Ouédraogo is one such student.
Ophelia Ouedraogo is a first-year medical student in Montpellier who was supposed to leave for France at the start of the new academic year. Sadly, she couldn’t because France suspended visas for citizens from Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali. To continue her studies she had to resort to distance learning which is quite challenging, especially for a medical student. “It has a bit of a psychological impact because you didn’t expect to be stuck here. You expected to leave in… well, not as soon as possible, but in the best possible conditions to be able to start… for example, as I’m doing a year of medicine, to be able to start my year of medicine well,” says Ophélie, highlighting the unexpected challenges this situation has brought.
Like Ophelia, thousands of students from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are now stranded after French consular services in their countries were closed, for security reasons according to Paris. The consequences of this visa suspension go beyond mere inconvenience. Students who’ve invested time, money, and effort into their education now face uncertainty and disruption in their academic journeys. They are left in limbo, unsure of when or if they’ll be allowed to continue their studies in France. Let’s not forget the emotional toll this takes on these students. The frustration, disappointment, and anxiety they experience are immeasurable. They had dreams of pursuing their education and contributing to their communities, but now those dreams are deferred.
The suspension of visa issuance by the French consulate is just one aspect of what French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, has called the “downsizing of our embassies. This suspension has affected not just students, but also researchers and artists. When word of the suspension reached the artists, the artistic community in France erupted and the administration was accused of retaliating against culture. Like the student, the dreams of many aspiring scholars hang in the balance, and it raises questions about the future.
France’s decision to suspend visas for Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali comes after a series of coups swept across the Sahel region and even to Gabon. In Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, anti-french sentiments quickly spread throughout the countries and ended in the ending of defense agreements between France and these three countries, against the terrorist attacks which have plagued the Sahel region. This then led to the withdrawal of French troops stationed in these countries to fight the attack. Many believe that France’s suspension of visas is not just for security reasons like they said but to get back at Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. In other words, revenge. It’s rather unfortunate that the actions of France in getting back at the countries that kicked them out are affecting students, researchers, and artists.