A big-scale get-together in Niamey brought together people from three Sahel countries to show their new path forward (the event wrapped-up this past thursday)
The three-day meet-up had lots of music shows and local traditions on display; its main goal was to speak against what organizers called Western control-seeking behavior. Leaders from Mali‚ Burkina Faso‚ and Niger worked to get more backing for their military-based governments
These countries — which used to work closely with France and other Western nations — are now looking east: Russia has become their go-to partner after they kicked out their old democratic rulers. The meet-up showed how these military-run countries want to re-write their stories; moving away from French influence that stayed around since colonial times
- Music performances from local artists
- Traditional dance shows
- Cultural exhibitions
- Political speeches against Western influence
The gathering was pretty big: thousands of folks showed up to back these new governments that took power by force. Its clear that these countries are trying to make a strong point: they dont want Western nations telling them what to do anymore