BACHIR-JOURNALIST
Forty-two year-old Bachir, a radio journalist, has a ready smile but the seriousness in his voice underscores what he calls the “injustice” of his situation – first, the jihadists accused him of being an informer for the army, then the Dogon claimed he was a jihadist. “I was the only Fulani journalist in the area. Jihadists came to my village and asked for my parents, they told them that, on the radio, I was giving information to the army. “They told my mother: ‘If we catch him, we’ll kill him.’ “I left to live in the town. But then it all started again. There are a lot of Dogon in this town, the Fulani are practically all gone. “I was covering a demonstration against the absence of the state. The Dogon yelled at me, asked why I was recording with my mobile phone. ‘I’m a journalist!’ I said. “They were after me. I took refuge at the police station. I filed a complaint but so far nothing has been done. “It doesn’t surprise me that the jihadists accuse me of being an informer because of my work at the radio station – but those people thinking I’m a jihadist because I’m Fulani, that’s so messed-up.” Bachir became an Arabic teacher in a central town. He still works with his radio station, but remotely.
