![]() In 1983, former prime minister Thomas Sankara, captured the Upper Volta Region and became the President. The bands represented the three branches of River Volta (Red, Black, and White, which rise from the Bobo Dioulasso Highlands in Burkina Faso). In December 1959, the executive council of the government under the French colony adopted the Upper Volta’s first flag which had equal horizontal bands of black, white, and red. In the late 18th century, during the French imperial rule, the tricolor national flag of France flew over the country and was the official flag of Burkina Faso. The flag has a height to width proportion ratio of 2:3. It also signifies the country’s rich endowment of mineral wealth. ![]() The yellow star at the center is a guiding light of revolution leadership programs. The green color is a symbol of hope and the richness of agriculture and natural vegetation. The red color signifies the revolutionary struggles for independence that was necessary for shifting the nation’s focus. It is a combination of the popular Pan-African colors that signify a break from the country’s oppressive colonial past and its integration with other African ex-colonies. The flag of Burkina Faso features two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow five-pointed star in the center. The flag's design is believed to have been inspired by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam’s flag. Leader of the Burkinabe Revolution, Thomas Sankara was a Marxist and Pan-Africanist revolutionary who became president of Burkina Faso in August 1983 at the age of 33.The National Flag of Burkina Faso was officially adopted on August 4, 1984. The following is a transcript from the documentary, “Thomas Sankara.”īurkina Faso, formerly known as Upper Volta, is one of the poorest nations in the world. It won its independence from France in 1960. In August, 1983, Captain Thomas Sankara took power and established a non-aligned socialist government. This documentary celebrates and assesses his commitment to bring about change and to empower the citizens of his country. Narrator: At the foot of what remains of a country of dignified, free men, a lonely, giant tree still challenges and frightens the vultures. Bird of prey from Mossi land, I will never tell your name. “Defining oneself – that is the most difficult thing. First, because you are never sure of making out what you really are. I think there are three ways of being: as perceived by others, as you perceive yourself, and the truth which lies between these two views. As for the rest, history alone will judge me and define me.” – Thomas Sankara As far as I am concerned, I am sure I am an amalgam of projects, convictions of faith, in a future which may require a good deal of daring or nihilism. Joseph Sankara, Thomas Sankara’s father: On December 21 st, 1949, in Yako, the day after his birth, I called his Uncle Abel to tell him a ‘captain’ had been born in our family. ![]() After that, people called him ‘Captain’ or ‘My Captain’. ![]() Joseph Sankara, Thomas Sankara’s father: In 1960, as we were preparing for independence, he noticed that the Flag of Volta had been created. He got his brother and friends together with a few Europeans as well. He raised the French flag just to get it down and raise the Voltaic flag instead. There was a little European schoolmate of his. He didn’t understand why the French flag was taken down when the Voltaic flag was hauled up. Valerie Somé, Ex-Minister: We attended the same primary school in Gaoua. ![]()
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