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Thomas Sankara Speaks: The Burkina Faso Revolution 1983–87
Under Sankara's leadership, the revolutionary government of Burkina Faso in West Africa set an electrifying example. Peasants, workers, women, and youth mobilized to carry out literacy and immunization drives; to sink wells, plant trees, build dams, erect housing; to combat the oppression of women and transform exploitative relations on the land; to free themselves from the imperialist yoke and solidarize with others engaged in that fight internationally. Second edition includes a preface by Mary-Alice Waters, a new introduction by editor Michel Prairie, maps, chronology, glossary, and index. Two extensive photo sections feature many unpublished photos of the Burkina Faso revolution. Also available French
448 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1988
About the author
Thomas Sankara
23 books375 followersThomas Isidore Noël Sankara was a Burkinabé military captain, Marxist revolutionary, pan-Africanist theorist, anti-colonialist and President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987, in which he lead an historic revolution.
He is widely recognized as the leader Africa always needed : the pan-africanist movement inducted him as a hero since his assassination. Furthermore viewed by supporters as a charismatic and iconic figure of revolution, he is commonly referred to as "Africa's Che Guevara".
He is widely recognized as the leader Africa always needed : the pan-africanist movement inducted him as a hero since his assassination. Furthermore viewed by supporters as a charismatic and iconic figure of revolution, he is commonly referred to as "Africa's Che Guevara".
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January 9, 2012
There is a certain tragedy in the life of Thomas Sankara, and it is not at first glance obvious. Sankara was the first President of Burkina Faso, an authentic revolutionary who managed in just four years to transform his society and his homeland in a way it is doubtful most would believe to be possible if told, before his assassination in 1987 and the destruction of his revolution by his former comrade Blaise Compaore.
What do I refer to by tragedy? It is not, as such, his death. As unpleasant as it sounds, it is not even the destruction of his revolution. The true tragedy of Thomas Sankara is that his revolution is unknown. Sankara was as great a revolutionary as the world as ever seen, a man more than an equal to all the Lenins of the 20th century; yet, because he had the misfortune to be born Burkinabe, he falls into this academic blind spot. Sankara's words should be sung from the rooftops, yet he remains largely unheard. If nothing else, Thomas Sankara Speaks is of incredible value for that alone.
Thomas Sankara Speaks is a collection of speeches, press conferences and interviews from Sankara's ill-fated leadership. The first thing readers will probably notice is that this is no Leninist polemic, no theory-laden Marxist tome. Sankara does not shy away from his revolutionary character; yet, his speech is grounded in his surroundings, a focus on the present reigning throughout. Sankara speaks of the problems - and solutions - his government immediately faced. The rhetoric of anti-imperialism, of socialism, of Marxism, this is all still there; however, this is all set within a very Burkinabe context, something which can admittedly be a little confusing at first.
Yet, the book is all the better for it, and it exemplifies really why Sankara is so valuable. We have enough theories to last us to utopia; Sankara is far more than that because he provides us with a living model of revolution, a modern-day Paris Commune. That does not mean the book is some sort of revolutionary Bible, a revealed religion for the disempowered masses; far from it. What Thomas Sankara Speaks is, in essence, a case study. It does not necessarily hold answers; but it does ask the right questions.
But that is not the real appeal of Thomas Sankara Speaks. That is that, simply put, it is inspirational. The Burkinabe revolution is an incredible success, an example of one of the most downtrodden countries on Earth rising, however briefly, to independence and dignity; furthermore, Sankara is a fine narrator, taking us along Burkina Faso's path to progress in his modest, personable manner.
When asked why he didn't want his portrait hung in public places, as was the norm for other African leaders, Sankara replied "There are seven million Thomas Sankaras."' If only there were seven billion.
What do I refer to by tragedy? It is not, as such, his death. As unpleasant as it sounds, it is not even the destruction of his revolution. The true tragedy of Thomas Sankara is that his revolution is unknown. Sankara was as great a revolutionary as the world as ever seen, a man more than an equal to all the Lenins of the 20th century; yet, because he had the misfortune to be born Burkinabe, he falls into this academic blind spot. Sankara's words should be sung from the rooftops, yet he remains largely unheard. If nothing else, Thomas Sankara Speaks is of incredible value for that alone.
Thomas Sankara Speaks is a collection of speeches, press conferences and interviews from Sankara's ill-fated leadership. The first thing readers will probably notice is that this is no Leninist polemic, no theory-laden Marxist tome. Sankara does not shy away from his revolutionary character; yet, his speech is grounded in his surroundings, a focus on the present reigning throughout. Sankara speaks of the problems - and solutions - his government immediately faced. The rhetoric of anti-imperialism, of socialism, of Marxism, this is all still there; however, this is all set within a very Burkinabe context, something which can admittedly be a little confusing at first.
Yet, the book is all the better for it, and it exemplifies really why Sankara is so valuable. We have enough theories to last us to utopia; Sankara is far more than that because he provides us with a living model of revolution, a modern-day Paris Commune. That does not mean the book is some sort of revolutionary Bible, a revealed religion for the disempowered masses; far from it. What Thomas Sankara Speaks is, in essence, a case study. It does not necessarily hold answers; but it does ask the right questions.
But that is not the real appeal of Thomas Sankara Speaks. That is that, simply put, it is inspirational. The Burkinabe revolution is an incredible success, an example of one of the most downtrodden countries on Earth rising, however briefly, to independence and dignity; furthermore, Sankara is a fine narrator, taking us along Burkina Faso's path to progress in his modest, personable manner.
When asked why he didn't want his portrait hung in public places, as was the norm for other African leaders, Sankara replied "There are seven million Thomas Sankaras."' If only there were seven billion.
July 6, 2020
Before reading this book, I glanced at a few statistics about Burkina Faso from recent years. The ones that stood out to me were that 40% of the adolescents justify wife-beating (both males and females), 50% are married before the age of 18, the life expectancy is 60 and the literacy rate is 30%. Food security (that is, knowing that food is available to you) is among the lowest in the world.
Which brings me to Thomas Sankara. Thomas Sankara (1949-1987) was the first president of Burkina Faso. Within 4 years, among his other accomplishments, he managed to actually create a food surplus, fight against female genital mutilation, lowered the mortality rate for babies by 6% and attempted to combat the illiteracy by opening tons of schools. He focused on strengthening Burkina Faso and making it stand on its own. In the midst of this, his former colleague Blaise Compaoré led a coup against him where Sankara was killed. Compaoré, who was in power until 2014 (27 years), ended up reversing much of what Sankara had done.
And you read Thomas Sankara's words, written over thirty years and it's just, for a lack of better word, sad. He had so much hope that things would be different, so much faith in his people and yet, I can't stop thinking about what he felt when the coup started or if he saw it coming.
Most of this book is speeches and interviews with him. He speaks often about unity and revolution. I found his comments about pan-African issues fascinating, like inner Africa politics is definitely something that I need to read more about. He writes against imperialism and colonialism and really, he just comes across as such a fighter and a leader, such a believer, so smart and ready to create a change. I also loved his comments about aid. A country can't be entirely dependent on aid- it stops aiding them at that point. Or, in Sankara's words, "he who feeds you, controls you".
I don't want to frame this as a good vs bad because we do see that Marxism does not always yield good results and obviously if the coup had supporters, it means there were people who weren't happy under Sankara's leadership. We can't sweep aside the fact that he was horribly harsh towards those who disagreed with his revolution. Executions really can't be something that can be ignored. He also fought against the Mossi and other tribal chief systems, claiming that they were harming the unity. Ultimately, it's up to the people of Burkina Faso to decide who are the victors and villains of their history.
However, I do think there's room to be sad about the lack of progress. The issues that Sankara writes about in the eighties are still mostly relevant today. Burkina Faso seems to have had a few turbulent years, with another revolution in 2014 but things seem stagnant and man, I wish I knew how to solve this problem. It seems so absurd that people across the world can live such different lifestyles (and okay, I'm veering towards Peter Singer's argument about donating everything that isn't a necessity to starving children but dang, he has a point).
This feels so multi-layered because it's easy to read this and slip into Western pity, because I've never had to consider unclean water and I've always known that I have food. And yet, I very much believe there isn't a single group of people that wants pity. Instead, we've got to figure out what we can do to make things better and this has to be led by the people of the country.This is what Sankara talks about and really, why his words remain so powerful and relevant.
As a note of criticism, I was missing some form of narration. I found myself wondering why exactly the coup started and wished for more context in general about his speeches. This book is essentially an anthology of speeches and interviews and that's great but some context would have gone a long way.
I also wasn't the biggest fan of his comments about Zionism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It felt like name-dropping, an addition to his list of injustices around the world. We all certainly need to stand up against injustice but I have to say, Sankara himself reminded me of the words of several Marxist-Zionist thinkers. However, I also realize that that's not the point of this book. Sure, it's frustrating that people genuinely see Zionism as colonialism but there's so much good that Thomas Sankara did for his own people that I'm just going to put that aside.
In conclusion, I'm really happy I read this. This is an inside look at a revolution, at a man who fought for his country's dignity and freedom, who spoke for feminism, African pride and equality. This is exactly the type of book I hoped to be introduced to by reading a book from every country, like I never heard about Thomas Sankara before this.
What I'm Taking With Me
- Fun fact about Thomas Sankara, he was also a musician and he wrote the anthem. Take that, people who say it's either art or politics but not both.
- One day I'll know enough economics to be able to read about the IMF and actually understand what they're doing but that day is not today.
- The name Burkina Faso is really awesome. It's a combination of two words from the two main languages. Burkina, from Mossi, means upright and Faso from Dioula, means fatherland. So it's the fatherland of the upright/ honest people and it has room for both languages.
- I looked at pictures of him and I've yet to see one where he's not wearing an army uniform.
- I didn't know that Upper Volta was ever a thing, geography is wild.
- Homeland or death, I suppose.
---------------------
This book feels like the African version of the Communist Manifesto and I am so here for that.
Review to come!
Which brings me to Thomas Sankara. Thomas Sankara (1949-1987) was the first president of Burkina Faso. Within 4 years, among his other accomplishments, he managed to actually create a food surplus, fight against female genital mutilation, lowered the mortality rate for babies by 6% and attempted to combat the illiteracy by opening tons of schools. He focused on strengthening Burkina Faso and making it stand on its own. In the midst of this, his former colleague Blaise Compaoré led a coup against him where Sankara was killed. Compaoré, who was in power until 2014 (27 years), ended up reversing much of what Sankara had done.
And you read Thomas Sankara's words, written over thirty years and it's just, for a lack of better word, sad. He had so much hope that things would be different, so much faith in his people and yet, I can't stop thinking about what he felt when the coup started or if he saw it coming.
Most of this book is speeches and interviews with him. He speaks often about unity and revolution. I found his comments about pan-African issues fascinating, like inner Africa politics is definitely something that I need to read more about. He writes against imperialism and colonialism and really, he just comes across as such a fighter and a leader, such a believer, so smart and ready to create a change. I also loved his comments about aid. A country can't be entirely dependent on aid- it stops aiding them at that point. Or, in Sankara's words, "he who feeds you, controls you".
I don't want to frame this as a good vs bad because we do see that Marxism does not always yield good results and obviously if the coup had supporters, it means there were people who weren't happy under Sankara's leadership. We can't sweep aside the fact that he was horribly harsh towards those who disagreed with his revolution. Executions really can't be something that can be ignored. He also fought against the Mossi and other tribal chief systems, claiming that they were harming the unity. Ultimately, it's up to the people of Burkina Faso to decide who are the victors and villains of their history.
However, I do think there's room to be sad about the lack of progress. The issues that Sankara writes about in the eighties are still mostly relevant today. Burkina Faso seems to have had a few turbulent years, with another revolution in 2014 but things seem stagnant and man, I wish I knew how to solve this problem. It seems so absurd that people across the world can live such different lifestyles (and okay, I'm veering towards Peter Singer's argument about donating everything that isn't a necessity to starving children but dang, he has a point).
This feels so multi-layered because it's easy to read this and slip into Western pity, because I've never had to consider unclean water and I've always known that I have food. And yet, I very much believe there isn't a single group of people that wants pity. Instead, we've got to figure out what we can do to make things better and this has to be led by the people of the country.This is what Sankara talks about and really, why his words remain so powerful and relevant.
As a note of criticism, I was missing some form of narration. I found myself wondering why exactly the coup started and wished for more context in general about his speeches. This book is essentially an anthology of speeches and interviews and that's great but some context would have gone a long way.
I also wasn't the biggest fan of his comments about Zionism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It felt like name-dropping, an addition to his list of injustices around the world. We all certainly need to stand up against injustice but I have to say, Sankara himself reminded me of the words of several Marxist-Zionist thinkers. However, I also realize that that's not the point of this book. Sure, it's frustrating that people genuinely see Zionism as colonialism but there's so much good that Thomas Sankara did for his own people that I'm just going to put that aside.
In conclusion, I'm really happy I read this. This is an inside look at a revolution, at a man who fought for his country's dignity and freedom, who spoke for feminism, African pride and equality. This is exactly the type of book I hoped to be introduced to by reading a book from every country, like I never heard about Thomas Sankara before this.
What I'm Taking With Me
- Fun fact about Thomas Sankara, he was also a musician and he wrote the anthem. Take that, people who say it's either art or politics but not both.
- One day I'll know enough economics to be able to read about the IMF and actually understand what they're doing but that day is not today.
- The name Burkina Faso is really awesome. It's a combination of two words from the two main languages. Burkina, from Mossi, means upright and Faso from Dioula, means fatherland. So it's the fatherland of the upright/ honest people and it has room for both languages.
- I looked at pictures of him and I've yet to see one where he's not wearing an army uniform.
- I didn't know that Upper Volta was ever a thing, geography is wild.
- Homeland or death, I suppose.
---------------------
This book feels like the African version of the Communist Manifesto and I am so here for that.
Review to come!
November 2, 2014
Thomas Sankara's breadth and depth is breathtaking. The way he links different struggles, different economic relationships, and different social forces is amazing. In every speech, he mentions African Americans, Palestinians, Cubans, Black South Africans, drawing links between anti-imperialism globally. His writings on gender and African traditions are also interesting. Must-read!
October 27, 2019
The figure of Thomas Sankara was (and will always be) an inspiration for the future, a revolutionary who set an example for Africa and the world.
But the powers of reaction are strong and relentless, after four years of incredible achievements (nationalising land, tree planting and irrigation projects, massive immunisation campaigns, literacy campaigns, emancipation of women, public housing...) Sankara was killed in a coup d'état ending the revolution in the interest of a small minority.
This makes this book a bitter read, yet none the less important. Recommended.
But the powers of reaction are strong and relentless, after four years of incredible achievements (nationalising land, tree planting and irrigation projects, massive immunisation campaigns, literacy campaigns, emancipation of women, public housing...) Sankara was killed in a coup d'état ending the revolution in the interest of a small minority.
This makes this book a bitter read, yet none the less important. Recommended.
August 13, 2013
Una delle grandi speranze tradite dell'Africa (e non solo...). A 25 anni di distanza i suoi discorsi sono di un'attualità impressionante.
May 27, 2020
The book is a collection of the speeches of Thomas Sankara and a few of his writings. The brilliance and clarity of the speeches have the capacity to fill one with revolutionary fervour or to make one apathetic about the quality of leadership currently at the helm in Zimbabwean politics and in African politics in general.
A key aspect of this collection of speeches that I resonated with was the extent to which Sankara managed to discuss the intersection of class and identity in his speeches, he manages to discuss in the speech "Who are the enemies of the people?", he rails against imperialism and equally rails against the enemies of the people who were inside the movement he led. He articulately sketched how the enemies of the people can be both men and women, black and white who have one thing in common, reactionary attitudes. Parts of this speech and many others read like a more accessible replica of "The Pitfalls of National Consciousness" by Franz Fanon. In a speech to women, Sankara skilfully, outlined the intersection of race and class in the context of women's struggles in society. While denouncing the white mans oppression in South Africa, he acknowledges the struggle of white women, while acknowledging the pain of black women in Africa and Burkina Faso, he outlines the limits of such solidarity in the context of, things he regarded as vices such as prostitution (which he acknowledged as an inevitable by-product of capitalism) and the pursuit of bourgeoisie lifestyles at the expense of the masses, by some women. Such nuance in speech is rare from political leadership in this age of social-media mobs of political correctness.
Another thread that ran through his speeches was a disregard for messianic sloganeering in praise of leaders. He asks a poignant question of what happens when the leaders whom we praised go rogue? In a country like Zimbabwe where messianic leadership has its roots deep in liberation history and is prevalent in the major political parties, moving from this sad aspect of our politics will be incredibly difficult given how, forfeiting a messianic position would be to an extent equivalent to forfeiting power by a political leader.
Sankara reasons that "power must be the business of conscious a people" and that a "Revolution needs a people who are convinced, not conquered". In these speeches Sankara advocates for the importance of having a people who have decent theoretical, organisational and ideological understanding of the direction in which he wanted to take the revolution forward. In these speeches he does acknowledge that a conscious people is a threat to an incompetent leader or politician and that some of the enemies of the people from within would not want such to happen.
As someone who enjoys economics, my favourite speech was the his proposition that Africa and the third world must unite and collectively refuse to pay debt, some of which originated from the colonial era. The COVID-19 crisis has again exposed the cyclical debt crises in Africa and its a pity that African leaders have still not heeded Sankara and made the most of these repeated crises which tend to come in waves and hence affect many countries simultaneously therefore providing spaces for solidarity in resisting debt repayment or at the very least negotiating repayable debt matrices. On the economic front, Sankara repeatedly, points out that any projects the nation must do must be targeted, manageable and have a direct and measurable impact on the lives of the poorest in society, rather than pursuing huge vanity projects from which the poor will only get "spill overs". His rejection of aid is something many African leaders can learn from just as Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore is another example of the power of rejecting aid. Sankara argues that aid can turn a nation into a client state living beyond its means at the mercy of foreign powers.
Overall, the language and flow of the speeches is brilliant which makes the book readable rather than montone. A must read for anyone who identifies as an Africanist or anyone who is interested in radical and pragmatic ideas with a firm ideological and theoretical basis. This book is probably the book I have made the most highlights in.
A key aspect of this collection of speeches that I resonated with was the extent to which Sankara managed to discuss the intersection of class and identity in his speeches, he manages to discuss in the speech "Who are the enemies of the people?", he rails against imperialism and equally rails against the enemies of the people who were inside the movement he led. He articulately sketched how the enemies of the people can be both men and women, black and white who have one thing in common, reactionary attitudes. Parts of this speech and many others read like a more accessible replica of "The Pitfalls of National Consciousness" by Franz Fanon. In a speech to women, Sankara skilfully, outlined the intersection of race and class in the context of women's struggles in society. While denouncing the white mans oppression in South Africa, he acknowledges the struggle of white women, while acknowledging the pain of black women in Africa and Burkina Faso, he outlines the limits of such solidarity in the context of, things he regarded as vices such as prostitution (which he acknowledged as an inevitable by-product of capitalism) and the pursuit of bourgeoisie lifestyles at the expense of the masses, by some women. Such nuance in speech is rare from political leadership in this age of social-media mobs of political correctness.
Another thread that ran through his speeches was a disregard for messianic sloganeering in praise of leaders. He asks a poignant question of what happens when the leaders whom we praised go rogue? In a country like Zimbabwe where messianic leadership has its roots deep in liberation history and is prevalent in the major political parties, moving from this sad aspect of our politics will be incredibly difficult given how, forfeiting a messianic position would be to an extent equivalent to forfeiting power by a political leader.
Sankara reasons that "power must be the business of conscious a people" and that a "Revolution needs a people who are convinced, not conquered". In these speeches Sankara advocates for the importance of having a people who have decent theoretical, organisational and ideological understanding of the direction in which he wanted to take the revolution forward. In these speeches he does acknowledge that a conscious people is a threat to an incompetent leader or politician and that some of the enemies of the people from within would not want such to happen.
As someone who enjoys economics, my favourite speech was the his proposition that Africa and the third world must unite and collectively refuse to pay debt, some of which originated from the colonial era. The COVID-19 crisis has again exposed the cyclical debt crises in Africa and its a pity that African leaders have still not heeded Sankara and made the most of these repeated crises which tend to come in waves and hence affect many countries simultaneously therefore providing spaces for solidarity in resisting debt repayment or at the very least negotiating repayable debt matrices. On the economic front, Sankara repeatedly, points out that any projects the nation must do must be targeted, manageable and have a direct and measurable impact on the lives of the poorest in society, rather than pursuing huge vanity projects from which the poor will only get "spill overs". His rejection of aid is something many African leaders can learn from just as Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore is another example of the power of rejecting aid. Sankara argues that aid can turn a nation into a client state living beyond its means at the mercy of foreign powers.
Overall, the language and flow of the speeches is brilliant which makes the book readable rather than montone. A must read for anyone who identifies as an Africanist or anyone who is interested in radical and pragmatic ideas with a firm ideological and theoretical basis. This book is probably the book I have made the most highlights in.
July 25, 2014
Thomas Sankara was an inspiring leader whose words and actions reflected his intellectual, humane and social intelligence. Unfortunately, his amazing accomplishments and vision cannot be summarized in this review. Sankara is a hero who took drastic measures to denounce the evils and injustices of imperialism and worked for the freedom, happiness and dignity of Burkinabes, Africans, and all human beings. According to Sankara, "imperialism is determined, it has no conscience, it has no heart" [178]. He denounced the way colonialism destroyed Africa physically and mentally. The first step to his revolution was aimed at transforming the mentality of Africans so that they recognize their power and restore their dignity so carefully manipulated by colonialism: "Be proud, show that you are Africans. Never be ashamed of being African" [152]. He lead by example and wasn't afraid to tell the truth. He spoke for the "seven million children, women and men refuse to die of ignorance, hunger, and thirst any longer" [154].
His vision was powerful because he touched the source of human existence: freedom, dignity and happiness. He valued people, had a deep love for them and believed they had the ability to take great responsibility for their lives and "invent the future" [232] and consequently become positive agents of change in society.
He was committed to women's rights and outlawed female genital mutilation, forced marriage and polygamy. He genuinely believed that "the condition of women was at the heart of the question of humanity" [339] and stated that "the final goal is to build a society in which women will be equal to men in all spheres" [355]. He is an African hero who had the vision of a truly independent Africa, free of domination, oppression and exploitation and a united and proud African people with a restored dignity, living in harmony with nature and others. In four years, he transformed Burkina into a thriving place where people had access to clean water, healthcare, education and food. Thank you Thomas Sankara for the self-sacrifice you have made for the people of Africa: La patrie ou la mort, nous vaincrons!
"While Revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas!!!"
His vision was powerful because he touched the source of human existence: freedom, dignity and happiness. He valued people, had a deep love for them and believed they had the ability to take great responsibility for their lives and "invent the future" [232] and consequently become positive agents of change in society.
He was committed to women's rights and outlawed female genital mutilation, forced marriage and polygamy. He genuinely believed that "the condition of women was at the heart of the question of humanity" [339] and stated that "the final goal is to build a society in which women will be equal to men in all spheres" [355]. He is an African hero who had the vision of a truly independent Africa, free of domination, oppression and exploitation and a united and proud African people with a restored dignity, living in harmony with nature and others. In four years, he transformed Burkina into a thriving place where people had access to clean water, healthcare, education and food. Thank you Thomas Sankara for the self-sacrifice you have made for the people of Africa: La patrie ou la mort, nous vaincrons!
"While Revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas!!!"
September 4, 2022
I enjoyed it, quite a bit I didn't already know about the Burkinabe Revolution.
I'm mostly drawn to reading/writing on the revolutionary courts and Sankara's call for defaulting on sovereign debt. A man well ahead of his time. I look forward to soon reading A Certain Amount of Madness which has been sitting on my shelves for a while.
Since it's mostly a collection of speeches (some of them at rallies), it had segments that were quite repetitive and a bit empty (ie the kind of stuff that can be good for rousing up crowds but that don't actually add any insight). It's a shame Sankara didn't leave any published texts, I just know he'd have been a riot.
I'm mostly drawn to reading/writing on the revolutionary courts and Sankara's call for defaulting on sovereign debt. A man well ahead of his time. I look forward to soon reading A Certain Amount of Madness which has been sitting on my shelves for a while.
Since it's mostly a collection of speeches (some of them at rallies), it had segments that were quite repetitive and a bit empty (ie the kind of stuff that can be good for rousing up crowds but that don't actually add any insight). It's a shame Sankara didn't leave any published texts, I just know he'd have been a riot.
September 21, 2015
Thomas Sankara, the upright man, was a remarkable individual. A staunch anti-imperialist revolutionary who, in four years in power, has induced miraculous changes in Burkina Faso, one of the most downtrodden countries in the world. He carried out a radical land reform programme and succeeded in achieving self sufficiency in food. He nationalised all the mineral wealth of the nation. School attendance was doubled and the infant mortlaity rate was reduced in the first two years of his reign. He carried out a mass reforestration programme to combat the encroaching desert.
He wanted a thriving, self sufficient Burkina Faso and refused foriegn aid that only came with a lot of strings attached. He didn't shy away from introducing some draconian measures and acknowledged the excesses of the revolution. As he says, "You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness.
Always standing up for human dignity and freedom, he always had great faith in people. Particularly the burkinabe people. He demanded great sacrifices from people by setting his own example of modest living. He was very similar to Che Guevara in this way. And both of them were true internationalists.
This book is a collection of his speeches and interviews.
He wanted a thriving, self sufficient Burkina Faso and refused foriegn aid that only came with a lot of strings attached. He didn't shy away from introducing some draconian measures and acknowledged the excesses of the revolution. As he says, "You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness.
Always standing up for human dignity and freedom, he always had great faith in people. Particularly the burkinabe people. He demanded great sacrifices from people by setting his own example of modest living. He was very similar to Che Guevara in this way. And both of them were true internationalists.
This book is a collection of his speeches and interviews.
May 2, 2019
This book is hard to rate as it feels like I'm judging his ideas, which I don't want to do.
What I'm rating here is the comparison between the videos of the speeches and their written version, the videos being much more impactful and even entertaining, which says a lot about Sankara's charisma. Reading these same words, some ideas seem borderline crazy (or should I say revolutionary?), like when he labels his opponents as reactionary who need "education" or "punishment".
Overall it's a good book if you want to know more about the man, from his words, but I'd highly recommend to watch the videos of the speeches that are available. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSJvv...)
What I'm rating here is the comparison between the videos of the speeches and their written version, the videos being much more impactful and even entertaining, which says a lot about Sankara's charisma. Reading these same words, some ideas seem borderline crazy (or should I say revolutionary?), like when he labels his opponents as reactionary who need "education" or "punishment".
Overall it's a good book if you want to know more about the man, from his words, but I'd highly recommend to watch the videos of the speeches that are available. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSJvv...)
December 19, 2014
I highly recommend this book. I actually read it two times. Great speeches from a great man with such incredible political ideologies. Africa needs more charismatic leaders such as Thomas Sankara. Read it please.
December 3, 2023
this guy had such a big brain omg .. homeland or death we will win!
June 14, 2025
the GOAT.
March 3, 2012
This book provides an excellent view into Sankara's rationalization of the Burkinabe revolution. I agree with much of Joseph Edwards review, particularly the description of Sankara's words going beyond (though only marginally beyond) mere rhetoric into the nuts and bolts of a revolutionary society in the midst of the 1980s. I also wholeheartedly agree that one of the biggest tragedies of Sankara's life is that he is almost completely unknown outside of the world of specialists and in particular those who concentrate on Africa.
I offer two points in this review. First, Sankara's words regarding women are some of the most important in the book. His was not meant to be a patriarchal revolution, and he took the suffering of women head on. "[With the appearance of modern economic forms] The protective tenderness of the woman toward the family and the clan became a trap that delivered her up to domination by the male ... All genuine human feelings were transformed into objects of barter" (p. 260). Sankara's description of women's plight can quite usefully be extended to imperialism in general, and he would have done well to make such a connection. Imperialism throughout history has preyed upon basic orientations of both women and men to reproduce and look after their families. Thus, threats of coercion or quotidian oppression have often been sufficient to keep colonized peoples in manageable quiescence.
Secondly, one should not stop with Sankara's words. Rather one needs to look at the broader context and ask critical questions. For example, how has Compaoré been able to manage Burkinabé civil society in such a sophisticated manner, allowing for some measure of free press and even contestation by students, military and workers? Why was there not more sustained and effective grassroots resistance to the coup? Some (e.g. Otayek's polemic, "The democratic 'rectification'") have suggested that Sankara was simply incompetent in practice, or that his revolutionary rhetoric did not match more reformist policies that adhered rather closely to neoliberal dictates. Thus, the World Bank actually praised somewhat the Sankara period particularly for keeping the debt sustainable. Was Sankara like Rawlings, a strategist who eventually abandoned revolution for neoliberal adjustment, or was Sankara's devotion to social transformation the reason that he was killed?
I offer two points in this review. First, Sankara's words regarding women are some of the most important in the book. His was not meant to be a patriarchal revolution, and he took the suffering of women head on. "[With the appearance of modern economic forms] The protective tenderness of the woman toward the family and the clan became a trap that delivered her up to domination by the male ... All genuine human feelings were transformed into objects of barter" (p. 260). Sankara's description of women's plight can quite usefully be extended to imperialism in general, and he would have done well to make such a connection. Imperialism throughout history has preyed upon basic orientations of both women and men to reproduce and look after their families. Thus, threats of coercion or quotidian oppression have often been sufficient to keep colonized peoples in manageable quiescence.
Secondly, one should not stop with Sankara's words. Rather one needs to look at the broader context and ask critical questions. For example, how has Compaoré been able to manage Burkinabé civil society in such a sophisticated manner, allowing for some measure of free press and even contestation by students, military and workers? Why was there not more sustained and effective grassroots resistance to the coup? Some (e.g. Otayek's polemic, "The democratic 'rectification'") have suggested that Sankara was simply incompetent in practice, or that his revolutionary rhetoric did not match more reformist policies that adhered rather closely to neoliberal dictates. Thus, the World Bank actually praised somewhat the Sankara period particularly for keeping the debt sustainable. Was Sankara like Rawlings, a strategist who eventually abandoned revolution for neoliberal adjustment, or was Sankara's devotion to social transformation the reason that he was killed?
November 28, 2019
An absolute watershed in the struggle for a liberated Africa, as well as a liberated world. Thomas Sankara's words finally condensed into a single book that starts even before the Burkina Faso revolution, and ends a week before his murder in a coup d'etat organized by the Minister of Education, Blase Compaore [rot in Hell, seriously]. The betrayal of Thomas Sankara, of Burkina Faso, of all the revolutionary Burkinabé, has left a lasting imprint on the world, but primarily on Africa and the struggles of the masses against colonialism, neo-colonialism, and capitalism-imperialism.
Sankara, now ironically, has his last speech as honoring Che Guevara, whom he prides as being "young but having the heart of an old revolutionary"; Sankara's death the following week at the age of 37 would forever cement him as "a young revolutionary physically, but an old, educated revolutionary at heart." His ability to grasp so firmly Marxist thought and Leninist action and synthesize them to the Burkinabé people, is absolutely a reason [not THE reason, but a reason] why the Burkina Faso revolution was so successful and grew more successful until its abrupt end on 15 October, 1987. His belief and trust in the masses, especially in the peasantry, was so ripe that the capitalist-imperialist forces around him knew they had to get rid of him because a raised class consciousness of the peasantry, which comprised much of Burkina Faso, would lead to inspiring other working class and lumpenproletariats to rise up all throughout the world.
An absolute stunning read. I'd say mandatory for all Communists and even those anti-communist "leftists", whom would greatly benefit from this.
Sankara, now ironically, has his last speech as honoring Che Guevara, whom he prides as being "young but having the heart of an old revolutionary"; Sankara's death the following week at the age of 37 would forever cement him as "a young revolutionary physically, but an old, educated revolutionary at heart." His ability to grasp so firmly Marxist thought and Leninist action and synthesize them to the Burkinabé people, is absolutely a reason [not THE reason, but a reason] why the Burkina Faso revolution was so successful and grew more successful until its abrupt end on 15 October, 1987. His belief and trust in the masses, especially in the peasantry, was so ripe that the capitalist-imperialist forces around him knew they had to get rid of him because a raised class consciousness of the peasantry, which comprised much of Burkina Faso, would lead to inspiring other working class and lumpenproletariats to rise up all throughout the world.
An absolute stunning read. I'd say mandatory for all Communists and even those anti-communist "leftists", whom would greatly benefit from this.
June 13, 2019
Thomas Sankara was the embodiment of consciousness personified. He had high intelligence and ideological clarity which was matched by his charisma and strong desire to change the material conditions of his people. He was an internationalist, an anti-imperialist warrior, a revolutionary par excellence, a Pan Africanist and a feminist all packaged in one. As noted by some reviewer, the tragedy of the story of Thomas Sankara is not that the Burkina Faso revolution was cut short or that he was assassinated but that the story of Thomas Sankara and the Burkina Faso revolution remains relatively unknown outside Burkina Faso.
A must read for all young Africans looking for inspiration or merely a good example to follow. The book is loaded with interesting political ideological insights.
A must read for all young Africans looking for inspiration or merely a good example to follow. The book is loaded with interesting political ideological insights.
Read
July 24, 2026I hadn't dabbled in any Pan-Africanism before but Sankara is pretty fire tbf. Obviously he's got a Marxist-Leninist tang to him which comes across as quite vanguardist, even if this is nuanced with denial of this propensity. Sankara is at his strongest in his inspiring and mobilising opposition to all forms of domination, linking it with beautiful forms of international solidarity. Where he falls short is in his judgmental attitude towards comrades which I'd argue isn't conducive to advancing the cause but instead induces in-fighting.
My guy did amazing things for advancing gender equality, yet still reeks of misogyny at points. Sankara has a bad take that allowing for prostitution lowers the value of all women. He also criticises “exhibitionism” by some women and women who “push” “men into debt” with their materialism. Although, he valorises single women as not needed their worth to be premissed on their romantic life, whilst also valuing what mothers do in service of the people, foregrounds women's role in governance and decision-making, calls for better education and employment opportunities for women, equal wages for equal labour, communalising aspects of domestic labour like nurseries and cafeterias, equal division of domestic labour, etc. He does not condescend to have gifted equality to women and says that women fight for it. Man cannot free woman.
My guy did amazing things for advancing gender equality, yet still reeks of misogyny at points. Sankara has a bad take that allowing for prostitution lowers the value of all women. He also criticises “exhibitionism” by some women and women who “push” “men into debt” with their materialism. Although, he valorises single women as not needed their worth to be premissed on their romantic life, whilst also valuing what mothers do in service of the people, foregrounds women's role in governance and decision-making, calls for better education and employment opportunities for women, equal wages for equal labour, communalising aspects of domestic labour like nurseries and cafeterias, equal division of domestic labour, etc. He does not condescend to have gifted equality to women and says that women fight for it. Man cannot free woman.
August 25, 2026
reading one book from every country #3: Burkina Faso
excerpted from 1984 speech to the UN General Assembly
"I speak on behalf of the mothers of our poor countries who see their children dying of malaria and diarrhoea, unaware that to save them there are simple methods available but which the science of the multinationals does not offer to them, preferring to invest in cosmetics laboratories and engage in cosmetic surgery to satisfy the whims and caprices of a few men and women who feel they have become too fat because of too many calories in the rich food they consume with regularity. That must make even members of this Assembly dizzy--not to mention the peoples of the Sahel. We have decided to adopt and popularize the methods that have been advocated by WHO and UNICEF.
I speak on behalf of the child, the child of the poor man, who is hungry and who furtively eyes the wealth piled up in the rich man's shop, a shop that is protected by a thick window, a window which is defended by an impassable grille, the grille guarded by a policeman in a helmet with gloves and a bludgeon, the policeman placed there by the father of another child, who comes there to serve himself or rather to be served because these are the guarantees of capitalistic representativeness and norms of the system.
I speak on behalf of the artists--poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, actors and so on--people of good will who see their art being prostituted by the show-business magicians.
I cry out on behalf of the journalists who have been reduced to silence or else to lies simply to avoid the hardships of unemployment.
I protest on behalf of the athletes of the entire world whose muscles are being exploited by political systems or by those who deal in the modern slavery of the stadium.
My country is the essence of all the miseries of peoples, a tragic synthesis of all the suffering of mankind but also, and above all, the synthesis of the hopes of our struggles. That is why I speak out on behalf of the sick who are anxiously looking to see what science can do for them--but that science has been taken over by the gun merchants. My thoughts go to all those who nave been affected by the destruction of nature, those 30 million who are dying every year, crushed by that most fearsome weapon, hunger.
As a soldier, I cannot forget that obedient soldier who does what he is told, whose finger is on the trigger and who knows that the bullet which is going to leave his gun will bring only a message of death.
Lastly, I speak out in indignation as I think of the Palestinians, whom this most inhuman humanity has replaced with another people, a people who only yesterday were themselves being martyred at leisure. I think of the valiant Palestinian people, the families which have been splintered and split up and are wandering throughout the world seeking asylum. Courageous, determined, stoic and tireless, the Palestinians remind us all of the need and moral obligation to respect the rights of a people. Along with their Jewish brothers, they are anti-Zionists.
Standing alongside my soldier brothers of Iran and Iraq, who are dying in a fratricidal and suicidal war, I wish also to feel close to my comrades of Nicaragua, whose ports are being mined, whose towns are being bombed and who, despite all, face up with courage and lucidity to their fate. I suffer with all those in Latin America who are suffering from imperialist domination.
I wish to stand side by side with the peoples of Afghanistan and Ireland, the peoples of Grenada and East Timor, each of those peoples seeking happiness in keeping with their dignity and the laws of their own culture.
I rise up on behalf of all who seek in vain any forum in the world to make their voices heard and to have themselves taken seriously.
[…]
In our view, there must be serious studies of all the factors which have led to the calamities which have befallen the world. In this connection, President Fidel Castro stated our view admirably at the opening of the Sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Havana in September 1979, when he said:
"Three hundred billion dollars could build 600,000 schools, with a capacity for 400 million children; or 60 million comfortable homes, for 300 million people; or 30,000 hospitals, with 18 million beds; or 20,000 factories, with jobs for more than 20 million workers; or an irrigation system for 150 million hectares of land--that, with the application of technology, could feed a billion people."
If we multiply those numbers by 10--and I am sure that that is a conservative figure--we can see how much mankind wastes every year in the military field, that is, against peace.
It is easy to see why the indignation of the peoples is easily transformed into rebellion and revolution in the face of the crumbs tossed to them in the ignominious form of some aid, to which utterly humiliating conditions are sometimes attached. It can be understood why, in the fight for development, we consider ourselves to be tireless combatants for peace.
But the quest for peace also involves the strict application of the right of countries to independence. On this point, the most pathetic--indeed, the most appalling--example is found in the Middle East, where, with arrogance, insolence and incredible stubbornness, a small country, Israel, has for more than 20 years, with the unspeakable complicity of its powerful protector, the United States, continued to defy the international community.
Only yesterday, Jews were consigned to the horrors of the crematorium, but Israel scorns history by inflicting on others the tortures it suffered.
In any event, Israel--whose people we love for its courage and sacrifices of the past--should realise that the conditions for its own tranquillity are not to be found in military strength financed from outside. Israel must begin to learn to be a nation like other nations, one among many.
For the present, we declare from this rostrum our militant, active solidarity with the fighters, both men and women, of the wonderful people of Palestine, for we know that there is no suffering that has no end.
Analysing the economic and political situation in Africa, we cannot fail to stress our serious concern at the dangerous challenges to the rights of peoples hurled by certain nations which, secure in their alliances, openly flout international morality.
We are naturally pleased at the decision to withdraw foreign troops from Chad so that the Chadian people themselves, without intermediaries, can find the way to put an end to that fratricidal war and finally be able to dry the tears that have been shed for so many years. But, despite the progress made here and there in the struggle of the African peoples for economic emancipation, our continent continues to reflect the essential reality of the contradictions between the big Powers and to be oppressed by the unbearable scourges of today's world.
That is why we cannot accept and must unreservedly condemn the treatment of the people of Western Sahara by the Kingdom of Morocco, which has been using delaying tactics to postpone the day of reckoning that will in any event be forced upon it by the will of the Saharan people. I have visited the regions liberated by the Saharan people, and I have come to believe more firmly than ever that nothing will stop its progress towards the total liberation of its country under the militant and enlightened leadership of the Frente POLISARIO.
I do not wish to dwell too long on the question of Mayotte and the islands of the Malagasy archipelago; since the facts are clear and the principles obvious, there is no need to dwell on them. Mayotte belongs to the Comoros; the islands of the archipelago belong to Madagascar.
With regard to Latin America, we welcome the initiative of the Contadora Group as a positive step in the search for a just solution to the explosive situation in the region. Commander Daniel Ortega, speaking here [16th meeting] on behalf of the revolutionary people of Nicaragua, made concrete proposals and posed some basic, direct questions. We hope to see peace in his country and throughout Central America on and after 15 October; this is what world public opinion calls for.
Just as we condemned the foreign aggression against the island of Grenada, so we condemn all foreign intervention. Thus, we cannot remain silent about the foreign military intervention in Afghanistan.
And yet there is one point that is so serious that each of us must give a very open and clear explanation of it. That question, as members can imagine, is that of South Africa. The unbelievable insolence of that country with respect to all nations of the world--even those that support the terrorism which it has erected into a State system designed physically to liquidate the black majority of that country--and the contempt that it has shown for all our resolutions constitute one of the most serious and overwhelming concerns of the world today.
But the most tragic factor is not that South Africa has outlawed itself from the international community because of its apartheid laws, not even that it continues to occupy Namibia illegally and keep it under its colonialist and racist boot or that it continues with impunity to subject its neighbours to the laws of banditry. No, what is the most abject and the most humiliating for the human conscience is that it has made this tragedy a matter of everyday reality for millions of human beings, who have only their own body and the heroism or their bare hands to defend themselves. Sure of the complicity of the big Powers and the active support of certain among them, as well as of the criminal collaboration of some pathetic African leaders, the white minority simply ignores the feelings of all those people, everywhere in the world, who find the savage methods of that country to be absolutely intolerable.
There was a time when international brigades went to defend the honour of nations that suffered aggression. Today, despite the agonising open wounds that are suffered, all we do is vote for resolutions that do nothing more than call on a nation of pirates, which "destroys a smile as hail kills flowers", to mend its ways.
We shall soon be celebrating the one-hundred- and-fiftieth anniversary of the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire. My delegation supports the proposal of Antigua and Barbuda for the commemoration of that event, which is of very great importance to African countries and the black world. For us, all that can be said throughout the world during the commemorative ceremonies must emphasise the terrible cost paid by Africa and the black world in the development of civilisation. Nothing was given us in return, which no doubt explains the tragedy on our continent today. It is our blood that nourished the rise of capitalism, that made possible our present condition of dependence and consolidated our underdevelopment. But we cannot hide the truth any more; it cannot be ignored. The figures cannot be simply haggled away. For every black man who came to the plantations, five died or were crippled. And here I do not mention the disorganisation of the continent and its consequences.
While the entire world, thanks to you, Mr. President, with the help of the Secretary-General, will be commemorating that anniversary and noting this truth, it will understand why we long for peace among nations and why we demand our right to development with absolute equality through the organization and distribution of human resources. It is because we belong to one of the races that has suffered the most that we in Burkina Faso have sworn that we shall never accept any splitting up of our country or any denial of justice. It is the memory of that suffering that causes us to stand side by side with the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO] against the armed bands of Israel. It is the memory of that suffering which, on the one hand, causes us to support the African National Congress of South Africa [ANC] and the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPO] and, on the other, makes absolutely intolerable the presence in South Africa of men who say they are white and feel entitled on that account to set the whole world on fire. It is that memory of suffering that makes us put all our faith in the United Nations, with the common responsibility, the common task and the common hopes of us all.
We demand that throughout the world the campaign to free Nelson Mandela be intensified so that his presence here at the next session of the General Assembly will be a victory of collective pride. In memory of our suffering and as a collective pardon, an international humanitarian prize should be given for all those who have contributed to the defence of human rights through their work and research. We call for cutting all budgets for space research by one ten-thousandth and devoting that amount to research in the field of health and to improving the human environment which has been disrupted by those "fireworks" which are harmful to the ecosystem.
We also propose that the structures of the United Nations be reviewed and revised so that an end may be put to the scandal of the right of veto. The perverse effects of its abuse have, of course, been offset by the vigilance of some States that possess the veto right. However, nothing can justify that right--neither the size of the country nor its wealth.
If the argument used to justify that inequity has been the cost paid during the Second World War, then those nations that have arrogated those rights to themselves should know that each of us has an uncle or a father who--like thousands of other innocent people recruited from the third world to defend the rights that had been flouted by the Hitlerite hordes-- also suffered and died from Nazi bullets.
Therefore, let those major Powers, which miss no opportunity to question the right of peoples, not be so arrogant. The absence of Africa from the club of those that have the right of veto is an injustice which must be ended.
Lastly, my delegation would be failing in its duty if it did not call for the suspension of Israel and the pure and simple exclusion of South Africa from the United Nations. When, in the course of time, those countries have done what they must do to justify their presence in the international community, then we would be only too happy to welcome them here and to guide their first steps.
We should like to reconfirm our confidence in the United Nations. We are grateful for the work which its agencies have done in Burkina Faso and for their presence side by side with us in the difficult times in which we are living. We are grateful to the members of the Security Council for having allowed us twice this year to preside over the work of the Council. We only hope the Council will recognize the principle of the struggle against the extermination of 30 million human beings each year through hunger, which today is more devastating than nuclear weapons.
I cannot conclude without paying a tribute to the President of the General Assembly, who, with his great intelligence and perception, will guide the work of this thirty-ninth session.
I have travelled many thousands of kilometres to be here. I have come to ask each member to work together to put an end to the contempt of those who are unreasonable, to eliminate the tragic spectacle of children dying of hunger, to do away with ignorance, to ensure the triumph of the legitimate rebellion of peoples and to put an end to the use of weapons so that they can be laid down and fall silent, and to ensure that mankind will survive and that together, with the great poet Novalis we can all sing together:
"Soon the stars will come back to the Earth where they have long been gone; soon the sun will return, the star will shine again among the stars, all the races of the world will gather together again after a long separation, the old orphaned families will find one another again and every day there will be new discoveries, more people will embrace one another; then the inhabitants of the old days will come back to the Earth, the ashes will be relit in each tomb, the flame of life will bum again, the old houses will be rebuilt, the old times will come again and history will be the dream of the present extended to infinity."
Down with international reaction! Down with imperialism! Down with neo-colonialism! Down with "puppetism"!
Eternal glory to the peoples who are struggling for their freedom! Eternal glory to the peoples who stand shoulder to shoulder to defend their dignity! Eternal victory to the peoples of Africa, Latin America and Asia in their struggle!
Fatherland or death: we shall triumph.
excerpted from 1984 speech to the UN General Assembly
"I speak on behalf of the mothers of our poor countries who see their children dying of malaria and diarrhoea, unaware that to save them there are simple methods available but which the science of the multinationals does not offer to them, preferring to invest in cosmetics laboratories and engage in cosmetic surgery to satisfy the whims and caprices of a few men and women who feel they have become too fat because of too many calories in the rich food they consume with regularity. That must make even members of this Assembly dizzy--not to mention the peoples of the Sahel. We have decided to adopt and popularize the methods that have been advocated by WHO and UNICEF.
I speak on behalf of the child, the child of the poor man, who is hungry and who furtively eyes the wealth piled up in the rich man's shop, a shop that is protected by a thick window, a window which is defended by an impassable grille, the grille guarded by a policeman in a helmet with gloves and a bludgeon, the policeman placed there by the father of another child, who comes there to serve himself or rather to be served because these are the guarantees of capitalistic representativeness and norms of the system.
I speak on behalf of the artists--poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, actors and so on--people of good will who see their art being prostituted by the show-business magicians.
I cry out on behalf of the journalists who have been reduced to silence or else to lies simply to avoid the hardships of unemployment.
I protest on behalf of the athletes of the entire world whose muscles are being exploited by political systems or by those who deal in the modern slavery of the stadium.
My country is the essence of all the miseries of peoples, a tragic synthesis of all the suffering of mankind but also, and above all, the synthesis of the hopes of our struggles. That is why I speak out on behalf of the sick who are anxiously looking to see what science can do for them--but that science has been taken over by the gun merchants. My thoughts go to all those who nave been affected by the destruction of nature, those 30 million who are dying every year, crushed by that most fearsome weapon, hunger.
As a soldier, I cannot forget that obedient soldier who does what he is told, whose finger is on the trigger and who knows that the bullet which is going to leave his gun will bring only a message of death.
Lastly, I speak out in indignation as I think of the Palestinians, whom this most inhuman humanity has replaced with another people, a people who only yesterday were themselves being martyred at leisure. I think of the valiant Palestinian people, the families which have been splintered and split up and are wandering throughout the world seeking asylum. Courageous, determined, stoic and tireless, the Palestinians remind us all of the need and moral obligation to respect the rights of a people. Along with their Jewish brothers, they are anti-Zionists.
Standing alongside my soldier brothers of Iran and Iraq, who are dying in a fratricidal and suicidal war, I wish also to feel close to my comrades of Nicaragua, whose ports are being mined, whose towns are being bombed and who, despite all, face up with courage and lucidity to their fate. I suffer with all those in Latin America who are suffering from imperialist domination.
I wish to stand side by side with the peoples of Afghanistan and Ireland, the peoples of Grenada and East Timor, each of those peoples seeking happiness in keeping with their dignity and the laws of their own culture.
I rise up on behalf of all who seek in vain any forum in the world to make their voices heard and to have themselves taken seriously.
[…]
In our view, there must be serious studies of all the factors which have led to the calamities which have befallen the world. In this connection, President Fidel Castro stated our view admirably at the opening of the Sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Havana in September 1979, when he said:
"Three hundred billion dollars could build 600,000 schools, with a capacity for 400 million children; or 60 million comfortable homes, for 300 million people; or 30,000 hospitals, with 18 million beds; or 20,000 factories, with jobs for more than 20 million workers; or an irrigation system for 150 million hectares of land--that, with the application of technology, could feed a billion people."
If we multiply those numbers by 10--and I am sure that that is a conservative figure--we can see how much mankind wastes every year in the military field, that is, against peace.
It is easy to see why the indignation of the peoples is easily transformed into rebellion and revolution in the face of the crumbs tossed to them in the ignominious form of some aid, to which utterly humiliating conditions are sometimes attached. It can be understood why, in the fight for development, we consider ourselves to be tireless combatants for peace.
But the quest for peace also involves the strict application of the right of countries to independence. On this point, the most pathetic--indeed, the most appalling--example is found in the Middle East, where, with arrogance, insolence and incredible stubbornness, a small country, Israel, has for more than 20 years, with the unspeakable complicity of its powerful protector, the United States, continued to defy the international community.
Only yesterday, Jews were consigned to the horrors of the crematorium, but Israel scorns history by inflicting on others the tortures it suffered.
In any event, Israel--whose people we love for its courage and sacrifices of the past--should realise that the conditions for its own tranquillity are not to be found in military strength financed from outside. Israel must begin to learn to be a nation like other nations, one among many.
For the present, we declare from this rostrum our militant, active solidarity with the fighters, both men and women, of the wonderful people of Palestine, for we know that there is no suffering that has no end.
Analysing the economic and political situation in Africa, we cannot fail to stress our serious concern at the dangerous challenges to the rights of peoples hurled by certain nations which, secure in their alliances, openly flout international morality.
We are naturally pleased at the decision to withdraw foreign troops from Chad so that the Chadian people themselves, without intermediaries, can find the way to put an end to that fratricidal war and finally be able to dry the tears that have been shed for so many years. But, despite the progress made here and there in the struggle of the African peoples for economic emancipation, our continent continues to reflect the essential reality of the contradictions between the big Powers and to be oppressed by the unbearable scourges of today's world.
That is why we cannot accept and must unreservedly condemn the treatment of the people of Western Sahara by the Kingdom of Morocco, which has been using delaying tactics to postpone the day of reckoning that will in any event be forced upon it by the will of the Saharan people. I have visited the regions liberated by the Saharan people, and I have come to believe more firmly than ever that nothing will stop its progress towards the total liberation of its country under the militant and enlightened leadership of the Frente POLISARIO.
I do not wish to dwell too long on the question of Mayotte and the islands of the Malagasy archipelago; since the facts are clear and the principles obvious, there is no need to dwell on them. Mayotte belongs to the Comoros; the islands of the archipelago belong to Madagascar.
With regard to Latin America, we welcome the initiative of the Contadora Group as a positive step in the search for a just solution to the explosive situation in the region. Commander Daniel Ortega, speaking here [16th meeting] on behalf of the revolutionary people of Nicaragua, made concrete proposals and posed some basic, direct questions. We hope to see peace in his country and throughout Central America on and after 15 October; this is what world public opinion calls for.
Just as we condemned the foreign aggression against the island of Grenada, so we condemn all foreign intervention. Thus, we cannot remain silent about the foreign military intervention in Afghanistan.
And yet there is one point that is so serious that each of us must give a very open and clear explanation of it. That question, as members can imagine, is that of South Africa. The unbelievable insolence of that country with respect to all nations of the world--even those that support the terrorism which it has erected into a State system designed physically to liquidate the black majority of that country--and the contempt that it has shown for all our resolutions constitute one of the most serious and overwhelming concerns of the world today.
But the most tragic factor is not that South Africa has outlawed itself from the international community because of its apartheid laws, not even that it continues to occupy Namibia illegally and keep it under its colonialist and racist boot or that it continues with impunity to subject its neighbours to the laws of banditry. No, what is the most abject and the most humiliating for the human conscience is that it has made this tragedy a matter of everyday reality for millions of human beings, who have only their own body and the heroism or their bare hands to defend themselves. Sure of the complicity of the big Powers and the active support of certain among them, as well as of the criminal collaboration of some pathetic African leaders, the white minority simply ignores the feelings of all those people, everywhere in the world, who find the savage methods of that country to be absolutely intolerable.
There was a time when international brigades went to defend the honour of nations that suffered aggression. Today, despite the agonising open wounds that are suffered, all we do is vote for resolutions that do nothing more than call on a nation of pirates, which "destroys a smile as hail kills flowers", to mend its ways.
We shall soon be celebrating the one-hundred- and-fiftieth anniversary of the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire. My delegation supports the proposal of Antigua and Barbuda for the commemoration of that event, which is of very great importance to African countries and the black world. For us, all that can be said throughout the world during the commemorative ceremonies must emphasise the terrible cost paid by Africa and the black world in the development of civilisation. Nothing was given us in return, which no doubt explains the tragedy on our continent today. It is our blood that nourished the rise of capitalism, that made possible our present condition of dependence and consolidated our underdevelopment. But we cannot hide the truth any more; it cannot be ignored. The figures cannot be simply haggled away. For every black man who came to the plantations, five died or were crippled. And here I do not mention the disorganisation of the continent and its consequences.
While the entire world, thanks to you, Mr. President, with the help of the Secretary-General, will be commemorating that anniversary and noting this truth, it will understand why we long for peace among nations and why we demand our right to development with absolute equality through the organization and distribution of human resources. It is because we belong to one of the races that has suffered the most that we in Burkina Faso have sworn that we shall never accept any splitting up of our country or any denial of justice. It is the memory of that suffering that causes us to stand side by side with the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO] against the armed bands of Israel. It is the memory of that suffering which, on the one hand, causes us to support the African National Congress of South Africa [ANC] and the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPO] and, on the other, makes absolutely intolerable the presence in South Africa of men who say they are white and feel entitled on that account to set the whole world on fire. It is that memory of suffering that makes us put all our faith in the United Nations, with the common responsibility, the common task and the common hopes of us all.
We demand that throughout the world the campaign to free Nelson Mandela be intensified so that his presence here at the next session of the General Assembly will be a victory of collective pride. In memory of our suffering and as a collective pardon, an international humanitarian prize should be given for all those who have contributed to the defence of human rights through their work and research. We call for cutting all budgets for space research by one ten-thousandth and devoting that amount to research in the field of health and to improving the human environment which has been disrupted by those "fireworks" which are harmful to the ecosystem.
We also propose that the structures of the United Nations be reviewed and revised so that an end may be put to the scandal of the right of veto. The perverse effects of its abuse have, of course, been offset by the vigilance of some States that possess the veto right. However, nothing can justify that right--neither the size of the country nor its wealth.
If the argument used to justify that inequity has been the cost paid during the Second World War, then those nations that have arrogated those rights to themselves should know that each of us has an uncle or a father who--like thousands of other innocent people recruited from the third world to defend the rights that had been flouted by the Hitlerite hordes-- also suffered and died from Nazi bullets.
Therefore, let those major Powers, which miss no opportunity to question the right of peoples, not be so arrogant. The absence of Africa from the club of those that have the right of veto is an injustice which must be ended.
Lastly, my delegation would be failing in its duty if it did not call for the suspension of Israel and the pure and simple exclusion of South Africa from the United Nations. When, in the course of time, those countries have done what they must do to justify their presence in the international community, then we would be only too happy to welcome them here and to guide their first steps.
We should like to reconfirm our confidence in the United Nations. We are grateful for the work which its agencies have done in Burkina Faso and for their presence side by side with us in the difficult times in which we are living. We are grateful to the members of the Security Council for having allowed us twice this year to preside over the work of the Council. We only hope the Council will recognize the principle of the struggle against the extermination of 30 million human beings each year through hunger, which today is more devastating than nuclear weapons.
I cannot conclude without paying a tribute to the President of the General Assembly, who, with his great intelligence and perception, will guide the work of this thirty-ninth session.
I have travelled many thousands of kilometres to be here. I have come to ask each member to work together to put an end to the contempt of those who are unreasonable, to eliminate the tragic spectacle of children dying of hunger, to do away with ignorance, to ensure the triumph of the legitimate rebellion of peoples and to put an end to the use of weapons so that they can be laid down and fall silent, and to ensure that mankind will survive and that together, with the great poet Novalis we can all sing together:
"Soon the stars will come back to the Earth where they have long been gone; soon the sun will return, the star will shine again among the stars, all the races of the world will gather together again after a long separation, the old orphaned families will find one another again and every day there will be new discoveries, more people will embrace one another; then the inhabitants of the old days will come back to the Earth, the ashes will be relit in each tomb, the flame of life will bum again, the old houses will be rebuilt, the old times will come again and history will be the dream of the present extended to infinity."
Down with international reaction! Down with imperialism! Down with neo-colonialism! Down with "puppetism"!
Eternal glory to the peoples who are struggling for their freedom! Eternal glory to the peoples who stand shoulder to shoulder to defend their dignity! Eternal victory to the peoples of Africa, Latin America and Asia in their struggle!
Fatherland or death: we shall triumph.
August 22, 2024
Such an inspiring book and genuinely one of the best non-fictions I’ve ever read
December 17, 2025
i can absolutely see why one of the few things l3ftists can agree on is that thomas sankara was an amazing leader. he raised the literacy rate in his country from 13% in 1983 to 73% in 1987, halved the infant mortality rate through mass vaccination campaigns, and implemented a peasant-driven ecological campaign to stop the spread of the desert into BF and driving BF to food self-sufficiency. he also declared the nonaligned (to the US/Soviet Union) countries his allies against colonization and imperialism and exhorted them to present a united front to refuse to pay off their debts to the IMF (all of them predatory with unconscionably high interest rates to keep these countries indebted to the US forever-> see my "confessions of an economic hitman" review). most notably, he found common ground with nicaragua while the sandinistas were in power, extolling them for putting up a fight so close to the US.
he cites che guevara and cuba’s legacy myriad times in his speeches, focusing on the belief that:
“The democratic and popular revolution needs a convinced people, not a conquered people, not a people simply enduring their fate” (Sankara, 176).
sankara absolutely embodies this quote, declaring that burkina faso has no enemies, only people and organizations they have yet to educate (and it is every revolutionary’s job to educate). even in the US, sankara declared black harlem as BF’s white house and sought to find commonality with oppressed peoples everywhere. he does so impressively in declaring that BF cannot be revolutionary without gender equality, something noticeably fought AGAINST in che’s memoir. he indicates that where the male peasant is enslaved by imperialism, he can still go home to defile his wife, who is enslaved by both imperialism and patriarchy.
moreover, i am so, so happy to read that he agrees with my view on sex work:
“as for the prostitute, all that remains for her is the exchange value of her body, a value that fluctuates according to what’s in the male chauvinist’s wallet. isn’t she just an object, taking on more or less value according to the degree to which her charms fade?… prostitution is a concentrated, tragic, and painful summary of female slavery in all its forms” (Sankara, 374).
while obviously assigning 0 blame to any individual sex worker, the system of prostitution is absolutely beholden to the male gaze, as sex workers’ value is directly tied to how attractive they are to men. it serves as a modern form of slavery in capitalist societies, as the vast majority of sex workers must give up their bodily autonomy for basic necessities such as food and shelter.
“When you go to a hospital with a hemorrhage or a fracture, even if you’re about to pass out, they’d rather ignore you and take care of the cold of some president, prime minister, or minister, simply because you’re a common man, a worker. we should denounce that every day” (Sankara, 63).
one thing about sankara is that he will BUDGET. whether that means staying outside of a city where he’s a visiting delegate to save money on hotel prices or limiting his diet to what the common peasant in his country eats, sankara unfailingly lives by his motto that a good leader is aware of the strifes facing the average citizens in his country because he IS an average citizen in his country. i can absolutely see why he was such a popular leader and why his legacy lives on to this day.
he cites che guevara and cuba’s legacy myriad times in his speeches, focusing on the belief that:
“The democratic and popular revolution needs a convinced people, not a conquered people, not a people simply enduring their fate” (Sankara, 176).
sankara absolutely embodies this quote, declaring that burkina faso has no enemies, only people and organizations they have yet to educate (and it is every revolutionary’s job to educate). even in the US, sankara declared black harlem as BF’s white house and sought to find commonality with oppressed peoples everywhere. he does so impressively in declaring that BF cannot be revolutionary without gender equality, something noticeably fought AGAINST in che’s memoir. he indicates that where the male peasant is enslaved by imperialism, he can still go home to defile his wife, who is enslaved by both imperialism and patriarchy.
moreover, i am so, so happy to read that he agrees with my view on sex work:
“as for the prostitute, all that remains for her is the exchange value of her body, a value that fluctuates according to what’s in the male chauvinist’s wallet. isn’t she just an object, taking on more or less value according to the degree to which her charms fade?… prostitution is a concentrated, tragic, and painful summary of female slavery in all its forms” (Sankara, 374).
while obviously assigning 0 blame to any individual sex worker, the system of prostitution is absolutely beholden to the male gaze, as sex workers’ value is directly tied to how attractive they are to men. it serves as a modern form of slavery in capitalist societies, as the vast majority of sex workers must give up their bodily autonomy for basic necessities such as food and shelter.
“When you go to a hospital with a hemorrhage or a fracture, even if you’re about to pass out, they’d rather ignore you and take care of the cold of some president, prime minister, or minister, simply because you’re a common man, a worker. we should denounce that every day” (Sankara, 63).
one thing about sankara is that he will BUDGET. whether that means staying outside of a city where he’s a visiting delegate to save money on hotel prices or limiting his diet to what the common peasant in his country eats, sankara unfailingly lives by his motto that a good leader is aware of the strifes facing the average citizens in his country because he IS an average citizen in his country. i can absolutely see why he was such a popular leader and why his legacy lives on to this day.
December 29, 2025
in his own words ‘revolutionaries as individuals can be killed but you cannot kill ideas’.
Land of the upright people is one of the coldest names for a country i have ever heard. One of Africa’s greatest leaders, i need a Somali Sankara!!!
Land of the upright people is one of the coldest names for a country i have ever heard. One of Africa’s greatest leaders, i need a Somali Sankara!!!
April 3, 2025
We can see this immortal by looking at Ibrahima Traore and the impact he had on his country, burkina faso is rising and we hope African people are inspired by it and its leaders, we've been asleep for too long , Africa or Death .. Long live the revolution.
April 27, 2021
A visionary leader with brilliant ideas of uplifting his people. An excellent read.
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August 23, 2018It is what the title says, speeches by Thomas Sankara. There is a short chronology at the start to put the speeches in context and many helpful notes are added to explain the acronyms and people so you don't have to keep checking the glossary. With the relative sparsity of content available on Sankara, these speeches are one of the few ways to learn more about who he was, and what he stood for. His strength of character and conviction stand out in pretty much every speech, from Harlem to the interviews he did for French magazines, covering all sorts of topics, but in almost all of them he reverts to talking about his primary concern, imperialism. Sankara persistently attempts to demonstrate how the varied forms of imperialism manifest themselves in the oppression and exploitation of the 'third world'. His skill at explaining those links are so exquisitely witnessed in one of his final speeches, on women's international day, a speech that almost forces the reader to view the women's liberation movement in an entirely different context, and that, is the true jewel of reading Sankara.
May 7, 2020
Inspiring collection of speeches condemning aggression, occupation and domination.
Even from reading text alone, it's clear Sankara was a fantastic orator, and does a great job in linking different anti-imperialist struggles across the world and finding commonality and solidarity.
Sankara's speeches on African unity, debt and the necessity of feminism in communism were especially illuminating
Even from reading text alone, it's clear Sankara was a fantastic orator, and does a great job in linking different anti-imperialist struggles across the world and finding commonality and solidarity.
Sankara's speeches on African unity, debt and the necessity of feminism in communism were especially illuminating
May 4, 2016
I don't think I line up politically with Sankara, not exactly anyway, but this book does a good job of presenting him as a personality who went through a rise and then a fall. And that humanizes him, even though this entire book is just primary-source speech and interview transcripts. Actually, I thought that made it easier to see the story (perhaps, admittedly, imbuing more tragedy than was intended in the speeches he made right before his assassination) than in a similar book I went through about Amilcar Cabral, which focused on essays about thoughts related to things the man actually said, and therefore lacked a clear way in for the less-already-informed reader. This one has a character arc you can follow!
June 22, 2019
Who said a perfect revolutionary doesn't exist ? Thomas Sankara was definitely One of Africa's most upright military leader ! He was the one ! We need leaders like him more than ever ... They say Sankara was the African Che Guevara ...I don't like that . I think he is in a class of his own . That's why i encourage everyone to read about the man and discover this visionary and gallant Son of Africa !
"La patrie ou la mort, nous vaincrons !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVKgv...
"La patrie ou la mort, nous vaincrons !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVKgv...
December 27, 2015
Thomas Sankara Speaks is definitive text on the little known and much neglected but powerful
African leader. They killed him and thought it was the end of him, through this book he has come alive to continue to haunt imperialism and its cohorts. This is a master piece like the teachings of Buddha, Christ or Muhammad.
African leader. They killed him and thought it was the end of him, through this book he has come alive to continue to haunt imperialism and its cohorts. This is a master piece like the teachings of Buddha, Christ or Muhammad.
August 17, 2019
Thomas Sankara is the personification of a leader we could use in various countries of the world today, his morals and in-depth philosophies continues to inspire generations. We can only work towards the realisation of the fundamentals he stood for especially third world countries for there is enough for everyone's need.
November 19, 2016
An amazing collection of letters which connects the dots on the ideas of self determination post the 1960's. I enjoyed his use of language to articulate his ideas clearly. The detailed footnotes give insight into the parallel events unfolding globally during this period.
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