Intro

This is a free preview of the episode "Alliance of Sahel States Pt. 2: A View from Within w/ Inem Richardson." You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/upstreampodcast

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It can be quite difficult for someone on the left in the United States or the UK—or in any Western state for that matter, to feel patriotic. Patriotic? About what, exactly? I mean, for most of us, the American flag is a symbol that represents nothing but pain, immiseration, destruction, genocide…so it’s hard to imagine what it must feel like to be a part of a state project that you’re actually proud of. One that’s standing up to that blood-drenched American flag—standing up to the flags of all the imperialists and genocidaires across the globe. 

But there are countries where national pride is well-deserved, where patriotism is appropriate, and where hope for a better future is alive and well. And in Part 2 of our series on the Alliance of Sahel States, we’re going to be in conversation with someone who is right in the middle of one of those countries. 

Inem Richardson is the President and Co-Founder of the Thomas Sankara Centre for African Liberation and Unity, a member of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party, and a journalist with African Stream based out of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

In this conversation, Inem tells us about the journey which brought her to Burkina Faso and led her to co-founding the Thomas Sankara Centre. We talk about what it was like to live through Burkina Faso’s revolution, some of the undertakings and achievements of Ibrahim Traore’s government, what the Alliance is up against, and what its future might hold, and why the world should be paying attention to what’s happening right now in the Sahel.  

Further resources:

• The Thomas Sankara Centre
• The All-African People's Revolutionary Party
• The Coalitioin for the Elimination of Imperialism in Africa (Instagram)
• Africa's Last Colonial Currency: The CFA Franc Story by Fanny Pigeaud and Ndongo Samba Sylla
• Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Related episodes:

• Our onging series on the Alliance of Sahel States
• Our ongoing series on Iran
• Western Marxism w/ Gabriel Rockhill
• Listen to our ongoing series on China
• The Fight for The Congo w/ Vijay Prashad
• Walter Rodney, Marxism, and Underdevelopment with D. Musa Springer & Charisse Burden-Stelly

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