When did you know you wanted to be a journalist?
Since I was little, it was clear to me that I wanted to be a journalist. So, I was guided by that decision, and I decided to make my dream come true.
Who or what motivated you?
Everyone demotivated me, there was no one who motivated me. People told me that this career would get me nowhere, but in the end, it was me who motivated myself to keep going.
When did you start working as a journalist?
I finished my degree in June 2019 and in August I went to Guatemala to do a report. I started working there and it was my first trip as a journalist.
What countries have you worked?
When I was twenty years old I went to live in Argentina for a year, and then I was in Guatemala (El Salvador). Since August 2022 I have been working from Burkina Faso.
How is life in Burkina Faso? What struck you the most?
Burkina is very different from what everyone thinks; the roads are paved and people live a normal life. It is true that there are many children on the street, but the majority of children go to school, although they try to earn a living by asking for money; because they want to contribute their grain of sand home. Almost all of them have fathers and mothers, the only thing is that when they are older they leave home to wake up and work on their own.
What I liked the most was the community and life on the street, which at the same time was what struck me the most, along with the madness of the traffic.
How did you feel when you arrived in Burkina Faso? And now?
When I arrived it was strange, but since I had already been there the summer before on “holidays”, I already knew more or less how the country worked. Here people look at me a lot, for the simple fact of being a woman and white, I am like "the novelty".
Now, most people already know me and everything is much calmer. However, I have to be very careful, watch where I put myself and the people I meet.
Why did you decide to go live there?
I went one summer to do a report, and I realized that there were no journalists, but there were many things to tell. So, I took it as a great opportunity to introduce the country and the people, and be one of the first people to explain it.
How did you experience the coup in Burkina Faso in September 2022?
During the coup I couldn't leave my house or Burkinabe, and of course, I had to go out and see what was happening to explain it. In the end, the population decided to go out into the streets and announced that they would not move until the president resigned.
In the end, I decided to drive out into the street and suddenly I was surrounded by a multitude of motorbikes that had anti-French sentiment. But luckily nothing happened to me and they let me go.
A relevant event or story that happened to you in Burkina?
One day I went out into the street, and when I was adding gas, about fifty motorcycles appeared at once. I got really scared because I didn't know what was happening. So I got on the bike and ran home. The next day, some friends told me that it was a wedding celebration. My mind played a trick on me, I had formed a kind of story in my head and I got really scared.
Do you think that the job of a journalist is well paid?
No, with all the work and research involved in journalism to produce quality articles, I believe that it is not well valued.
Where do you see yourself working in the future?
I will surely be outside of Europe. I think there is a lot of work to be done in countries that are not as "popular" or touristy, and that need to be given the same visibility as others.
What advice would you give us as future journalists?
The advice I would give you is to be coherent with yourselves, and if you want to do something, do it without fear. It is always necessary to listen to other opinions.
