By 6pm, thousands of protesters scattered around the ‘forbidden’ independence square, the epicenter of opposition protest in recent days. They are Senegalese citizens from all regions across this beautiful West African nation. They are united by one goal: To force their ageing president to quit.
They wore T-shirts and held placards with such clearly spelt messages as ‘Down with Wade’, ‘We are fed up’, ‘You leave in peace or be forced to leave: It’s your choice’, ‘We are sick of your lies’ and ‘Where are the jobs you promised us, Mr. President’. One cheeky placard held by a young Cafe Touba (local coffee) seller reads, ‘Coffee for all except Goorgui (Wade’s local name)’.
By Sheriff Bojang Jnr.
Most of these protesters are young people between 16 and 30 years. They are jobless. They are hopeless. They are bitter. They have no faith in the system. They are sick and tired of not being their government’s priority. They are tired of being tired and frustrated. They want change… whatever change there is to it. They are desperate for a system that will look after them.
Looking into the eyes of these young people protesting for their desires, I saw pain, helplessness, exhaustion and distress. I watched them over and over as they proudly showed me marks and scars they sustained from police batons… and I saw determination, sacrifice, defiance, valor and vigor.
The risk of not voting
But whenever I talk to these young and determined protesters about what kind of changes they yearning for and how they intend to effect those changes, I am always left disappointed, afraid and very sad. A lot of these youngsters have now become street champions but they are clueless about what exactly they are fighting for.
Whenever I ask if they are going to vote on February 26 in order to get rid of Wade, most of the responses are totally shocking and painfully depressing. They either don’t have voters card or they don’t feel the need to vote. Voting is not part of their plans. Others are undecided who they will vote for... just a week before the poll. One protester who has not registered to vote and will therefore not vote calmly told me ‘my vote is just one vote and it won’t determine anything. I know others will vote and they won’t vote for Wade.’I look out at such young people in the eye and I feel so sorry for them… very very sorry. I feel sad and sorry because I know that with the trend of them not voting to bring the change they fighting for day in and day out, there is a strong possibility that all those sleepless nights spent street battling with the police, the shouting and chanting for change, the momentum the built, the endurance of police whipping and running around Dakar all day, will go in vain.
I listen to their individual stories of how the Wade regime fails them and I feel emotionally attached to them. But the fact that they won’t vote or at least vote for policy rips my heart asunder.
I stay with them whenever they are out protesting. My presence and those of other journalists make them feel they not alone out there. Whether we admit it or not, we give them courage... with our press kits running around with them. We tell their story to the world and that alone energizes them.
But when I look at the faces of at least those I am familiar with because of their consistent presence at protests over the past few years, I wonder what will happen to them, how shocked they will be and whether they will ever be the same in the event Wade wins the election. And he CAN.
Loyal servants, confused lords!
If Wade wins the election, it won’t be because the youngsters did not wage a good battle. No it won’t! It will be because he contested against a very confused and fractured opposition that has not offered any alternative to the ‘bad’ Wade regime. Over and over again, all we’ve been hearing from the several opposition camps is anti-Wade sentiments. This is what brings them together and this is also what separates them.
With a week to the poll, they have not yet provided any clear and tangible political alternatives, policies or programmes. They have not given the street battling youngsters why they should get rid of Wade. All they have been telling them is that Wade is a bad leader and hell it’s time for him to go.
Secondly, with all the noise from the opposition on how Wade is violating the constitution by going for a third term, there is hardly any clear message from the leaders to encourage the young people to take their street battle to the polling booth, to let them know that they must vote in order to accomplish their mission. In most of their rallies, they don’t even mention the need to vote.
I can understand their frustration at Wade going for term three, but for heaven’s sake the Constitutional Council (highest authority of the land) has endorsed his candidacy… period! He is already crisscrossing the nation campaigning and nothing will stop his face from appearing in the ballot papers on February 26. Therefore, I find it bizarre and sad that the opposition is putting most of its energy on stopping the unstoppable rather than getting people out there to vote against the ageing president.
While politicians are all about winning and occupying big offices, it is a matter of survival for the young Senegalese people. If there’s any winner in this election, it is surely them. But if there’s also any loser, it is them.They have been loyal to the opposition and the various opposition leaders for so long. A lot of them are even fighting for the success and dignity of their individual leaders. But I’m afraid the confusion and the lack of alternative message in the opposition camp is too huge a problem in the young people’s quest for change.
A lot of them have become my friends through my capacity as a journalist looking for stories for a living and their roles as sad but determined young people with different stories to tell. They often ring my phone to say someone's been arrested etc. I am now emotionally attached to them. The thought of these helpless youngsters being disappointed after all their sacrifice and struggle is breaking my heart. I have nightmares because I know these can all end in vain. For some of them, this is the end of their sufferings and frustrations, but I know it might not. Others are anticipating a new life with a new president, but the chances of having to live under the same old president they despise so much are there.
As I prepare to join them again in the streets in less than two hours, I feel so sorry for them. I am scared and sad for them. How their hearts might be broken... my friends from the street.
I love this piece.
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