tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71814200693198498302024-03-19T03:28:12.215+00:00TerangaStories by Sheriff Bojang Jnr.Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-16863101647066142072012-12-08T17:54:00.000+00:002012-12-08T17:57:12.053+00:00‘Charles Taylor should have walked free’, Taylor trial judge<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Justice El Hadji Malick Sow</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: red;">New African - December 2012:</span></b> The Senegalese judge, Justice El Hadji Malick Sow, served as an alternate judge for Trial Chamber II of the Special Court of Sierra Leone that tried the former Liberian president, Charles Taylor. For the five years that the trial lasted, Justice Sow sat on the bench with three other ‘main’ judges who presided over the trial in rotation. As alternate judge, Justice Sow’s job was to step in and act as a ‘main’ judge whenever any of the three main judges was unable to sit. He says during the five years, he “worked harder than anybody else because I took it very seriously. For me it was a very important trial because I was the only judge from the West African sub-region, and as such, I couldn’t come back home, face my people, and tell them lies about what I didn’t see or cannot justify.”<br />
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Justice Sow’s conscientiousness and determination to apply the law as demanded by the Statutes of the Special Court and the international criminal justice system, made it unpopular with the other judges on the case, to the extent that they isolated him at the crucial “deliberations” stage of the trial where the guilt or innocence of the accused was decided by the judges.<code><span style="background: #F6F6F6; color: #666666; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></code><br />
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It, therefore, came as no surprise that on 26 April 2012 when the three main judges announced their summary judgment (Taylor was found guilty and subsequently sentenced to 50 years imprisonment, of which he is appealing), Justice Sow read a Dissenting Opinion, saying: “The only moment where a judge can express his opinion is during the deliberations or in the courtroom, and pursuant to the Rules, when there is no serious deliberations, the only place left for me is in the courtroom.”<br />
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He continued: “I disagree with the findings and conclusions of the other judges, because for me under any mode of liability, under any accepted standard of proof, the guilt of the accused from the evidence provided in this trial is not proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution. And my only worry is that the whole system is not consistent with all the principles we know and love, and the system is not consistent with all the values of international criminal justice, and I’m afraid the whole system is under grave danger of just losing all the credibility, and I’m afraid this whole thing is headed for failure.”<br />
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It was a brave statement in the circumstances, but the other judges were not best pleased. As soon as Justice Sow started delivering his Dissenting Opinion, the three other judges stood up and walked out of the courtroom. Justice Sow’s microphone was subsequently cut, the curtains of the public gallery were drawn down, his statement was later removed from the official court record, and he was subsequently sanctioned by a majority of the judges of both the Trial and Appeals chambers of the court for alleged “misconduct”.<br />
As punishment, Justice Sow was ordered by the other judges “to refrain from further sitting in the proceedings pending a decision from the appointing authority [to whom the judges had asked to decide the further status of Justice Sow]”.<br />
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Since the judges’ decision in May 2012, Justice Sow has not had the opportunity to tell his side of the story to a mass audience. It is in this light that New African went to interview him in his Dakar home. The interview, conducted by our Senegal correspondent <b><span style="color: red;">Sheriff Bojang Jnr</span></b> – is a real shocker! How a court established by international law, supposedly to execute justice in a fair manner, could behave in the way Justice Sow describes here, is utterly shocking. Please sit back, for this is a very serious matter.</div>
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<b>Q: At a time when the world was watching the live footage of the deliberations of the long-awaited judgment in the Taylor trial, you entered a Dissenting Opinion to the trial Thamber’s unanimous judgment. What went wrong that prompted you to take that step?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> What went wrong was the secrete plan concocted by the other judges of the Trial Chamber II to reduce me to silence. Orders were given to the court officer to turn off my microphone, and to the technicians to pull down the curtains. Telling the Sierra Leonean people that the president of Liberia, the neighboring country, is criminally responsible for the crimes committed in Sierra Leone is a serious matter. And the proof of that must be clear, convincing and must be without much dispute.<br />
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What I said was that the prosecution did not prove beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the Accused. Also, it was total surprise to me to hear that it was a unanimous decision because in each of the very few times we discussed anything, there were very different opinions. I was very surprised to see them coming up with this summary judgment talking about unanimous decision. Even the drafts I received always changed. The other Judges knew that I didn’t agree with the decision, which is why they wanted to force me to keep silent.<br />
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<b>Q: In your Dissenting Opinion, you said: <i>“And my only worry is that the whole system is not consistent with all the principles we know and love, and the system is not consistent with all the values of international criminal justice, and I’m afraid the whole system is under grave danger of just losing all credibility, and I’m afraid this whole thing is headed for failure.” As an alternate judge, you were present throughout the entire five-year trial. At what stage did you realise that ‘this whole thing’ was ‘headed for failure’? </i></b><br />
<b>A:</b> The fundamental principles of International Criminal Law are contained in the Statutes of the different courts and they are the same: All start with the Presumption of innocence. Also, the only acceptable standard of proof is proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The third principle is a general principle of criminal law as enunciated in the Latin expression <i>“In Dubio Pro Reo”</i> (doubt will benefit the accused). These principles were trampled underfoot in the Charles Taylor trial. <br />
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But before we go further, let me make this very clear: That when I spoke in court, I was no longer in a position of an alternate judge. I was a full judge, sitting there as a full judge. The one who shouldn’t have been there wasn’t me. One of the judges of the Trial Chamber was elected as a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), that judge took the solemn declaration and was sitting as a judge in that jurisdiction, in the International Court of Justice.<br />
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As if nothing had happened, and concomitant to her sitting in the ICJ, that judge was kept in her former position of a Judge of the Special Court of Sierra Leone (SCSL). I don’t believe that these two positions are compatible. If being elected in a different court doesn’t render a judge unable to continue sitting in the SCSL, it must be explained when an alternate judge is eligible to sit as a full judge.<br />
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I went through unimaginable difficulties to put the issue of the interpretation of Article 12 of the Statute of the Court, and of Rule 16 on the agenda of the plenary meeting of the Judges in September 2008. My request was rejected by the same judges who ferociously attacked me in what they called a disciplinary procedure. The minutes of the two plenary meetings are available.<br />
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<b>Q: The argument was whether you had a mandate to express such an opinion in public as you did.</b><br />
<b>A:</b> I do not know why nobody talks of Article 18 of the Statute of the Special Court, and Rule 88 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence which are the only specific provisions talking about the Judgment and opinions accompanying the judgment. Article 18 of the Statute says clearly that <i>“The judgment shall be rendered by a majority of the judges of the Trial Chamber or of the Appeals Chamber, and shall be delivered in public. It shall be accompanied by a reasoned opinion in writing, to which separate or dissenting opinions may be appended.” </i>Then Rule 88 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence provides very clearly that <i>“The judgment shall be rendered by a majority of the Judges. It shall be accompanied by a reasoned opinion in writing. Separate or dissenting opinions may be appended.” </i><br />
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Also, Rule 16 bis (c) states that <i>“an alternate judge shall be present during the deliberations of the trial chamber or the appeals chamber to which he or she has been designated, but shall not be entitled to vote thereat’. </i>How can one then say that during ‘deliberations’ an alternate judge does not have the right to make an opinion and thus cannot express his opinion?<i> </i><br />
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It is a general principle of law that exclusions and limitations must be expressly provided for. Here it’s not about voting at deliberations. It’s about my opinion about this trial, and unlike Rule 16 Bis (c) there is no limitation, no ban or exclusion in the superior norm which is the Statute of the Court, nor in Rule 88 for the expression of opinions on the judgment.<br />
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<b>Q: You alleged in your statement that there were ‘no serious deliberations’ before the judgment was pronounced. Did you mean there were deliberations but that they were not serious enough to justify a guilty verdict?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> I have said it and I wait for proof of the contrary. The President of the Court came to The Hague and had a meeting with the judges. He knew about this issue. I did mention during that meeting, in the presence of the other Judges and the President of the Court, that I did not know when, where and how it was decided that the drafting of the different parts of the judgment will be divided between the three other judges. I was told then that other meetings will be organized later to discuss the drafts but that never happened.<br />
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All the judges of the Court knew about this problem. It is when we reached the most important part of the deliberations - which was the criminal responsibility of the accused - that the other judges started to hold meetings, not in the deliberation rooms, but in their offices. And I wasn’t called to those meetings.<br />
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But I knew of those meetings because the legal officers told me about them. That’s how I discovered that they were hiding to meet and I did complain in writing. I did not hear much about why all the legal officers who attended the trial, except one, left before the Decision was written. Why did all these people go? It is true I have been forwarded drafts of the Judgment but not all of them. I received different versions about the same issues, and in the end it was impossible to know who gave the instructions to draft one way or the other, and which draft was the final one.<br />
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<b>Q: So why do you think these legal officers who started the trial didn’t stay till the end?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> Maybe you should go and ask them if they are available. Maybe they’ll talk. I’m not the only one who found that the charges against the accused were not proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution. From the drafts they prepared it appeared that they didn’t have the same opinion as the judges.<br />
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During the disciplinary procedure against me after my Dissenting Opinion, I was accused of giving counter instructions to the legal officers. The one who made the affirmation knew very well that it was a lie. These very hard working people are lawyers too. They knew everything. They had seen all the evidence produced by the parties. I don’t think that they were convinced by the evidence produced by the prosecution.<br />
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<b>Q: Do you agree, as Taylor’s Appeal Defence has put it, that “deliberations after the close of proceedings are the most solemn and significant aspect of the decision-making process of a court whereby the guilt or innocence of the accused is discussed in light of the relevant evidence and law, and the fate of the accused is finally decided in terms of both guilt and sentence. The importance of deliberations therefore is not only a requirement of law and procedure but is also a fundamental aspect of fair trial”?</b><br />
<b>A: </b>When the totality of the evidence is gathered, closing arguments presented, the judges declare solemnly the hearing closed and they retire in private for deliberations. It is the segment of the trial where judges meet in secrecy, in confidentiality to weigh the evidence and to determine guilt or innocence.<br />
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Deliberations are the crucial stage where judges must express their own convictions and positions and explain why. That’s where judges express opinions about the trial. The Appeal Defence is right to put it that way. It’s the crucial stage, the heart of the trial. It is where you have the totality of the evidence reviewed, analysed and weighed against the law and the facts.<br />
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<b>Q: So you agree that a failure of deliberations constitutes a denial of the fair trial rights of an accused, as well as having implications of an abuse of fair trial rights concerning the conduct of judges?</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Taylor</td></tr>
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<b>A:</b> Fairness is about the trial in all its different segments. Let me first come back to your first question when you asked about principles. It’s like a triangle sustaining the whole system. It starts with the presumption of innocence. When the accused is not presumed innocent at the beginning, there is a problem because the trial is already biased. From the presumption of innocence, you move to find if guilt has been proved beyond reasonable doubt. It goes to the quality, quantity and the pertinence of the evidence to establish guilt or innocence. It’s like a scale. The evidence produced by the parties should reach this level quasi-certainty leading the judge to be firmly convinced of the guilt of the accused.<br />
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But failure of proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the only conclusion is to declare the accused not guilty. <i>“In Dubio Pro Reo”</i>. These are the basic and intangible principles of any criminal trial. Now let people see for themselves from the judgment if these principles were respected in this trial. When comments like “why is Issa Sesay coming to testify… why is this man coming to testify? To let the accused off the hook?”, you may ask what the presumption of innocence mean for those who said it. Assessing the general credibility of specific witnesses, why did the other judges choose only Issa Sesay and DCT 008 from the 21 witnesses called by the Defence? <br />
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<b>Q: You mean the presumption of innocence until proven guilty was never observed in this trial?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> The only important document is now the Judgment where the reasoning is supposed to be. So let everyone read and make their own conclusions. I stand by what I have said in the Court room.<br />
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<b>Q: In all your years as a judge, have you come across a case as big as big as Charles Taylor’s where ‘no serious deliberations’ took place before judgment was pronounced?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> No. I’ve never participated in any case like this one. This is the first time. But before I joined this court, I was presiding over the criminal chamber of the Court of Appeals of Dakar. We have specific dates for deliberations and a room for deliberations. And every single judge would say what he thought about any case submitted to the chamber.<br />
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<b>Q: And why do you think ’no serious deliberations’ took place in Taylor’s case? What was the rationale?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> I don’t know. Those who were hiding to meet and hiding drafts of the Judgment should answer that question. At the pre-trial stage, the first lawyer of the accused said very clearly that the critical question in the case is not so much whether the crimes in Sierra Leone were indeed committed, but whether Mr. Taylor is criminally responsible for them.<br />
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And let me tell you, if you take from the evidence received in the trial the part on Liberia, you don’t have much left. There were lots of confusions. It started from the initial stage – the indictment. There was the first indictment which was the original one. Then followed the first amended indictment. And finally, the third one which is the second amended indictment. There is nothing wrong about that. But it gives an indication about the joint criminal enterprise mode of responsibility. The only question was just one – how to prove the link between Charles Taylor and the crimes committed in Sierra Leone, and not in Liberia. You asked me at the beginning why I entered my Dissenting opinion. It’s because I couldn’t be indulgent in the face of the countless contradictions, lies, deceptions, manipulations in this trial, and conclude that the accused was guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crimes he was charged with. You cannot conclude that there was no doubt in your mind when you see all this money spent on witnesses, and part of the money you didn’t know the origin of. I didn’t know where it came from.<br />
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<b>Q: Where the other judges aware of your Dissenting Opinion plans before you made them?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> They knew from the beginning that I didn’t agree with their own interpretations of the law, and their appreciation of the evidence. I did not send to the other judges my written opinion. I have no obligation to do that. Why were they expecting me to show them my Dissenting Opinion?<br />
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What I said about the system is that international justice cannot cope and put up with the very low standard of proof applied in this case. International justice cannot be based on rumours. These are mass crimes. This is where we must have the highest standard of proof. It’s about proving the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. But they didn’t even reach the lowest standard of proof.<br />
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Most importantly, the accused came with very official papers, with witnesses who were at the frontline, witnesses who were main actors of this whole conflict. How can you compare these witnesses with those people who didn’t get even closed to the scene? The prosecution’s case by itself is so insufficient, so unreliable. It’s about people contradicting themselves, people denying what they had said in previous statements.<br />
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<b>Q: As soon as you started making your Dissenting Opinion’, the three judges walked out of the room, the court technicians turned off your microphone and brought down the curtain of the public gallery. Would you say that was a coincidence or a calculated move to silence you?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> It was a very bad calculation. Their anxiety to leave the court room is an illustration of their plans to reduce me to silence, but the plan failed lamentably. If it had been a coincidence, there would have been some confusion in the court room but all went very smoothly. Except that the one who recorded what I said was not warned in advance.<br />
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The presiding judge read his summary Judgment for two hours and then declared adjournment without even giving any one the possibility to say a word. Then in a concerted and very coordinated move, the other judges stood up and walked ostentatiously out of court. They were still in the court room when I mentioned that I had something to say, and if they did not know what I was going to say as they claimed later, there would have been no reason for them to act the way they did.<br />
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What were they afraid of? They were afraid of something else and that’s why they walked away. They asked the court officer to cut my microphone. They asked the technicians to pull down the curtains, to isolate me. They wanted to make fool of me but they made fools of themselves. And what was meant to be my public humiliation became their lack of not just respect but also intelligence.<br />
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<b>Q: What went on behind the scenes after your Dissenting Opinion? How did the other judges react?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> Let’s call this whole thing pure and simple wickedness. You see, I prefer to let them live with their own conscience. It was pure wickedness. My name was removed from the cover of the Judgment and my dissenting statement was removed from the transcript. Their claim that I wanted to discredit the Court is just part of the same enterprise of annihilation. You may have seen the decision of the Appeals Chamber and the later Dissenting Opinion of Justice George Gelaga King who did not agree with the Appeals Chamber’s disciplinary decision against me <i>[in May 2012]</i>.<br />
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Let me read to you part of what Justice King said in a “separate opinion” he wrote on 13 September 2012 about his Dissenting Opinion of May 2012. He said: “At the start of the deliberations <i>[of the disciplinary action against Justice Sow]</i> on the first day of the Emergency Plenary, ie 7 May 2012, Justice Julia Sebutinde of the Trial Chamber II, which purported to be a complaint against Justice Malick Sow. The Appeals Chamber judges of the Emergency Plenary were only appraised of this statement at the time it was read out by Justice Sebutinde, who was not the presiding judge of Trial Chamber II.<br />
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“A <i>fortiori</i>, Justice Malick Sow, against whom the allegations in the statement were made, was not given prior notice of it, and, consequently, had not been given the opportunity to respond. I<i> [Justice King] </i>objected to the procedural irregularity, which patently impinged on Justice Malick Sow’s right to be heard, stating that it was against basic principles of natural justice, and submitted that the Emergency Plenary could not deliberate on the matter and that the views and recommendations of the judges could not be sought when Justice Malick Sow had not been given an opportunity to respond to what were, to all intents and purposes, ‘new’ allegations against him.<br />
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“I warned the teleconference that unless Justice Malick Sow was given time to reply to the sudden and scurrilous allegations made against by Justice Sebutinde, the refusal to give him time to respond was tantamount to ‘a perversion of justice’. I informed my colleagues that, accordingly, I was not, from that moment, taking any further part in the Emergency Plenary.”<br />
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Yes, it was a perversion of justice. I have lot of respect and admiration for Justice George Gelaga King. He is a man of principle and a great judge. The minutes of the first day of the disciplinary meeting are nowhere to be seen, they don’t exist anymore. It is easy to hide behind confidentiality or secrecy to slander me, to insult me. It’s about my integrity. It’s about my honour, and I shall respond. When the system is not functioning we must say it. It is the duty of the judge to do so. If the judges don’t say it, who will say it? If judges don’t tell the truth, who will tell the truth?<br />
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<b>Q: If you had a vote as a judge, do you think your action could have at least changed the outcome of the trial, or was it merely to discredit the Court as alleged?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> I would never have accepted this appointment and I would not have advocated, as technical advisor to the minister of justice, then the minister of foreign affairs, of Senegal for the creation of the International Court of justice if I did not believe in international justice. My sole interest is still to protect the fundamental principles of justice.<br />
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It was important to have the record rectified in the Taylor trial. It had nothing to do with the image of the Court or the system, but only justice and principles. After all, this was not the first time a judge was making observations about the law or the judicial system. The outcome of the Taylor trial would have been the same because there were already two judges who had decided that the accused was guilty. I would have remained the minority opinion. <br />
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<b>Q: There is a feeling in some quarters, especially in Liberia that Taylor’s arrest, indictment and conviction were the work of powerful Western governments. Have you felt there was any conspiracy theory in the whole affair?</b><br />
<b>A: </b>You see, judges don’t get into these considerations. Judges are bound by the evidence. People can say whatever they want to say. If the guilt of the accused was proved beyond reasonable doubt, I would have been the first one to say it. I did not see the proof of guilt. I am not getting into this conspiracy theory issue because I have no proof of that.<br />
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<b>Q: But did the Bench, including you, ever discuss the possibility of the Court being used by powerful Western governments to settle a score with Taylor?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> I wouldn’t have participated in this kind of discussions. If they took place, I wasn’t there. I don’t know.<br />
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<b>Q: If you were one of the three main judges with a right to vote at the deliberations stage, what would you have done differently?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> I’ve said it earlier. It’s about the evidence. You cannot have such a trial and base your decision on the questionable evidence that we have received in this trial. Ask around, ask those who have read the 2,500-paged Judgment. This is a record. This is unprecedented. We have two thousand five hundred pages just to show that the accused was only <i>aiding and abetting</i>, and <i>planning</i> the crimes.<br />
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Let people read the parts of the Decision on the criminal responsibility of the accused because the judges have expressed their opinions in their Decision. People should concentrate on the Decision and read it and see for themselves if it is compatible with the evidence they heard in court. Let’s take for instance the Naomi Campbell issue which was the most sensational part of Taylor’s trial. Everybody heard her testimony. Who can conclude that the accused gave diamonds to Naomi Campbell? The diamonds were still available to be tested for the determination of their origin.<br />
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<b>Q: As far as you are concerned, should Taylor have been convicted of a much lesser crime and sentenced to a much lesser prison term, or should he have been freed?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> The standard of proof is proof beyond reasonable doubt. It’s a very high level of proof. This is the essence of criminal justice. As a judge you must be firmly convinced that what you are doing is the right thing. A reasonable person reading the judgment should be also convinced that the accused is guilty. You must also convince the accused that he is guilty. Even the accused must be convinced that he is guilty of the crimes. I am unable to agree with the reasoning, the rationale and the standard of proof. Even in domestic jurisdictions, such a standard of proof is unacceptable.<br />
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<b>Q: So what you are saying is that Taylor should have walked out a free man?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> He should have been a free man at this time <i>[of the trial, pending appeal]</i> because I haven’t seen proof of guilt of the accused. This is what I’ve said. I’m a professional judge and I’m bound by the evidence. I have serious doubts about the evidence. The prosecution case is altogether very unsatisfactory, inherently disharmonious and filled with too many confusions and inaccuracies; and this, to my opinion, is fatal to the prosecution’s case. If you don’t see the truth, at least you must see the lies. I have seen too many lies, too many deceptions, and I haven’t seen any proof of guilt of this accused.<br />
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<b>Q: From what you saw of the Special Court of Sierra Leone during the five years you sat on the bench, are the ad hoc courts of the international criminal system worth the money spent on them – in terms of dispensing proper justice?</b><br />
<b>A:</b> Good justice is worth any sacrifice. People have to read the Judgment of the Taylor case to know how this matter was settled by the other judges. We know that money can be spent on witnesses but for acceptable reasons. We understand protection of witnesses. We understand that justice is about means, money. But it was not only about the role money played in this trial, it was not only money because we also saw offers of grace, we saw witnesses being taken from prison to come and testify, people being promised to be relocated. We have seen all that. Were the witnesses testifying truthfully or were they influenced by the money?<br />
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I saw, in the evidence presented, too many contradictions and lies, and many witnesses denied what was attributed to them. Were they were influenced by the payments they received?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCpni5YranuKMTfYE-QX0MFTnvJhtNFkGqj2kRJiNWevGzlzSS9ftItJtVbyggzkxreLlZxmEoP6CeQP00vMSSKuAexdCEqCmpRy5t-DSLptfP9JlKhdo1Bw7eDr6cEQ4DK7IqmtYR7Xx/s1600/sow+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCpni5YranuKMTfYE-QX0MFTnvJhtNFkGqj2kRJiNWevGzlzSS9ftItJtVbyggzkxreLlZxmEoP6CeQP00vMSSKuAexdCEqCmpRy5t-DSLptfP9JlKhdo1Bw7eDr6cEQ4DK7IqmtYR7Xx/s320/sow+3.jpg" width="230" /></a><br />
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The defence brought up the issue of the origin of some of the money spent in this trial, and produced documents to show that in many instances there were no explanations for the money spent on witnesses. It may bring at least suspicion or doubt. And when you see such things, you must ask yourself what role did money play in this trial? And this is a very critical issue in this trial. </div>
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We do have a management committee that can see how and when the money came in, because I think it was a problem in this trial. How did we get the money from donors and from other countries just to finish the trial? As a judge, I am not concerned about this issue. I’m concerned with the evidence, what is the evidence, what is the truth? And when you see it, you must say it. This is the oath you take as a judge, and you must do it without any fear.<br />
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Before the trial started, people already had their own opinions about it. During the trial, people had their own opinions. After the trial, people still have their own opinions. And People will always have their own opinions on the law and on the system, and also on innocence and the guilt of the accused. As for a judge who attended this trial for five good years, and who worked harder than anyone else - I worked harder than anybody else because I took it very seriously - for me, it was a very important trial because I was the only one from the West Africa sub-region, and as such, I couldn’t come back home, face my people, and tell them lies about what I didn’t see, or cannot justify.<br />
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<br />Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-59860688257989555062012-05-06T15:05:00.000+01:002012-12-25T12:47:34.220+00:00Senegal: No honeymoon for new president<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wade and Macky at presidential palace</td></tr>
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<i><b><span style="color: red;">New African - May 2012 -</span></b> After 12 years in power, President Abdoulaye Wade finally bowed out following defeat by his protégé and former Prime Minister, Macky Sall, in last month’s runoff vote. The election followed weeks of riots in major cities and towns across the country over Wade’s decision to run for a third term. As <b><span style="color: red;">Sheriff Bojang Jnr</span></b> reports from Dakar, expectations are high for the new president.</i><br />
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Two months ago, there were fears Senegal would plunge into an election-related civil war. In the run up to the March polls, opposition activists, mainly young people took the streets of Dakar and elsewhere for weeks demanding that President Wade withdraw his controversial third term bid. <code><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f6f6f6; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></code><br />
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The riots resulted in at least six deaths, and the destruction of property worth millions of CFA Francs. For at least two weeks, most shops and businesses in the city center of the capital, Dakar were closed, while schools and universities had shut down for several weeks before that.<br />
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Many people feared the worst as violence escalated and tension rose days before the polls. Foreign journalists flew in from around the world in anticipation of the ‘imminent’ post-electoral violence. In contrast, tourists and some foreign nationals quickly flew out of the country in fear. Potential foreign investors stayed away to ‘wait and see’ whether it would be safe to invest in the country. And rich Senegalese, including government officials sent their families abroad for protection.<br />
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But less than three hours after the first run-off result was announced on 25 March, Senegal proved the skeptics wrong and showed the world how democracy worked. As early results showed a clear lead for Macky Sall, President Wade, in the presence of his wife and two children, phoned Sall to congratulate him. ‘The results announced so far have shown that you are the winner of the election… I congratulate you and wish you all the best’, Wade was quoted as saying on the phone from the presidential palace, and that was enough to avoid whatever dangers or doubts anybody had anticipated might ensue.<br />
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Within minutes, Independence Square in the centre of town, which had been the epicentre of pre-election riots, saw thousands gathering to sing songs and dance. Many of them shed tears of joy. Among them was a young woman called Sene Oumy. Waving a Senegalese flag, she remarked, ‘I decided to join the celebrations because it was here in this square that the police flogged and tear-gassed us a few weeks ago when we attempted to hold legitimate anti-Wade rallies. Tonight we are back here celebrating our victory and no one is beating us. This is the Senegal I’ve always wanted.’<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOeTXUuPKKADwC5gp4Yx2IxpuVMAcbEA_lBNgB64c1dJ7R-pqmeZdmXwZfPYimFdxNcE2D8KZcQn11gu4GY0P40JYTfHi4Gin8xDAjKB4cShBwVLoqndNhNTMWzsQGwwB3dRWdQtkuuS89/s1600/macky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOeTXUuPKKADwC5gp4Yx2IxpuVMAcbEA_lBNgB64c1dJ7R-pqmeZdmXwZfPYimFdxNcE2D8KZcQn11gu4GY0P40JYTfHi4Gin8xDAjKB4cShBwVLoqndNhNTMWzsQGwwB3dRWdQtkuuS89/s320/macky.jpg" width="320" /></a>World leaders quickly lauded the country for the democratic and transparent manner of the polls, and more importantly, for the swift transfer of power. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, praised Wade ‘for his gracious and statesmanlike actions’ and said the civic responsibility displayed by all political actors and civil society manifested ‘Senegal’s strong democratic commitment’. The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy. described the events as giving ‘hope for the rest of Africa’. US President Barack Obama joined in, congratulating Sall for his victory and praising Senegal as ‘a leading example of good governance and democracy at work’. In the sub-region, Nigerian leader Goodluck Jonathan praised Wade ‘for graciously accepting defeat, showing great maturity and statesmanship’, and said ‘if there was ever any doubt, this election has proved that the foundation of Senegalese democracy is rock solid.’<br />
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A few days after he lost the election, Wade extended his good gesture towards Sall by urging his outgoing ministers to support the incoming president in developing Senegal, and make themselves available to serve the new government if called upon. Wade even left the presidential palace a few days earlier than he should ‘to enable the new leader to move in before forming his government’.<br />
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Until a few years ago, Wade was the darling of the Senegalese people after he finally came to power in 2000, following over two decades in the opposition. Serigne Dieng, a political analyst in Dakar said ‘for nearly ten years from 2000, the people, the media and religious leaders had advocated that Wade be given all the time in the world to do whatever he wanted to do with the country. For all those years, we believed in him and there was hardly any attempt to scrutinize him or challenge his decisions.’<br />
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But Wade’s love affair with the people started going sour following continuous economic hardship, rising youth unemployment and regular power cuts, among other issues. While he succeeded in infrastructure development, such as building highways and large bridges in many parts of the country, there was growing disillusionment over his economic policies, failure to curb corruption and of course the power of his son, Karim, in the government.<br />
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Technically Wade is responsible for his own downfall, Dieng added. "Because the people gave him too much power, he thought he was more powerful than the country. He changed from being a democrat to an arrogant ruler. He had said over and over again that no one else could lead Senegal but him, yet he wanted to impose his son on us as if we live under a monarchical system. And that’s why he was voted out."<br />
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But Wade’s supporters blamed his defeat on ‘hatred’ from the opposition and spirited campaign of calumny in the West.<br />
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<b>Macky Sall</b><br />
The election of Macky Sall, a 51-year-old geological engineer, has restored hope in Senegal. There is a huge wave of goodwill blowing towards him and expectations are very high. As a result, Sall, unlike Wade, will not be given carte blanche to do whatever he want to do with the country.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">police arrest an anti-Wade protester in Dakar</td></tr>
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He has inherited a government with limited resources to spend due to corruption and excessive spending by Wade's government. His first challenge is to change fortunes around. The anti-Wade protests over the past few months were pioneered by young people whose grievances were propelled mainly by unemployment. Sall has the huge task of quickly creating jobs to satisfy these youths, who effectively campaigned for him.<br />
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Reducing prices of basic commodities and fuel were some of Sall’s campaign promises. He now has to find cash for subsidies. According to Abdou Lo, a Dakar-based independent political analyst, the new president has just about a month to bring the prices down. </div>
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The challenge to ensure a regular power supply is daunting. Schools and universities had been closed due to a teacher's strike. Students and parents are worried that they would lose an academic year unless the teachers are brought to work immediately.<br />
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Fighting corruption and nepotism, as well as finishing infrastructures started by the Wade government, are other challenges.<br />
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As Amath Kane of the anti-Wade Y’en A Marre (We’re fed up) movement remarked, "I’m happy for Macky Sall but I’m also sorry and worried for him. Senegalese people are not the most patient in the world. If Macky is unable to deliver within months, the goodwill will quickly fade and people will be after his head. This is the way things are going to look for him, unfortunately."</div>
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Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-10289958426057753272012-03-26T18:15:00.001+01:002012-05-10T11:59:56.222+01:00Senegalese president admits defeat in election<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Thousands celebrate in streets of Dakar as Macky Sall defeats Abdoulaye Wade in runoff</i><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">By Afua Hirsch and Sheriff Bojang Jr in Dakar</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: red;">guardian.co.uk, Monday 26 March 2012</span></b><br />
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It is the story African voters live in fear of – a democratically elected leader flouts the constitution to extend his term in office, then refuses to cede power. For the past two months, voters in Senegal have been questioning whether their proud west African democracy would suffer the same fate.</div>
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But with one phone call on Sunday night, Senegal's 85-year-old president, Abdoulaye Wade, has finally confirmed the resilience of Senegal's political system, conceding victory to the opposition leader, Macky Sall, as early results showed a clear victory in runoff elections. <code><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f6f6f6; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></code><br />
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Wade's decision to admit defeat early – less than three hours after results began being announced – prompted carnival scenes on the streets of Dakar as residents celebrated the end of 12 years of increasingly unpopular rule. Tens of thousands of Sall's supporters gathered at his party's headquarters throwing fireworks into the air, chanting "freedom at last" and "viva Macky".<br />
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"Can someone please confirm that we are no longer under the reign of Wade and his thieves?" a young Sall campaigner, Nogaye, shouted through tears as her friends hugged her and reassured her.<br />
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In other parts of Dakar, thousands of people gathered in the streets celebrating through the night, while taxis blockaded the roads and drivers danced through the traffic. At Independence Square, the centre of pre-election riots, at least 10,000 supporters danced and chanted for hours.<br />
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One of the revellers was Souleymane, a university student who had painted his body with the red, yellow and green colours of Senegal. "The last time we were in this square to exercise our rights, the police beat us and threw teargas at us. Tonight I'm here dancing and singing for my Macky and not a single police officer can even raise an eyebrow. How fantastic!"<br />
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Violent clashes had erupted repeatedly in Senegal's usually stable democracy as tension rose in the runup to the elections.<br />
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Disillusionment with Wade – who came to power in 2000 amid widespread public support after 25 years in opposition – had been growing over recent years. His decision to appoint his son Karim to key positions in government and failure to curb power cuts and soaring food and fuel prices had angered voters. He increasingly claimed that only he could run Senegal, further alienating the public.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;">Defeated Wade in his last press conference</td></tr>
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The final straw for many came when Wade successfully went to court to evade the constitutional limit of two terms in office that he himself had enacted, allowing him to run for a third term.<br />
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"The big winner tonight is the Senegalese people," Sall said on Sunday night. "We have shown to the world our democracy is mature. I will be the president of all the Senegalese."<br />
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Sall, 50, is a former prime minister. Wade is credited with helping him rise through the political ranks, but their relationship broke down in 2008, leading to an acrimonious split with the ruling party. Sall was predicted to be the frontrunner after campaigning in villages and small towns as well as in the deprived urban areas surrounding the capital, Dakar.<br />
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His campaign was bolstered by the electoral commission's decision to exclude the candidacy of the singer Youssou N'Dour, who commands huge support from young voters in the capital, and who also backed Sall for the second round.<br />
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The collapse in support for Wade was particularly steep in Dakar, falling from more than 607,000 five years ago to just 189,493 in the 26 February vote.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwj4J_sjI0ldzG8Uzkdxi51aZAy8VVidzPZHr95AVwCArF_46nqxXqITe4XQR1ldMkgEjfXJiY6CSm7Rb1jBCpOJtyGUHAwQ6DXonM-uzfzhUX74i1EXP0bVqn8pEvtBbEZwC0OvMfxkKQ/s1600/DSC05790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwj4J_sjI0ldzG8Uzkdxi51aZAy8VVidzPZHr95AVwCArF_46nqxXqITe4XQR1ldMkgEjfXJiY6CSm7Rb1jBCpOJtyGUHAwQ6DXonM-uzfzhUX74i1EXP0bVqn8pEvtBbEZwC0OvMfxkKQ/s320/DSC05790.JPG" width="320" /></a>"I've waited too long for this. Our country was hijacked from us for too long. Freedom is finally here. Thank God for Macky," said Aminata Mbengue, 36, shedding tears with her young baby on her back as she knelt before a giant poster of Sall, praying for the new leader.<br />
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Sall's victory was also celebrated by citizens of other west African countries, who used social media to cheer the people of Senegal. Jeggan Grey Johnson, a South-Africa-based Gambian communications expert, said: "Here's to democracy, good governance, popular participation and real people power. We are all Senegalese today."<br />
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International bodies praised the election outcome, and victory celebrations are expected to continue across Senegal throughout the week. The African Union said Wade's concession showed maturity in the country's democracy while the European Union called Senegal a "great example".Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-27382754176683344302012-03-08T20:09:00.002+00:002012-12-25T12:50:47.864+00:00DJ Zeyna in the house<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red;"><b>RNW -</b> </span>Under the name of DJ Zeyna, a teenager overcame social stigmas to follow her dream of becoming Senegal’s first pro female DJ.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">By Sheriff Bojang Jnr, Dakar </span></b><br />
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In a long queue of dozens of fellow graduates, 19-year-old Seynabou Ndoye – aka DJ Zeyna – is having one of the most memorable and emotional moments of her life. After months of hard work and defying the odds, Seynabou Ndoye is graduating from Senegal’s only hip hop school, <a href="http://africulturban.wordpress.com/hip-hop-akademy/">Hip Hop Akademy</a>. With this intensive DJ-ing course under her belt, she’s on her way to become the country’s first professional female DJ.<br />
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Hip Hop Akademy, located in the outskirts of Dakar, was set up by a group of local artists and sponsored by the <a href="http://dakar.usembassy.gov/">US Embassy in Senegal</a> and the NGO <a href="http://www.trustafrica.org/">Trust Africa</a>. Its aim is to scout and develop young talents.<code><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f6f6f6; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></code><br />
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Senegal has a popular and growing local hip hop and rap scene. However there are very few women in the industry. The few female rappers that do exist are often labeled as liabilities by their families and communities in this Muslim-dominated country.<br />
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According to Amadou Fall Ba, an executive at the Akademy, DJ Zeyna’s tutors are amazed by her performance and commitment to learn and excel. ‘It’s up to her to now inspire other women into hip hop. If she excels outside the Akademy in the same way as she did here, others will know that the barriers are no longer there,’ says Ba.<br />
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<b>Hip hop blood</b><br />
DJ Zeyna’s love affair with hip hop started when she was a child. As she proudly holds her graduation certificate, she says “When I was young, the first music I listened to was hip hop and I fell in love with it immediately. I was particularly touched by the lyrics and how these hip hop stars were able to make every line rhyme.”<br />
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She was aware that her surrounding community did not share her passion and even looked down on it, but she decided to follow her heart.<br />
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<b>Parental support</b><br />
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When DJ Zeyna enrolled at Hip Hop Akademy last year, her friends and neighbors didn’t understand why she decided to become a “loose woman”. “As far as they are concerned, people like me who are involved in hip hop are not to be respected,” she says with a smile. “They think such people lack values and have no dignity. I am strange to them.”</div>
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She received much strength from her parents who gave their support. “I was very pleased when my parents came to see me here at the Akademy. It represented a new level of love because it made me realize how much they trust me. This is all that matters to me: the blessing of my parents. Now others can say whatever they want about me.”<br />
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DJ Zeyna’s mother, Awa, is confident that her daughter will succeed in her career. “We asked her what she wanted to do with her life because she was not serious about school. And this is what she came up with. We trust and stand by her. I know with God’s guidance she will make us proud.”<br />
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<b>Winning hearts</b></div>
While the stigma surrounding DJ Zeyna and her choice of career continues, many of her friends and neighbors who were initially disappointed in her are now starting to accept her for who she is. “I’m not sure if some finally think I have made a good choice. But they have learned to live with the DJ part of me without any prejudice. I guess I am once again the same girl they knew before I got into hip hop.”<br />
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Aissatou is one of the friends who changed their minds about DJ Zeyna’s ambitions. “At first a lot of us didn’t get it. It was all very strange but now we know there’s a great career ahead of her. She’s the real deal,” she says with a broad smile.<br />
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And for many other friends, DJ Zeyna is already a star with a bright future. On graduation day, dozens of well-wishers were there to cheer her on when she collected her certificate.<br />
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As she prepares to take on Dakar’s many splendid nightclubs, DJ Zeyna vows to encourage other young women to follow in her path.Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-74779158678527789072012-02-24T10:53:00.007+00:002012-12-25T12:49:05.009+00:00Unrest in Senegal as opponents tell president to cancel looming election<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Abdoulaye Wade, seeking a third term after pledging to serve only two, plans to allow weekend poll to go ahead</b><br />
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It is one of west <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/africa/roundup">Africa</a>'s more stable democracies, often singled out as an example to its benighted regional rivals. But <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/senegal">Senegal</a> is teetering on the edge of the kind of electoral confrontation that has troubled the likes of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/ivory-coast">Ivory Coast</a> and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/liberia">Liberia</a> recently.<br />
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In the worst riots in the country for decades, thousands of opposition activists have taken to the streets daily for the past month in protest at a decision by the country's constitutional council to allow the incumbent president, Abdoulaye Wade, to run for a third term in the election this weekend.<code><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f6f6f6; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></code><br />
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The 85-year-old leader came to power in 2000 on a platform of limiting presidents to a maximum of two terms. He even chastised African leaders who stayed in power too long and was loved by many of his people.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Sheriff Bojang Jnr in Dakar</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">guardian.co.uk, Friday 24 February 2012</span></b></div>
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In 2001, he delivered on his promise when he effected key constitutional amendments bringing in the two-term rule and cutting the duration of a term from seven years to five.<br />
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At a 2007 press conference after he won a second term, Wade said: "In the 2001 constitution I set a limit of two terms. I therefore cannot run for president again in 2012 because the constitution forbids me."<br />
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But the veteran leader triggered controversy and tension when he overturned his previous position and announced a bid for a third term. He attributed the U-turn to "the people's hunger for democratic continuity and general satisfaction" over his leadership.<br />
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Recent riots have been led mainly by young people dissatisfied with Wade's "illegitimate" bid and with the general affairs of the country. Many of them are unemployed graduates who blame their embattled leader for failing in his promise to create jobs for the youth.<br />
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Masamba Thiam, a 2010 graduate of engineering and a regular protester in Dakar, says: "Wade energised us so much when he came to power. We basically stopped attending lectures then just to campaign for him because he promised us that we'll have jobs under his reign and we believed in him.<br />
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"But 12 years after, his lies and broken promises have left us with no choice but to fight in the streets for his exit."<br />
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Aissatou Seck Thioune was a teenager when Wade came to power. But now she holds a placard at a Dakar protest stating: "My country or my life."<br />
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She recalls: "Everybody here was obsessed with Wade when he first came to power. My parents brought his posters home and I attached them all over my room and they told me I didn't have to worry about my future any more because Wade would take care of everything. I was hopeful. But look at the country now. Life is hell for everybody. Time is up – he has to go."<br />
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Wade's bigger problem with his people is over his son, Karim Wade, who was born in Paris and has spent most of his life outside Senegal. The president's decision to appoint him as official adviser and give him responsibility for major projects gave rise to suspicion that he plans to create a monarchy.<br />
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Opposition supporters have held several street protests against what they see as <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/24/www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/24/senegal-president-u-turn-protests">Wade's plan to hand over power to Karim</a>, described by local media as the minister of sun, sky and everything in between – in reference to his numerous ministerial portfolios. But opponents see him as an alien.<br />
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Mademba, a sociologist at a private Dakar university, says: "Karim Wade is technically not a Senegalese. He doesn't speak any of the local languages and he makes no attempt to speak them.<br />
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"He started coming to Senegal after his father won the presidency. He doesn't have any Senegalese friends and he doesn't understand our country or our culture."<br />
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Latif Coulibaly, Senegal's most prominent investigative journalist, says: "Karim is a Senegalese just by paper. To have him as our president is like having French or Gambian to be our president. Wade's plan will fail."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">opposition united against Wade</td></tr>
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Any time the Karim issue is put to Wade, he responds by saying: "Karim is a citizen like every other Senegalese." He even contested in a Dakar mayoral election in 2009 and lost.<br />
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The recent anti-Wade riots have led to the deaths of at least seven people. One of them was 32-year-old Mamadou Diop, a student at Cheikh Anta Diop University. He was reportedly run over by a police vehicle. He was shown on local TV stations leading opposition pre-protest prayers shortly before his death.<br />
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Diop's death left his friend Alioune shattered. "It was cowardice … total madness by the police. Mamadou had so much hope of a peaceful regime change this year and he devoted his life and time for this. But now those who hate to see these changes decided to eliminate him. It's unbearable."<br />
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The interior minister, Ousmane Ngom, described Diop's death as an accident. But Alioune says: "The minister is a heartless liar who shouldn't be in any public office. I hope he and those directly responsible are tried for this crime."<br />
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With the ongoing tensions, many people are questioning the prospect of a credible election this weekend.<br />
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Dr Ibrahima Fall, a presidential candidate and former UN assistant secretary general (under Kofi Annan), this week called for a postponement of the election, arguing that "the current situation will not allow a genuine poll".<br />
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There are increasing fears that whatever the outcome of the election, the country cannot avoid unrest. As a result, some voters say they will not go out to vote on Sunday for safety reasons.Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-13253995395728770662012-02-18T15:26:00.003+00:002012-12-25T12:52:03.699+00:00Senegal: Why anti-Wade protests and momentum might end in heartbreak<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Like all other street protests in recent years, I was out there in the streets of Dakar on Friday evening for another round of the so-called citizen protest aimed at stopping Senegal’s octogenarian president, Abdoulaye Wade from running for a controversial third term.<br />
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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.<br />
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They wore T-shirts and held placards with such clearly spelt messages as <i>‘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’</i>. One cheeky placard held by a young <i>Cafe Touba</i> (local coffee) seller reads, ‘<i>Coffee for all except Goorgui</i> (Wade’s local name)’. <code><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f6f6f6; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></code><br />
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<span style="color: red;">By Sheriff Bojang Jnr. </span><br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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<b>The risk of not voting</b><br />
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.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb04LkmMItYChlrhe6MRR4N0OK_AXWQjZtcyxtQ7kQaJtPxreGTrZEdlPylBTSe3AlfzW75EvovlRthTCCHDOZCfeyf2n_TTy7KUG4jxhEQ2cal_Vo-Gh4a83z-BJccVnBnwF-vsZWmL8n/s1600/DSC05129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb04LkmMItYChlrhe6MRR4N0OK_AXWQjZtcyxtQ7kQaJtPxreGTrZEdlPylBTSe3AlfzW75EvovlRthTCCHDOZCfeyf2n_TTy7KUG4jxhEQ2cal_Vo-Gh4a83z-BJccVnBnwF-vsZWmL8n/s320/DSC05129.JPG" width="320" /></a>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.’<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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<b>Loyal servants, confused lords!</b><br />
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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmEvrGK0EoUu6E0ntHnQ6HO5X3PpVlkOednFLXzDWn8zZQblOyHDXBhTKlRxGD3yiZcVSYHuOblMIn9GjvbtI7z9Sn47c5pUyDgPsBqH48ZGtlnFtzFHfY6s38IG7hsD2AM1DBltfohcP/s1600/youth+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmEvrGK0EoUu6E0ntHnQ6HO5X3PpVlkOednFLXzDWn8zZQblOyHDXBhTKlRxGD3yiZcVSYHuOblMIn9GjvbtI7z9Sn47c5pUyDgPsBqH48ZGtlnFtzFHfY6s38IG7hsD2AM1DBltfohcP/s320/youth+2.jpg" width="320" /></a>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.<br />
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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.<br />
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On many occasions recently, the thousands of young people who take to the streets to protest, do so to answer to the call of their leaders. When the moment arrives, most of those leaders do not turn up for whatever reason. But as loyal supporters, the youngsters are always present, battling the hard way for a change that might not come at all.<br />
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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.</div>
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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.<br />
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Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-50423192686477406152012-02-03T13:35:00.004+00:002012-12-25T12:53:10.359+00:00Senegalese youth on the streets for change<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red;"><b>RNW</b> -</span><i> “I never thought Senegal would get to a stage when the police would beat us and shoot at us just because we are asking the president to leave power. I never thought that some would die in a brutal way for merely exercising their democratic right to protest,”</i> says a 24-year-old Senegalese named Lemzo. He is a former street trader responding to reports that a student had just been run over by a police truck.<br />
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Lemzo is one of the thousands of young Senegalese who are gathering at the popular Place De l’Obelisque to call on President Abdoulaye Wade not to run for a third term. Wearing a black t-shirt emblazoned with a message to Wade to not use force to his bid to stay in power, Lemzo sits on a tiny wooden box and looks on as his colleagues set car tires on fire.<code><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f6f6f6; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></code><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">by Sheriff Bojang Jnr, Dakar</span></b><br />
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Lemzo was forced out of business last year due to the high cost of goods. Currently working as a newspaper vendor, he earns very little to take home to his family.<br />
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<b>Mistrust rising</b><br />
The mistrust between the youth and the Senegalese government has only worsened in recent months. “All these things – the killings, the injuries, the burning of car tires, everything – could have been avoided if the president lived up to the young people’s expectations or at least listened to them after failing them,” says Lemzo.<br />
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Since 23 June when nationwide protests forced the president to withdraw his controversial plan of constitutional reforms, the youth have formed groups to better coordinate street protests.</div>
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<b>Youth grievances</b><br />
“The young people have been angry and frustrated for a long time but the president was too blind to see this reality,” according to Lemzo. “Wade thought he was untouchable and he still thinks he’s the only good citizen. And now we’re in a crisis and we’re taking the fight all the way to his palace. But he’s still too ignorant to see it.”<br />
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The Constitutional Council’s ruling in favour of Wade’s bid for a third term as president is the immediate reason behind the latest riots across Senegal. However youth grievances remain at the heart of the matter. Young protesters often cite unemployment and the general lack of other opportunities as reasons for their involvement in the protests.<br />
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<b>Can’t just sit at home </b><br />
Mame Aida, a final year university student, agrees that the “Constitutional Council blah-blah” is just the outer, cosmetic, reason behind the protests.<br />
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“The real reason why we have over ten thousand people here is because almost all of them are unemployed and hopeless. My parents would kill me if they knew I am out here protesting. But I can’t just sit at home and do nothing while my colleagues are out here fighting for my future,” says Aida who is very worried about finding a job after she graduates later this year.<br />
<br />
“Sometimes I wonder if there’s any point to go to school. Even if you graduate, you still have to be the luckiest person around to actually get a job. But with what I have seen here, I am hopeful that before I graduate the president will be forced to leave and perhaps the next president will create jobs. So I am excited. Let’s protest!"<br />
<br />
<b>Hands raised</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozrhDJghldQT0TT4iko4gPyIJDom7y0Uf6hro9WcxWhyWlWXlrh9v96f0U5ro7LRnV0AjyALjNx2ctrWi3YQ12S5ir2TFORwij72bFdqBPEd0jf1YepNW5SWxRTPffiom_clfzzn9HhJr/s1600/DSC05168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozrhDJghldQT0TT4iko4gPyIJDom7y0Uf6hro9WcxWhyWlWXlrh9v96f0U5ro7LRnV0AjyALjNx2ctrWi3YQ12S5ir2TFORwij72bFdqBPEd0jf1YepNW5SWxRTPffiom_clfzzn9HhJr/s320/DSC05168.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
In one of his first rallies after he came to power in 2000, Wade faced thousands of young people in the crowd and asked those without a job to raise their hands. Thousands raised their hands and the then-popular president promised to create jobs for them. But for Mame Aida, “those thousands of hands are still raised because they are still jobless.”<br />
<br />
The young people’s protests are gaining momentum across the country but so far there are no signs that Wade will listen and quit. But he remains a leader full of surprises. As one radio commentator put it: “Wade can wake up tomorrow and announce he’s stepping down.”Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-6644028878662369282012-01-16T13:45:00.004+00:002012-12-25T12:55:32.362+00:00Nigerian Women scared to bring up birth control<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMPIwewf3eyTAtdzI8E6SuL42hL5Q38cpbIcsqZmtHP3CQbdmwMvqgFQ0SPftsDKxdZ4eNYHPQNqEMLiZAuWPXMmEFt73VirenYjIRPVHQktSop_utrPlbQooujCeb6Wwh6ZcleQREUPP/s1600/pic+1+onislam.net.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMPIwewf3eyTAtdzI8E6SuL42hL5Q38cpbIcsqZmtHP3CQbdmwMvqgFQ0SPftsDKxdZ4eNYHPQNqEMLiZAuWPXMmEFt73VirenYjIRPVHQktSop_utrPlbQooujCeb6Wwh6ZcleQREUPP/s320/pic+1+onislam.net.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pic courtesy of onislam.net</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: red;"><b><i>RNW/Lovematters.info -</i></b> </span><b>Christian women in Nigeria talk about birth control more than Muslim women do, a new study found.</b><br />
<br />
Women are often nervous of bringing up family planning with their husbands, especially in the mainly Muslim north where polygamy is quite common. God is the provider and women have no right to stop giving birth, people say.<br />
<br />
Thirty percent of Muslim women say they’ve talked about family planning with their husband compared to 54 percent of Christian women, Love Matters heard at the <a href="https://www.conftool.com/fpconference2011/index.php?page=browseSessions&abstracts=show&form_room=15&mode=list&presentations=show">International Family Planning Conference</a> in Dakar, Senegal. The figures come from a <a href="https://www.conftool.com/fpconference2011/index.php?page=browseSessions&abstracts=show&search=Utilizing+qualitative+and+quantitative+data+to+explore+the+role+of+spousal+communication+on+family+planning+use+in+urban+Nigeria">study</a> by the US-based <a href="http://www.jhsph.edu/">Bloomberg School of Public Health</a> working with Nigerian family planning organisation <a href="http://www.nurhi.org/">NURHI</a>.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<a href="http://www.lovematters.info/birth-control">Birth control</a> is seen as anti-Islamic in many states of Nigeria's mainly Muslim north. Twelve big northern states are governed by Sharia Law, which recognizes polygamy as long as long as the husband treats his wives equally.<br />
<br />
<b>Polygamy</b><br />
A third of married women in Nigeria – most of them in the north – are in polygamous marriages, according to a 2008 health survey. Around one in six men have more than one wife. Polygamy is more common in rural areas, among older men, and among men with lower levels of education.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red;"><b>By Sheriff Bojang Jnr</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Lovematters.info</b></span><br />
<br />
Many women feel that their husbands might be against using birth control, says Dr Saad Abdulmumin of NURHI. A man might even feel it calls into question his ability to provide for his family.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQlntrWRA5_29Mmyxmmxum8izDsaApvKCJ_k1I2Xz-gStbr3ABzdoHNZIHHzqu23lSHsmN42Ch6kACIZ-Spb1aO1RR5EUeTS6i1tMO4gTKIV_EMB2QnReVV_anhUuXrgirFLTTOA8eq4b/s1600/new+nigerianpolitics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQlntrWRA5_29Mmyxmmxum8izDsaApvKCJ_k1I2Xz-gStbr3ABzdoHNZIHHzqu23lSHsmN42Ch6kACIZ-Spb1aO1RR5EUeTS6i1tMO4gTKIV_EMB2QnReVV_anhUuXrgirFLTTOA8eq4b/s320/new+nigerianpolitics.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pic courtesy of newnigerianpolitics.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some women fear a row over birth control might make their husband start preferring another wife – or even lead to divorce. So they deliberately choose to have a lot of children in a bid to hold on to their husband’s affections, recent studies found.</div>
<br />
<b>Fatherly</b><br />
In the southern regions of Nigeria, girls tend to be educated and marry relatively late, according to a Nigerian Population Council survey. But in the northwest, more than half the girls aged 15 to 24 are married by the time they are 15, and most are married by 18.<br />
<br />
This means it’s common for wives to be ten or more years younger than their husbands in northern Nigeria. Many husbands are actually old enough to be their wife’s father, especially in polygamous marriages.<br />
<br />
For a young wife, it can be even more awkward to bring up the thorny matter of birth control with a man who feels like a fatherly figure.<br />
<br />
<i><b><span style="color: red;">Love Matters is produced by Radio Netherlands Worldwide and influenced by a Dutch view of sexuality and sexual health.</span></b></i><br />
<div>
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Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-74926616461946206142012-01-06T18:59:00.014+00:002012-01-22T19:42:57.240+00:00President Youssou Ndoure? Hell no… not 2012<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQA6s0MT4E7Uvo_nVeL4AV-7d95tnDRX8sSbaVysLYUfvTJHq-7JpaMOd3j4KCsTpI5DRsezG8G2fbl9esBN65h6oUDHpJTkx1NOa1HrIt5jLtZ8A-CCV-7uJqHN_eT2o6qblOzIqkQsAp/s1600/youssou+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQA6s0MT4E7Uvo_nVeL4AV-7d95tnDRX8sSbaVysLYUfvTJHq-7JpaMOd3j4KCsTpI5DRsezG8G2fbl9esBN65h6oUDHpJTkx1NOa1HrIt5jLtZ8A-CCV-7uJqHN_eT2o6qblOzIqkQsAp/s320/youssou+4.jpg" width="244" /></a>Youssou Ndoure the musician is bigger than Senegal. To describe him as a mere music super star is an understatement. He is bigger than that… much bigger. He is an icon. His charm rocks the world. His influence and presence boost Africa’s image from afar. And above all, his artistic journey is the perfect riposte to anyone who doubts Africa’s contribution to the rest of the world.<br />
<br />
The New York Times described Youssou Ndoure’s voice as an “arresting tenor, a supple weapon deployed with prophetic authority”. Rolling Stone described him as "perhaps the most famous singer alive" in Senegal and much of Africa.<br />
<br />
<b>Mbalax revolution</b><br />
In the 1970s, the then little known and young Youssou began a music career in his home city of Dakar. Within two decades, he rose to international fame thanks to his brand new genre: a mixture of less fancied Senegalese mbalax (mainly the <i>param parum param</i> sound of drums) with Cuban samba, American hip hop, jazz, rock and soul. This is Youssou’s creation! Today, millions of people from all over the world form his fan base.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<b>By Sheriff Bojang Jnr</b> <br />
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As a singer, songwriter and percussionist, Youssou over the years performed with some of the greatest artists of the century… Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Wyclef, Paul Simon, Dido, Axelle Red, Bruce Springsteen, Branford Marsalis… you name them. His collaboration with Neneh Cherry for the international hit <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqCpjFMvz-k&ob=av2e">7 Seconds</a></i> is one of his most celebrated partnerships.<br />
<br />
<b>Achievements</b><br />
The 52-year-old’s achievements as a musician are beyond imagination. Last year, he officially became Dr. Youssou Ndoure after Yale University awarded him with an honorary doctoral degree. In 2005, he won the Grammy Award for his 2004 super-cool but controversial album, <i>Egypt</i>. He served as Goodwill Ambassador for various international organizations, including UNICEF and FAO, performed at several charity shows and supported several social and political causes. Together with Axelle Red, Youssou wrote and performed "<i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXtJ7NKGxXg">La Cour des Grands</a></i>", the official anthem of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.<br />
<br />
He even played a lead role in the 2006 slavery movie, <i>Amazing Grace</i>, which chronicles the efforts of William Wilberforce to end slavery in the British Empire. Youssou played the role of Olaudah Equino, the African-British abolitionist.<br />
<br />
<b>The media empire</b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vH1vlPxzQl-5OaIkhU6edrkiGV68tYC5ml2TGQOCLWnDdK0NJ5uztzJp0rUCRuLc2vsrAgsK6uDwlS5mUgXlfrR3Oe5gBvDVM5gCmBB8MQdGc5AbpyG9QL1e77ffnOYucsl42T6aEDT3/s1600/youssou+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vH1vlPxzQl-5OaIkhU6edrkiGV68tYC5ml2TGQOCLWnDdK0NJ5uztzJp0rUCRuLc2vsrAgsK6uDwlS5mUgXlfrR3Oe5gBvDVM5gCmBB8MQdGc5AbpyG9QL1e77ffnOYucsl42T6aEDT3/s320/youssou+1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was interviewing Youssou in 2010</td></tr>
</tbody></table>As an investor, Youssou succeeded in building a very powerful media empire at home. His radio (RFM), newspaper (L’Obs) and television (TFM) are at the top of the list in Senegal. And his old but household-name nightclub, Thiossane is still one of the most popular spots for the crème de la crème of Senegal and the sub-region. He believes in his country so much that every single asset he owns is in Senegal. He owns no assets abroad!<br />
<br />
<b>The bid for presidential palace</b><br />
Youssou Ndoure has conquered every sector with conviction and courage. But to many people’s surprise, he is now eyeing for the highest seat of his land. In the late hours of January 2, he went on his TV to officially declare his presidential bid for the February presidency. He had always stayed away from local politics in the past. This is the first time he is taking a visual stand in Senegal’s politics. And questions have been pouring in: Why is he contesting? Is he joking? Who advised him to contest? Is he electable?<br />
<br />
And his answer: "For a long time, men and women have demonstrated their optimism, dreaming of a new Senegal. They have, in various ways, called for my candidacy in the February presidential race. I listened. I heard.”<br />
<br />
Like many of his countrymen and women, Youssou’s presidential bid came as a surprise to me. I first interviewed him in April 2010 and when I quizzed him on the rumour that he was preparing for a political career, his answer was short and confusing: ‘As a Senegalese citizen, I will exercise my rights and join others to change Senegal’.<br />
<br />
After that, I interviewed Youssou three more times and I must say that the more the political thing came up on each of the occasions, the more I was left confused and clueless as to what he was planning to do. But here we go… finally.<br />
<br />
<b>Youssou’s advantages over the rest</b><br />
So far, Youssou is vying for the presidential palace with at least 18 others including incumbent leader, Abdoulaye Wade, four ex-prime ministers, one of Senegal's most celebrated lawyers, career diplomats and veteran politicians.<br />
<br />
Most of his opponents will be busy selling their names to the electorate and he will not because 'Youssou Ndoure' is already a brand name in Senegal the same way it is in many parts of the world. African politics is about money and they will sweat for every penny to fund their campaign (or buy votes) but this won’t be the case for Youssou because he already has money to spend.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXfrkScI50g9iPAnIuLDtQ4ThLL3yzdu4LwQrTlLqdq-ZfF5tjghp53A7feU47gmNgpvMjWmm6jMUMDLGEXhyYItfiQnSoQrtJnidyiZUOaNrDLFnnndWOHjWfueh52MgfwKuX91BFiWe/s1600/youssou+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXfrkScI50g9iPAnIuLDtQ4ThLL3yzdu4LwQrTlLqdq-ZfF5tjghp53A7feU47gmNgpvMjWmm6jMUMDLGEXhyYItfiQnSoQrtJnidyiZUOaNrDLFnnndWOHjWfueh52MgfwKuX91BFiWe/s320/youssou+5.jpg" width="320" /></a>In every election worldwide, the media sets the agenda and sometimes decide who wins and who loses. Youssou’s opponents will be bothered by media publicity but this won’t give him a sleepless night because he owns and controls Senegal’s most popular media group.<br />
<br />
Most of the opponents have been in the government before and they will have to work hard to convince voters of their past records. Youssou will have to skip that turbulent part of the race because this does not apply to him.<br />
<br />
And most importantly, whoever is going to win the February race will have to lay down employment plans to the voters. Youssou will have less to do here because through his media group and nightclub, he has created thousands of jobs already and feeding perhaps hundreds of thousands more.<br />
<br />
But African politics is not just about clean records and personal successes.<br />
<br />
<b>Why Youssou will not win</b><br />
Senegal is a bizarre country where too much emphasis is placed on education (as in school education), where people are trusted merely because of academic intellect, and where you stay in school too long that you end up riding in the same school bus as your son or daughter. Youssou is the least educated among the contenders. He is just a little junior school drop-out while his opponents are university professors, lawyers, doctors, geologists etc.<br />
<br />
Youssou even acknowledged the value of education in this race during his televised presidential bid announcement. ‘It is true that I do not have a university education – but the presidency is not something you go to school for." He went on to talk about his global experience and connections and so on. Of course, experience is the best teacher and he graduated from the school of life experience. But I doubt if his lack of higher education won’t work against him.<br />
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Secondly, politics in our part of the world is a game for veterans. Youssou is a fresh fish in the pond and the old ones who have been there for decades play the game better. This is a dirty, cruel and sad game. It’s no scrabble or tennis.<br />
<br />
In politics and in election times, politicians do whatever they have to do and say whatever they have to say to win whatever. They throw away whatever dignity or decency they have. They drop whatever values they believe in. They make promises they know they cannot fulfill. They lie blatantly.<br />
<br />
As everyday politician, you face the crowd and look at a helpless mother in the eye with her baby on her back and tell her ‘if I win, your child will have a good future’ when you know very well that the poor mother and her child and millions like them will never be your priority.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJaIYTihcYoBOjlRw8MmkpScr9Uvf7W-Zy6P54lnMlcgQeX9YbMq03EuUo4CZZOv_k5okesk5uPaBl7LupMNlYOY9jAl9YpExElwRQ7XtF2Geq9_72SryO0K5RkVQ8wRgsWiaK4hHCttu/s1600/youssou+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJaIYTihcYoBOjlRw8MmkpScr9Uvf7W-Zy6P54lnMlcgQeX9YbMq03EuUo4CZZOv_k5okesk5uPaBl7LupMNlYOY9jAl9YpExElwRQ7XtF2Geq9_72SryO0K5RkVQ8wRgsWiaK4hHCttu/s320/youssou+2.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
You say YES when you mean NO. You detach yourself from your roots and easily forget those who put you in power. This is the everyday successful politician and this is the game he plays. Politicians are naughty… and I mean all politicians. I don’t care if my friend’s father or uncle is.</div><br />
But Youssou Ndoure is a wise man, a good man and a decent man. He is what he is today because of his strong family values, his bond with the poor and his dignity. He is too good, too proud and too innocent to play the dirty and cruel game of politics. And unless he plays, he won’t win. One month is not enough time for him to become naughty even if he wants to.<br />
<br />
Thirdly, Youssou is used to attracting crowds. But let’s be clear. Anytime he faces a crowd, they are his fans… hundreds and thousands of them who gather to sing with him, dance with him and shed tears for him, his voice, his lyrics, melody. Political arena is not a dance stage. For once, all the songs, lyrics and everything will stop and the political crowd of both supporters and critics will listen to Youssou on what he has for them. Any word that comes out of his mouth will make or break his presidential bid.<br />
<br />
Politics is character assassination and for once, Youssou’s strength and endurance as politician will be tested. He will be mocked and ridiculed. His personal life (which he has worked so hard in keeping from public) will be exposed. Even his children will be victims. Lies will be fabricated against him and his family. He will be insulted with the intention of breaking him down. Of course some of his family and friends will be more affected than others. Is decent Youssou thick-skinned enough not to flinch? I don’t think so. Will he fight back the same ruthless way? Absolutely NO!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6y1U8vVi6URsrW7KJT2CScLSBt1Y8LCKkE03YfCD9fjnPl7tDzyAFdc7NnbjOjJtT0yyo2HARHL90f_5gJTUKnLDCKCGQr8TBoojrqr1PzJmUgqYge5WUEFlVonAvaTbwcTWkSvdDk_33/s1600/youssou+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6y1U8vVi6URsrW7KJT2CScLSBt1Y8LCKkE03YfCD9fjnPl7tDzyAFdc7NnbjOjJtT0yyo2HARHL90f_5gJTUKnLDCKCGQr8TBoojrqr1PzJmUgqYge5WUEFlVonAvaTbwcTWkSvdDk_33/s320/youssou+3.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Back the victorious</b><br />
Youssou Ndoure the musician has a very strong fan base in Senegal and some of them are already worried that his political life might dampen his music career. I say to them: Never! Youssou’s songs are just too good to be hated by even his main opponent, President Wade. You can hate the man but you can’t stop spending your bucks buying his CD or attending his concert. But unfortunately, his fan base will very unlikely translate into votes this time.<br />
<br />
However, I bet that while Youssou is not electable this year, whoever he backs at any stage of the race will win the presidency. Whether he chooses to do so now or at a later stage doesn’t matter. But I am certain that whoever is to win must be endorsed by Youssou first.<br />
<br />
<b>Learning the Wyclef way</b><br />
Youssou and US-based Haitian rapper and producer, Wyclef Jean collaborated a little over a decade ago for <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Itu-vykAZE">Diallo</a></i>, a track (in Wyclef’s album <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ecleftic:_2_Sides_II_a_Book">The Ecleftic</a>) in memory of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadou_Diallo_shooting">Amadou Diallo</a>, a 23-year-old Guinea immigrant shot dead by four officers of the New York Police Department. Since then, Youssou and Wyclef built a strong friendship and the two collaborated for other singles.<br />
<br />
Wyclef’s popular song <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pq_3OheqzU" style="font-style: italic;">If I was President</a><i> </i>was a great success. But after a failed presidential bid in Haiti, the millionaire platinum-selling rapper must have since realized that a mere lyrical wish of becoming a president doesn't make one a president.<br />
<br />
Youssou Ndoure might as well realize that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqCpjFMvz-k&ob=av2e">7 Seconds</a> success in music is not 7 Seconds success in politics.Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-31028072542806840112011-12-23T14:59:00.005+00:002012-01-07T12:44:50.188+00:00Senegal: Pressure, fear and uncertainty ahead of polls<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ja8h90tZ4_w/TvSSIuHhDSI/AAAAAAAAAIY/1PUbw-tNSoQ/s1600/wade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ja8h90tZ4_w/TvSSIuHhDSI/AAAAAAAAAIY/1PUbw-tNSoQ/s320/wade.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wade insists he can run again</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Until six months ago, the chance of instability, major violence (or call it civil unrest) in Senegal was as slim as the Iranian leader, Ahmedinejad finally accepting that the Holocaust did happen.<br />
<br />
But with less than two months before the Senegalese voters head to the polls, that chance is now as big as average British Premiership club, Tottenham finishing this season without any trophy.<br />
<br />
For once, the vulnerability of this great nation is quickly emerging.<br />
<br />
Latest events have shown that Senegal is no longer different from any other country on the continent. Continuous peace is possible. But something else other than peace is also possible.<br />
<br />
First, it was the wild June 27 street riots that ended with the burning and looting of houses of government ministers and other senior officials. This followed the torching of several official vehicles four days earlier by anti-government supporters over planned constitutional amendment.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<b>Deadly clash</b><br />
And yesterday (just three days before Christmas), a clash between opposition supporters and ‘ruling party militants’ ended with one death and at least two injuries. It took place in the early afternoon when firebrand former ruling Socialist Party youth leader and Mayor of a Dakar Municipality, Barthelemy Dias and his colleagues were reportedly attacked by dozens ruling party militants in pick-up trucks. The whole thing was like a crime movie.<br />
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<b>By Sheriff Bojang Jr.</b> <br />
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A live TV footage showed Barthelemy holding two pistols and firing at a certain direction. He later told journalists that he was shooting at the alleged attackers in self-defense.<br />
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As I am writing this piece, there is a rising concern and anxiety here. In less than two hours, both the ruling party and the opposition will be out on the street for separate congresses. The venues for both events are less than two kilometers apart. We can only hope and pray that it all ends in peace.<br />
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<b>The big U-turn that changed the game</b><br />
The recent protests and violence in Senegal surround the legality of President Abdoulaye Wade’s bid for a third term in February. When he came to power in 2000, he promised to limit the presidential term to two.<br />
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The new leader even questioned why African leaders often stay in power for ‘ages’. This was the Wade that most Senegalese voters voted for, the veteran politician that was loved and cherished by his people and seen across the world as a symbol of hope and the ultimate change for Africa.<br />
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In 2001, he won a bigger praise when he showed Senegal would no longer be business as usual by effecting key constitutional amendment limiting presidential term limits to two. He also cut each term from seven to five.<br />
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Wade started talking tough against corruption, nepotism and every other similar everyday terms and buzzwords used by politicians (especially new ones in power) to win the hearts and minds of their subjects. He embarked on major infrastructural projects… big roads, big bridges etc. He became the ‘promised messiah’ to many of his loyalists.<br />
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At a 2007 press conference after he won a second term, the question of his bid for a third term came up for the first time and the incumbent leader declared, ‘In the 2001 constitution, I set a limit of two terms. It is not possible. I cannot run again because the constitution forbids it. I therefore have decided not to run again for president in 2012.’<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HWDWyOjTya8/TvSSb5nuBMI/AAAAAAAAAIk/43XQ7wM2OeM/s1600/wade+decage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HWDWyOjTya8/TvSSb5nuBMI/AAAAAAAAAIk/43XQ7wM2OeM/s320/wade+decage.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">protester urges Wade to quit</td></tr>
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In September 2009, Wade triggered controversy when he made a big U-turn by announcing he would seek another term in 2012. ‘If God gives me a long life and keeps my brain and my health in shape, I will be candidate again’, he declared to the shock and surprise of many people and to the anger of his opponents.<br />
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The incumbent leader attributed this change of position to ‘the people’s hunger for democratic continuity’ and general satisfaction over his rule.<br />
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Wade and his officials argue that the 2001 constitutional reforms came into effect a year after he was elected for the first term and that the reforms did not apply to that term.<br />
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<b>Circumventing the constitution</b><br />
The opposition came out barking and accused the president of trying to ‘circumvent’ the constitution to suit his needs. Macky Sall, former Prime Minister and manager of Wade’s 2000 election campaign (now opponent) described his ex-boss’ third term bid as a joke.<br />
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Professor Abdoulaye Bathily of main opposition coalition, Benno Siggil Senegal accused Wade of ‘playing with fire’ and said the opposition would not allow him to go a for a third term.<br />
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Over the past few months, the debate has been taken over by legal experts. Professor El Hadj Mbodj, one of the most prominent and respected constitutional experts in Senegal accused President Wade of misleading the population ‘over a simple constitutional matter.’ The 2001 reforms, according to him, apply to the very day Wade came to power.<br />
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‘The president will exhaust his cartridges at the end of his current term and he can therefore not take part in the 2012 election’, Mbodj told me in an interview at his residence.<br />
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Other opponents and experts have described the president’s third term bid as ‘constitutional coup d’etat’.<br />
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But on the other side of the political and legal divide, the president has his own backing. Prime Minister, Souleyemane Ndene Ndiaye says ‘the constitution states clearly that our president can run for another term.’ Ndiaye has in fact been chosen by Wade to lead his 2012 campaign.<br />
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<b>Failed constitutional reforms plan</b><br />
While the issue of third term lingers, Wade’s popularity and authority were once tested on June 23 when he formally presented a key electoral reform bill to the parliament. Article 33 of the constitution stipulates that in the event no candidate obtains the absolute majority of votes cast, there will be a second round of voting.<br />
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In fact in the February 2000 election, Wade lost in the first round to his predecessor and longtime opponent, Abdou Diouf who managed to get just 41.3% of the votes. Wade won in the second round with 58.5% against Diouf’s 41.5%.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jTOMSjz9SAk/TvSSryHec0I/AAAAAAAAAIw/SCDuq0Bkt0g/s1600/barthe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jTOMSjz9SAk/TvSSryHec0I/AAAAAAAAAIw/SCDuq0Bkt0g/s320/barthe.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Barthelemy Dias at the June 23 protest</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the constitutional reforms bill he sent to the parliament in June, a candidate can be declared president with just 25% of the votes cast, instead of the current 51%. He had also wanted to create an elected post of vice-president.<br />
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For the opposition and the civil society, this was too much for the country. They mobilized the biggest gathering in Senegal’s political history under the banner of the "Don't Touch My Constitution" coalition, to protest against the bill.<br />
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As members of parliament were debating the bill, thousands of protesters gathered outside the parliament and other major centers across Dakar and other towns and villages to express their disapproval of the bill. Most of the protesters arrived at the venue as early as 5 a.m.<br />
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The opposition accused Wade of flirting with the constitution to remain president at any cost. Mbaye Niang, a parliamentarian from the main opposition coalition, Benno Siggil Senegal said the proposed law would mean "a president of the republic can be elected against the will of 75% percent of the population.’<br />
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One of the high profile critics of the proposed law is the Grammy-Award winning singer, Youssou Ndoure. He described the move as "abuse of authority".<br />
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The protesters include hundreds of members of Yen a Mare (We’re Fed Up), a group of local rappers and music producers. Since the formation of the group earlier this year, it has been making national and international headlines for its outspokenness against the Wade regime.<br />
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The protests ended in riots. At least a dozen government vehicles and public transports were set ablaze. Government offices and houses of ministers and ruling party members were ransacked and dozens of people, including prominent human rights activist, Alioune Tine were injured. Tine was reportedly attacked by armed militants of the ruling party.<br />
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At 15:00 GMT and amidst continuous protests, Justice Minister Cheikh Tidiane Sy who was presenting the bill at the parliament announced that the president had dropped the constitutional reform plans ‘after listening to the concerns of the MPs and the religious leaders’. This followed a lengthy telephone conversation between Sy and the president while the MPs patiently waited for the outcome. His announcement was received with rounds of applause and jubilation by the parliamentarians both in the ruling and the opposition benches.<br />
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In the run up to the debate, several members of Wade’s own party were critical of the proposed law.<br />
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<b>Too little, too late</b><br />
The veteran leader’s decision to drop the bill was too late to calm the protesters down. Anger and frustration continued with isolated riots across Dakar for the next three days. On June 27, thousands of young people took to the streets again, attacking and looting houses of ministers and other top government officials.<br />
It is estimated that property worth millions of dollars were vandalized or looted.<br />
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President Wade had remained silent and out of the public eye for three weeks following the riots. On July 14, he appeared on state television, surrounded by his officials and supporters for a state of the nation address.<br />
The incumbent leader, looking relaxed, described the rioters as bandits and said he had given ‘firm instructions to the security forces to protect the nation and the population’.<br />
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<b>Early polls and power sharing</b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--z5xJZPm6D0/TvSS-Nm6ZuI/AAAAAAAAAI8/TQWaqh6KD2Y/s1600/protesters+burn+cars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--z5xJZPm6D0/TvSS-Nm6ZuI/AAAAAAAAAI8/TQWaqh6KD2Y/s320/protesters+burn+cars.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">anti-gov't protesters set vehicles ablaze</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the one hour broadcast, he mocked that the opposition parties are afraid of elections and challenged them for early polls within 60 days.<br />
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‘I can call a presidential election ahead of schedule in order to preserve a peaceful social climate and national unity. The constitution allows me to do that and I am ready to do so if the opposition is in a hurry and believes that it controls the majority of the electorate’, Wade declared.<br />
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Wade also pledged to share power with the opposition, but warned that the pledge ‘should be seen as a facility, a show of good faith and openness’ and not an obligation on his part.<br />
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To Wade’s supporters, his call for early polls and willingness to share power manifest his political maturity and sense of responsibility. But for the opposition, the incumbent leader was merely diverting attention from core issues surrounding the legality over his third term bid.<br />
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In a statement, Benno Siggil Senegal declares ‘We are ready for elections anytime but any election must be held without the participation of Abdoulay Wade because he cannot run for third term’.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">Wade earlier invited the opposition for dialogue, but the opposition leaders had laid down their own demands before they accept any dialogue.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">One of these demands is for the president to step down. He indicates he will not do that. Peace!</div>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-40806127363573825112011-12-01T12:51:00.001+00:002012-05-10T12:05:21.264+01:00Worldwide Focus on Family Planning Begins at West African Forum<div style="text-align: justify;">
DAKAR, Senegal – The second International Conference on Family Planning Tuesday opened in the capital here, aiming to draw on renewed political support and funding for family planning, as well as highlighting new contraception research.</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">By Sheriff Bojang Jnr - for UNFPA</span></b></div>
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Two years after the first conference in Kampala, Uganda, more than 2,000 experts, first ladies, ministers, decision-makers, donors, researchers, practitioners and advocates are gathering through Dec. 2 to share success stories and ideas and identify key accomplishments and shortcomings. They will also advocate for broad family planning access and support around the world.<br />
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The conference is organized by the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Senegalese government in collaboration with, among others, the UN Population Fund, UNFPA.<br />
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In his opening speech at the conference, UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin said the event “is officially about family planning, but it’s also about a larger effort to improve women’s and children’s health. It’s about every woman, every child. It’s about accelerating social and economic progress. And it’s about a new path to sustainable development.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VT_NhwlXiTWkICotRUktDfbT1v8aKs7F2FGdE6bc0bzyIIlqjvzoAmNNo8JXtqEFmpM9MPdtSdwc0VnVTnyNfDejEwN3-e8gRciqzDZftDGhgHutBFOr0L1tucDn-PfzYBREk4FsHlEs/s1600/FP+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VT_NhwlXiTWkICotRUktDfbT1v8aKs7F2FGdE6bc0bzyIIlqjvzoAmNNo8JXtqEFmpM9MPdtSdwc0VnVTnyNfDejEwN3-e8gRciqzDZftDGhgHutBFOr0L1tucDn-PfzYBREk4FsHlEs/s400/FP+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
“Increasing access to voluntary family planning could prevent up to 1 in 3 maternal deaths and 1 in 11 child deaths. This is critical to achieving all the Millennium Development Goals, especially 4 and 5. Every year, 358,000 women die from pregnancy-related complications,” he said.<br />
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To respond to the global demand for family planning, Dr. Osotimehin called for galvanizing more political and financial support.<br />
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<b>Funds for UNFPA </b><br />
In good timing, the United Kingdom announced on opening day a pledge of about $55 million to UNFPA to enable, among other programmes, a rapid-response unit to supply contraceptives, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, where shortages are acute.<br />
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Dr. Osotimehin said the contribution “will go a long way towards saving the lives of women and children, as well as to strengthening health systems and reducing poverty.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9JUiRkSrNTrkW8rOBQ-omVkZ-DEj61_hwryPH5954izIwxz8ohRUREUPS8j82bGclbg6riscoChJVTeALHRXX8yh0Nd5mbiMekRE0w0VXHn1Q0PDw3zhVw2aUEfDlwMeKIkaHDMUjzT4/s1600/fp+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9JUiRkSrNTrkW8rOBQ-omVkZ-DEj61_hwryPH5954izIwxz8ohRUREUPS8j82bGclbg6riscoChJVTeALHRXX8yh0Nd5mbiMekRE0w0VXHn1Q0PDw3zhVw2aUEfDlwMeKIkaHDMUjzT4/s320/fp+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Dr. Osotimehin also stressed in his opening remarks the need for young people to be involved in family planning and other reproductive health issues. “Today we have the largest cohort of young people the world has ever seen. We need to serve the reproductive health needs of these young people. We need to design programmes that reach young people in their own terms and serve their specific needs.”<br />
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In a video statement, Melinda Gates, a co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, saluted the young people and highlighted the needs of women and children worldwide. She called on governments to meet the needs of women worldwide.<br />
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Other speakers at the inaugural ceremony included Dr. Michael Klag, dean of the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, the First Lady of Burkina Faso, Chantal Campaoré, Stephen O’Brien, under secretary of state for international development in the United Kingdom, and United States Ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau Lewis A. Lukens.<br />
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The four-day event includes more than 140 plenary sessions and panels in which participants will mobilize more financial support for family planning, as well as hold governments accountable for their commitments to these matters.<br />
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Worldwide, 215 million women want family planning help but are not getting what they need. Most of them live in the rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Southeast Asia, but they are also found in developed countries in these regions.<br />
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In Senegal and the rest of West Africa, fertility rates are among the highest in the world, with lack of access to contraception cited as a major contributor to unintended pregnancies, resulting in high maternal and infant mortality in the area. One out of every three women who want to avoid pregnancy cannot because they have little access to family planning information and services.<br />
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“At UNFPA, we are determined to address unmet needs for family planning as we strive for universal access to reproductive health,” Dr. Osotomehin said.<br />
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<br /></div>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-25871260695338619952011-07-25T14:21:00.002+01:002012-01-07T12:50:03.487+00:00Senegal: Beach parties and death traps<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMhdWu40D8869Ry641UKN5Pdz6aO7BkLRlN_5HPa9y0UHEajWhCnE_kRDYsaH6pwAKi84uGAJXZV9Krj3KCu1g-OycLomdjLtKLTkOJ9v2xrsGtEWubkZsDmY0GGFaI19GMKdwO5jgXrW/s1600/DSC04073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMhdWu40D8869Ry641UKN5Pdz6aO7BkLRlN_5HPa9y0UHEajWhCnE_kRDYsaH6pwAKi84uGAJXZV9Krj3KCu1g-OycLomdjLtKLTkOJ9v2xrsGtEWubkZsDmY0GGFaI19GMKdwO5jgXrW/s320/DSC04073.JPG" width="320" /></a>RNW - July 25, 2011 - The Senegalese capital, Dakar, is a wild party spot known for its non-stop music, exotic sandy beaches, modern amusement parks and trendy nightclubs.<br />
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<b>By Sheriff Bojang Jnr</b><br />
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July, August and September are the most exciting and busiest summer months especially for young people in Senegal. In these months, thousands head to the beach everyday to party and they are spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing which of the many exotic beaches to go to.<a name='more'></a><br />
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From volleyball players to free-style rappers, surfers to new lovers, the beach goers stay at the beach from dusk until dawn especially on weekends.<br />
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<b>Death trap</b><br />
But the summer beach party also has its tragic side. Danielle is a Gabonese student in Dakar who chose to celebrate her 23rd birthday recently at one of Dakar’s most popular beaches instead of in her hometown of Mayumba. Celebrating the day with friends at the beach, according to her, was one of the most beautiful moments in her life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vMxxCgQ6YErkIt38nq65K97FpFuxUZo_7WgiLtcXWj5u9id4JxISaJwHLZsHLyIH0ckxn3el9QnbeePS46b98msQVMNw4pQFyxX-1J3mYw5f8tWQ0aaAmjc1GQwhRJnDOS0mVIjJA8yn/s1600/DSC04075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vMxxCgQ6YErkIt38nq65K97FpFuxUZo_7WgiLtcXWj5u9id4JxISaJwHLZsHLyIH0ckxn3el9QnbeePS46b98msQVMNw4pQFyxX-1J3mYw5f8tWQ0aaAmjc1GQwhRJnDOS0mVIjJA8yn/s320/DSC04075.JPG" width="320" /></a>But in the middle of the celebration, a new Senegalese friend who Danielle had just met at the beach that morning, went to go swimming with Danielle and her friends.<br />
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<b>Never came out of sea</b><br />
Hundreds of other people were swimming at the same time but when Danielle and her friends went out of the sea, their new friend was not among them.<br />
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Danielle says, ‘It took us at least an hour to realize he was not out of the sea. At first, we thought he had gone to another side of the beach as everyone does’.<br />
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<b>Drowned</b><br />
When it was time to go home, she wanted to say thank you to the new friend for helping organize her birthday but the man was still nowhere to be seen. Two days later, Danielle’s classmates informed her that the guy had drowned and his body was removed at on another stretch of beach the previous night.<br />
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This is just one of several deaths reported at Dakar’s beaches during the summer. The government says it has registered 27 deaths by drowning in June alone.<br />
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Most of the young people who go into the sea have no swimming experience, an issue the authorities blame for the high rate of deaths.<br />
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<b>Dangerous beaches</b><br />
According to Amadou Canar Diop, the head of Studies and Operations Department of the Civil Protection Office in Dakar, some of the beaches have been classified as dangerous. Despite public notification that certain areas are risky for swimming, he says, people keep going there.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHvWgB7fTeECR4tfio0_7ldNKeRZMjdKEj4HJQw9PLdOze8wovwYu2voUSjGiM2OdWG7xlKCAjQsFXkPb5TTZEr-P25jvUYCl0fnR__n1cfgbUtzPuon2olYLT3Fjw96jt3eSMvFUZAxH/s1600/DSC04086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHvWgB7fTeECR4tfio0_7ldNKeRZMjdKEj4HJQw9PLdOze8wovwYu2voUSjGiM2OdWG7xlKCAjQsFXkPb5TTZEr-P25jvUYCl0fnR__n1cfgbUtzPuon2olYLT3Fjw96jt3eSMvFUZAxH/s320/DSC04086.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many people are criticizing the authorities for not doing enough to protect those dangerous beaches from public use, and for not sensitizing the people enough about the dangers out there.</div><br />
<b>Beach is a beach</b><br />
I ask a young couple at a beach whether they think the area is dangerous, and the man responds, ‘I don’t think so. People have been coming here for years and there are hardly any deaths’.<br />
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The woman adds, ‘A beach is a beach and death is death. Anybody can die here but anybody can die at home too. We have to enjoy this moment. It’s summer man.’<br />
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As part of new preventative measures, police on horseback have now been dispatched across Dakar’s beaches for safety.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22px;">Copyright 2011 By RNW. All Rights Reserved.</span>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-1510123667404020132011-07-21T13:44:00.003+01:002012-05-10T12:09:33.660+01:00Scant recognition for ex-soldiers in SenegalRNW - July 19, 2011 - Soldiers in Senegal face a bleak future when leaving the armed forces due to inadequate training during service.<br />
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Thousands of Senegalese soldiers are currently serving on UN and African Union peacekeeping missions in various countries including Darfur, Liberia and Ivory Coast. Several thousand more are, or have been, deployed to the Casamance region of Senegal where a separatist rebellion is simmering.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">By Sheriff Bojang Jnr.</span></b><br />
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Yet despite the demand for military personnel there are approximately 40,000 ex-soldiers in Senegal. Half of these have left the armed forces in the last decade.<br />
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<b>Joblessness everywhere</b><br />
Alassane was 19 years when he joined the military. He enlisted partly because his childhood friend, who was already a soldier, convinced him that the army would open the gateway to employment and success.<br />
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“There was joblessness everywhere in Dakar and it impacted more on those of us from the suburbs that didn’t have rich or influential relatives,” he says.<br />
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Alassane’s initial idea was to serve the mandatory two-year term in the military and within that period he would learn electrical engineering given that he had an interest in wiring. He mentioned this idea to some of the recruiting officers and they assured him that it was possible, and lauded him for his ‘sense of purpose’.<br />
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<b>False dreams</b><br />
But more than twelve months into his military career, he was becoming convinced that what he had planned he would never achieve.<br />
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Although he received recommendations from his superiors for his ‘leadership qualities’ on numerous occasions, he waited in vain for them to mention the skills training that persuaded him join the force.<br />
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Alassane discussed his disappointment and fear with his colleagues but the responses were the same; ‘forget about whatever skills training you’re dreaming about. It’s not going to happen.’<br />
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After two years of successful service in the army, based in the troubled region of Casamance, Alassane was discharged from the military. His first challenge was how to fit back into the civilian life, and the second challenge was how to find a job.<br />
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<b>Psycho</b><br />
With no skills suitable for the civilian labour market, he spent more than two years looking for job. He started by looking for a ‘decent job’ and later moved to looking for ‘any kind of job’.<br />
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He moved to a family house where he shared a small bedroom with five others. His privacy disappeared; family and neighbours respect for him dwindled. Then Alassane’s childhood sweetheart who he planned to marry wasn’t interested anymore because she believed the situation has turned him into a 'psycho'.<br />
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“It surprises me how the whole world can turn against you just because you are no longer getting up early in the morning to go to work or you are unable to solve the problems of neighbours and relatives,” recalls Alassane.<br />
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Alassane currently spends his days serving as a referee for non-league football games on the dusty fields of Dakar.<br />
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<b>Treated like animals</b><br />
Jean Leopold Gueye, the Secretary General of the Association of Ex-Senegalese Soldiers blames both the government and the military hierarchy for ignoring the plights of his colleagues who were prepared to ‘sacrifice their lives for Senegal’.<br />
<br />
The authorities, according to Gueye, are treating the ex-soldiers like animals.<br />
<br />
The army was unavailable to comment at the time of writing, despite repeated requests. But a government official admitted that thousands of ex-soldiers are either jobless or are engaged in low-income jobs because of a lack of post-military skills training.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>45 days</b></div>
The Senegalese army has recently initiated a 45-day skills training programme for soldiers completing their military careers. Mohamed is one of the ex-soldiers who has completed the programme and according to him, it was “a joke.”<br />
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“How can anybody seriously learn a skill in 45 days?” he asks.<br />
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Mohamed, an army infantry officer who also served in Casamance, spent the 45 days trying to acquire skills in mechanics. He now works as a security guard for a private security firm. He joined the firm after unsuccessfully looking for ‘good jobs’ for more than a year.<br />
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Most of the private security guards in Senegal are ex-soldiers who are overworked and underpaid, with hardly any medical insurance or other benefits.<br />
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Many more ex-soldiers across the country are unemployed.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22px;">Copyright 2011 By RNW. All Rights Reserved.</span>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-90474794345852137732011-07-08T17:44:00.006+01:002012-05-10T12:10:52.119+01:00These are no Laambs!<span style="color: red;">New African -</span><i> July 2011 - Traditional wrestling in Senegal, popularly known as Laamb has now become the nation’s number one sport, overtaking football which used to be the main national game. As </i><span style="color: red; font-style: italic;"><b>S</b></span><b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: red;">heriff Bojang Jnr</span></b><i> reports from Dakar, Laamb brings excitement and unity to the people.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiml90OGDkSzP676NTeTAHLifCLjKE-U7-13KEKVGoe9fs3IQukn5tuqmC8DAT_nbkhTuDw2HwAn10bq5tqMhRp2E2wJueWw8SGrtaNXX1evCOZ7-0whcapRtTyLyq94K_Jj9PMoYSOtAw4/s1600/wrestlers+in+action.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiml90OGDkSzP676NTeTAHLifCLjKE-U7-13KEKVGoe9fs3IQukn5tuqmC8DAT_nbkhTuDw2HwAn10bq5tqMhRp2E2wJueWw8SGrtaNXX1evCOZ7-0whcapRtTyLyq94K_Jj9PMoYSOtAw4/s320/wrestlers+in+action.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
From the rearview mirrors of taxis to street corner shops, portraits of wrestlers are the easiest you can find in Senegal, a country where until recently, wrestling was too primitive for many people’s liking.<br />
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Interestingly, wrestling started in Senegal in small villages where farmers wrestled for honour, masculinity and respect during the dry or ‘idle’ season. There was no financial reward. Today, wrestling is a fast growing career in the country. Wrestlers have become celebrities and in fact some attract thousands of fans. Sometimes, fans camp out their houses for hours either to have a glimpse of them or have their photos taken with them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMcPIpQxWnDMuR-8ttTd-PLpXqqQUSJBLC6q95CZIGSzbmfHx_qSkxI4fJM9RUyWWH9U7HeTw0M75Qp1FPBRbPPvdpBzWXS4IUylN7oZeQwxbukZ9Mgk9BpT51WgMKZ74S-Gd9wAJDW6O/s1600/APS_9327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMcPIpQxWnDMuR-8ttTd-PLpXqqQUSJBLC6q95CZIGSzbmfHx_qSkxI4fJM9RUyWWH9U7HeTw0M75Qp1FPBRbPPvdpBzWXS4IUylN7oZeQwxbukZ9Mgk9BpT51WgMKZ74S-Gd9wAJDW6O/s320/APS_9327.JPG" width="211" /></a>Top wrestlers such as Yekini, Tyson and Balla Gueye II earn an average of $200,000 per match, most of which last less than three minutes. In March, Yekini, the national champion, fought with another top wrestler, Bombardier, for CFA 100m ($217,000). On the night of 4 April, two big wrestlers (not among the Top Ten) fought for CFA 75m, which is more than $162,000. The minimum that the Top Ten wrestlers can earn per match is CFA 50m ($103,500).<br />
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As a result, top wrestlers such as Yekini, Tyson and Balla Gueye II earn an average of $200,000 per match. . A few years ago, the wrestlers used local football fields and abandoned schools as training ground. But today, most of them go to the US where they hire professional trainers to help them improve physically.<br />
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Most of them are from poor backgrounds with no education or financial opportunities as youngsters. But today, some of them are swimming in money as wrestling has become <i>the event</i> that brings people together.<br />
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On big wrestling days, the only issue of discussion is how one wrestler will beat the other. Tens of thousands of fans will fill a stadium, dancing to popular tunes, chanting the names of their champions, blowing horns and waving portraits and placards of the wrestlers.<br />
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Outside the stadium, hundreds more will troop along the streets waving at and singing for the wrestlers who are always driven to the stadium in their fancy vehicles, flanked by trainers and dozens of muscular aides.<br />
As soon as the wrestlers enter the stadium, loud noise and chanting reverberate to welcome them<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMcO08vc-xNzTgkUz1GKZV0vcw3KKXpr5eyVdCCwqFZ4ypLmvKzxLFMfBMJGS7MmPyqi1Lc2Kd0D9684G2Cb36ZmDeHlKE3OJXjcc8SNfkWHtEk2w-DKko9NGF9fu6-SrsWyEyAZWkqRH/s1600/DSC04264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMcO08vc-xNzTgkUz1GKZV0vcw3KKXpr5eyVdCCwqFZ4ypLmvKzxLFMfBMJGS7MmPyqi1Lc2Kd0D9684G2Cb36ZmDeHlKE3OJXjcc8SNfkWHtEk2w-DKko9NGF9fu6-SrsWyEyAZWkqRH/s400/DSC04264.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Two hours before the fight, the streets are as empty as ghost town's. Shops close and taxi drivers stop work and head for nearest restaurant to watch the fight on TV or join roadside groups following the fight on live radio broadcasts.<br />
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The most prominent aspect of <i>Laamb</i> is the issue of black magic. Fortune tellers and spiritual leaders are as important as the wrestlers they serve. Senegal is a country known for its strong religious and traditional values.<br />
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Wrestlers turn to fortune tellers and other religious leaders collectively known locally as marabouts. They consult these marabouts for advice, and what to do and what not to do before and during the fights.<br />
The wrestlers perform pre-match rituals to the last second before the referee blows whistle for the commencement of a fight.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7cfNJx19TuNFiyyphhKGi-V6iAtEXSD7Q_EEK5eAZV6eYUOVbYvjDkQ5aZx3goLnzp3Oy1A5mnrPpJL63xoNhZkN64AVmNMo9qHOVKIly-A9qg6tXTwwyIAYneqk53pV-nOPF1JGPOwM/s1600/Lac+Da+Guere...+one+of+the+top+wrestlers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7cfNJx19TuNFiyyphhKGi-V6iAtEXSD7Q_EEK5eAZV6eYUOVbYvjDkQ5aZx3goLnzp3Oy1A5mnrPpJL63xoNhZkN64AVmNMo9qHOVKIly-A9qg6tXTwwyIAYneqk53pV-nOPF1JGPOwM/s320/Lac+Da+Guere...+one+of+the+top+wrestlers.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Most of them bring several dozen bottles and jars of different spiritual liquids from their marabouts to the pitch, while others release white bird infront of the crowd for luck and wisdom. They also cover their bodies with knots of Koranic scripts which are supposed to empower them against the ‘enemy’. The top wrestlers pay the marabouts up to $10,000. After fights, fans the blow horns and sing and dance throughout the night as they escort the champion to his house.<br />
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<i>Laamb</i> is booming thanks to promoters, advertisers and TV rights.<br />
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Today, Dakar boasts several hundred wrestling schools where young men take wrestling courses. They all want to be rich, and become celebrities, like big name wrestlers.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22px;">Copyright 2011 By New African. All Rights Reserved.</span><br />
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<br /></div>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-20469464518085032032011-07-04T18:41:00.003+01:002012-01-07T12:55:51.571+00:00Your hands off our fishFishermen in Senegal have been at loggerheads with the government over the ‘illegal’ presence of foreign fishing trawlers in the Senegalese waters. In April, thousands of the angry fishermen from fishing villages and towns across the country turned their backs on the sea in a ‘no fishing day’ protest against the foreign boats. It was one of the series of actions they plan to challenge the government’s decision to allow at least 20 foreign fishing trawlers to fish in Senegal where fishing is one of the main sources of income.<br />
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<b>By Sheriff Bojang Jnr.</b><br />
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Kayar, 52km northwest of Dakar, is Senegal’s third largest fishing center. Like other fishing centers, fishing is the sole source of income in this village. For most of the thousands of fishermen, fishing is a family affair. They inherited it from the parents at a very tender age.<a name='more'></a><br />
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Daouda, 49 is one of the most industrious fishermen in Kayar. He is from the Lebou ethnic group which is mostly associated with fishing in Senegal.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGVZtCl6OjHHusRCIuPdrpZkqHE10LLv8rbauK6S5E12ayf104YTsxmK_SReHycnZ2ojRMia0_C5uJGtZs0fz-9sRPrMhe2jum15uLs-j_uGwrNloFYps6yKLA01IGbqjVHSLWlOypjki-/s1600/fish+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGVZtCl6OjHHusRCIuPdrpZkqHE10LLv8rbauK6S5E12ayf104YTsxmK_SReHycnZ2ojRMia0_C5uJGtZs0fz-9sRPrMhe2jum15uLs-j_uGwrNloFYps6yKLA01IGbqjVHSLWlOypjki-/s320/fish+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>A few years ago, his two cellular phones would ring almost every 15 minutes as clients, mainly middle class Senegalese from Dakar and other cities and tourists from hotels in nearby villages ordered their fish supplies.<br />
While Daouda read the clients’ orders from his shabby notebook, his 18-year-old son, Mass would pile up the orders in nicely-arranged metal containers.<br />
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With a broad smile, Daouda said, ‘in those days I received orders from everywhere, everybody. Sometimes people called me and I had no idea how they got my number. I never asked either. I knew I was dealing with rich people, big government people because they always sent their drivers with their expensive vehicles to pick their orders’.<br />
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Daouda’s booming business suffered a major blow when his supplies could no longer march his clients’ demands. Week after week, he saw his luck dwindling, his net catching less and less fish.<br />
As the situation worsened, he stopped taking calls from his clients in order to avoid disappointing them or lying to them. Sadly, they stopped calling.<br />
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‘I was no longer their trusted fisherman because I could not provide any fish anymore. They all gone… all of them’, Daouda laments.<br />
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Today, he rents out his only pirogue to other fishermen with hardly any regular income. To cater for his family’s daily needs, he sells locally-made café touba at the beach, earning less than a dollar each day.<br />
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<b>Foreign invasion</b><br />
Daouda blamed the change of his fortunes on foreign competitors in the sea.<br />
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The government issued licenses to at least 20 fishing trawlers from countries including Russia, Ukraine and Belize. The deal is expected to bring lot of money to government’s coffers.<br />
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The maritime ministry defended the decision and said the foreign boats have been authorized ‘to fish for migratory species which local fishermen lack the equipment to catch’.<br />
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But the local fishermen say the commercial foreign boats are keeping them out of business, and blame them for depleting fish stock.<br />
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While foreign trawlers are equipped with sonar radars that can trace fish from any location in the sea, local fishermen use locally-made pirogues and hand-held nets which goes with luck and superstition to make any catch.<br />
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<b>How Africa feeds Europe</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnp8SWvuC79iNz0_cwaLQ0KFScnJir4sx8ynSFcPQO1I08xKWtxceYV4pdeXMR7a-ukQv3Z3Pbiq2TigEhHyR1Uab3sFcRs4qxgghUWLs4mjvmoMYh__HUUiGoi9ZFeQBCS6UxIjx955Zd/s1600/fish.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnp8SWvuC79iNz0_cwaLQ0KFScnJir4sx8ynSFcPQO1I08xKWtxceYV4pdeXMR7a-ukQv3Z3Pbiq2TigEhHyR1Uab3sFcRs4qxgghUWLs4mjvmoMYh__HUUiGoi9ZFeQBCS6UxIjx955Zd/s320/fish.JPG" width="320" /></a>In a documentary ‘Cry Sea’, prominent Senegalese ecologist Ali El Haidar said, ‘it’s believed that 50% of Senegal’s fish is now caught by industrial trawlers and shipped straight to Europe. The remaining 50% has to provide a living for 600,000 people’.<br />
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Under an EU-Senegal agreement, European commercial fishing trawlers are allowed to fish in Senegalese waters.<br />
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In a recent report titled ‘How Africa Feeds Europe’, oceans campaign group, Greenpeace says the EU and other nations have systematically overfished their own waters, and are now expanding their reach in West Africa, fishing with some of the world’s largest and most powerful fishing vessels with capacity to process hundreds of tons of fish per day.<br />
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In Senegal, where living cost gets higher and higher, and prices of basic goods skyrocket, fishing is what brings food on the tables of hundreds of thousands of households. Fishermen sell their fish and whatever remains unsold goes back to the family for meals.<br />
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Fishing is also a tradition for the people, most of who turned their backs on farming many years ago due to poor harvests, unreliable rainfall pattern and lack of attractive markets to sell their harvests.<br />
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In April when the fishermen took to the streets of Dakar to protest against ‘foreign invasion in the Senegalese waters’, anti-riot police used batons and teargas to keep them of the streets.<br />
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A similar protest was quelled in the artisanal fishing village of Joal Fadiouth in Mbour, 59km off Dakar.<br />
Greenpeace Africa oceans campaigner, Oumy Sene wrote ‘it’s time for African governments to manage our oceans for the benefit of our communities, and not narrow (foreign) fishing industry interests.’<br />
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In an anti-overfishing film, ‘The End of Line’, ecologist Haidar says of foreign trawler operators ‘When I see what this guy does, I want to fight him. I want to fight with his boat. I want to fight with the government that takes his money.’<br />
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Associate Professor Rashid Sumaila of University of British Columbia said ‘if the fish goes, the people are left poorer and what happens? They try to emigrate. The Europeans like our fish but they don’t like the people. The fish has visa to come in but the people are turned back’, in reference to Africans who migrate to Europe.<br />
Some experts suggest that in 10 years, there will be no more fish left in Senegal’s waters.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBR9KEqUb0OybTuBziwtN0kQfIhj4GLzy4Z4lzHoy-xweKXqDLVgaTAxOmhLARdSqABdozVj9qpD0es266zAVfIhjtzR3o1sPRKlPQ68wboXsxmBNXMT5FhrfaklMvTamZwe9Yih-mWfFh/s1600/fish+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBR9KEqUb0OybTuBziwtN0kQfIhj4GLzy4Z4lzHoy-xweKXqDLVgaTAxOmhLARdSqABdozVj9qpD0es266zAVfIhjtzR3o1sPRKlPQ68wboXsxmBNXMT5FhrfaklMvTamZwe9Yih-mWfFh/s320/fish+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Ten years is long way ahead but Senegal’s fishermen are already feeling the heat. With hardly any fish to catch, foreign vessels invading their waters and their government so far not willing to hear their cries, they have no choice but to wait and hope for divine intervention.<br />
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And for Daouda, his family will have to deal with one meal a day, from the three meals just a few years ago.<br />
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‘It’s a difficult situation but we believe that it’s Allah who gives and takes. And I hope He salvage us from these people who pushed us out of business and out of life. We will wait for the future’, he said in low tone.Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-33206185418413769422011-06-13T15:01:00.006+01:002012-01-07T12:59:01.615+00:00Senegal’s lifesaving board gameRNW - June 2, 2011 - Board games like monopoly, scrabble and ludo are used for fun and relaxation. But in a tiny, remote Senegalese village, a new board game is saving lives.<br />
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<b>By Sheriff Bojang Jnr, Dakar</b><br />
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The Wure, Were, Werle, or W3, is a safe motherhood game introduced in Khombole village, east of Senegal’s capital Dakar by Plan International and other organisations to raise women’s awareness of maternal and child health.<br />
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Maternal mortality in Senegal is estimated at 1,200 per 100,000 births. The high rate is partly attributed to illiteracy and lack of adequate health information, particularly in the rural areas.<br />
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At the Khombole Health Centre, Coura and other young mothers are surrounded by a group of women as they play the W3 game. Every playing card shows a cultural image and typical cultural notions and proverbs are written underneath.<br />
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<b>Winning the game</b><br />
Scrolling her fingers on the three-coloured deck of the wooden box, Coura explains: “Red shows the risk factors, yellow represents the detection methods and green is the solution.”<a name='more'></a><br />
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After a few tricks, Coura wins the game and is awarded a set of green marble balls that she stores in a wooden box. Displaying a card bearing a Sheppard, she says: “This represents a risk which can be related to the height of the woman. For example, the pregnancy of a woman who is 1 meter and 50 centimeters is a risky pregnancy.”<br />
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In Khombole, there are hardly any job opportunities or social activities for the residents to engage themselves in. And because most women in the village can’t read or write, they have little idea of the progress of pregnancy.<br />
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<b>No game to relax</b><br />
But with the W3 game Plan International is enlightening these women through the colours they are familiar with and the signs and images that relate to wellbeing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1ijqAgptK_5r1XOsFbHOlID2ErLXlM1ruo2G_RASF9rXVPtRsMzWJzT_Oqe-LW-qrb-BfK41FxV3tNiGhND8OABJUq566XkTUOLOzcQpC67FiuqPUvabe64RzDHkvLEo5M54pjyPCpiW/s1600/game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1ijqAgptK_5r1XOsFbHOlID2ErLXlM1ruo2G_RASF9rXVPtRsMzWJzT_Oqe-LW-qrb-BfK41FxV3tNiGhND8OABJUq566XkTUOLOzcQpC67FiuqPUvabe64RzDHkvLEo5M54pjyPCpiW/s1600/game.jpg" /></a>For Coura, “this is not just a game that relaxes us. It is a life changing exercise. There are many pregnancy-related issues that I would have taken for granted and that would have been detrimental to my health. But with this game, I’m aware of all these issues and I am now able to undergo safe pregnancy and motherhood.”<br />
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The W3 was introduced to educate rural women like Coura on 24 pregnancy and motherhood risk factors, originally identified by the World Health Organisation.<br />
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<b>More than symbols</b><br />
In rural Senegal women can’t openly discuss pregnancy and motherhood issues. So what the W3 game does, is to give an informal platform to the women to discuss and learn about their health through symbols and images rather than words.<br />
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According to local health officials, more and more women in Khombole are having a safe pregnancy thanks to the W3 game. And since the introduction of the game, more women than ever are coming to the health centre for advice.<br />
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Coura hopes that the game is introduced to more villages around the country. “It’s great fun and it had changed our lives. Other women in Senegal should also be given this great opportunity’, she says with excitedly.<br />
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<a href="http://soundcloud.com/westafricademocracyradio/part-one-of-report-on-wooden/s-NoYvr">Click here to listen to the audio version of this article</a><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22px;">Copyright 2011 By Radio Netherlands Worldwide. All Rights Reserved.</span>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-2836162068633456552011-06-13T14:53:00.007+01:002012-01-07T13:07:53.024+00:00Mobile technology saves pregnant women in Senegal<b>RNW - June 1 -</b> During her first three pregnancies she would either forget her appointments or she just wouldn't bother to go to the health center. Fatou Tine, a 25-year-old mother of four from Khombole village east of the Senegalese capital Dakar, had the habit of missing her appointments with health specialists.<br />
<br />
<b>By Sheriff Bojang Jnr</b><br />
<br />
She had no access to basic health information until two years ago. She also didn’t have a cell phone. The explosion of mobile technology across the world didn’t make her life any different.<br />
<br />
But when Fatou was pregnant of her fourth child, she never missed an appointment thanks to a mobile text message service introduced to her village by Plan International and a consortium of six other organisations to promote safe motherhood.<br />
<br />
The project started in Khombole 2009 in response to women’s habitual failure to visit the health centre for checkups and counseling. According to Deguene Fall of Plan International, 150 women were given free cell phones initially as an experiment.<br />
<br />
<b>Messages send to illiterates</b><br />
Through the project, women receive regular text messages sent from a central server in Dakar about their antenatal, delivery, postnatal and newborn care. They are monitored during the pregnancy, and those at high risk are brought in for check-ups.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYUK5qDqIHmGLrJRn1tmIUEyY7c41XwD4g1W7WHsIJ_tKbnvU9Y2CzLXxQ5fLKiZoBek5Biz4M73wNRU1T0rmSOD6JCBr9_hNazkKMdIxQIO_vch7XQOywpiTBc56n_4o2bCPUROSLWk3_/s1600/mobile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYUK5qDqIHmGLrJRn1tmIUEyY7c41XwD4g1W7WHsIJ_tKbnvU9Y2CzLXxQ5fLKiZoBek5Biz4M73wNRU1T0rmSOD6JCBr9_hNazkKMdIxQIO_vch7XQOywpiTBc56n_4o2bCPUROSLWk3_/s1600/mobile.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Khombole women display their phones</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Showing her basic Nokia cell phone, Fatou says “Over the past few months, I’ve received at least four text messages about my appointments with doctors and the vaccination of my children. I have personally seen its effect because my last pregnancy was much easier than the three previous ones thanks to the messages I received on my phone.”<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Fatou, like most of the women in Khombole, is illiterates and their children, husbands and neighbours read the text messages for her.<br />
<br />
<b>Reminder of responsibilities</b><br />
According to Fall the text message service has seen a rise of women’s health centre attendance rate. “Most women seemed reluctant to go for checkups. But because they now receive regular messages that remind them of their responsibilities, they visit the health centre regularly.”<br />
<br />
The text message initiative has also enabled community health workers to track a woman's progress from pregnancy to birth.<br />
<br />
In rural Senegal, like in many other African countries, pregnant women on the countryside live miles away from health facilities. Because of a lack of transport and knowledge of their delivery date, most of them deliver their babies at home with the help of untrained traditional birth attendants.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJSDOJgA6yIc_dj_EEb9DI7bpOWTUU8H2lUu7b3aoxEhDos-aXJzfKuwhYbZt6SHJ5gqHoiLvPUl8TP-wZTM8uDxLlgTMOtVBJjfhqX4urkTF1y2WGTm0SUmrwHNjj2HM3rcPJO6EaOvTY/s1600/DSC03391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJSDOJgA6yIc_dj_EEb9DI7bpOWTUU8H2lUu7b3aoxEhDos-aXJzfKuwhYbZt6SHJ5gqHoiLvPUl8TP-wZTM8uDxLlgTMOtVBJjfhqX4urkTF1y2WGTm0SUmrwHNjj2HM3rcPJO6EaOvTY/s320/DSC03391.JPG" width="320" /></a><b>More messages in Senegal</b><br />
Studies have shown that many pregnant women die from bleeding, infections and other circumstances which can be easily prevented in health centres.<br />
<br />
But in Khombole this is no longer the case as pregnant women now keep track of the progress of their pregnancy, thanks to the regular text message they receive.<br />
<br />
With the success of the project, Plan International and their partners are planning to extend the initiative to other villages across Senegal.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://soundcloud.com/westafricademocracyradio/sheriff-bojang-jnr-unveils">Click here to listen to the audio report of this article</a><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22px;">Copyright 2011 By Radio Netherlands Worldwide. All Rights Reserved.</span>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-21537653660563291352011-05-26T17:46:00.001+01:002012-01-07T13:09:56.637+00:00Senegal: Dakar’s classic thievesRNW - May 12 - Open any tour guide book on Senegal and you will come across the same warnings: Be careful of robbers, watch out for thieves and be aware of pick-pockets when you are in a crowd.<br />
<br />
By Sheriff Bojang Jnr, Dakar<br />
<br />
Besides its beautiful weather, sandy beaches, attractive architecture and the warm hospitality of its people, the Senegalese capital Dakar is known for its high rate of street robbery.<br />
<br />
<b>Snatch and run</b><br />
With tourists and expatriates as main victims, the robbers normally snatch bags, wallets, cell phones and other belongings from people in the streets, markets, nightclubs and other public areas. Usually, the robbers would be suspicious-looking disgruntled youths in their dirty clothes and their trick would be snatch and run.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
But Dakar has recently been witnessing a new type of robbery. Lately, robbers no longer look suspicious either by the way they dress or approach their victims.<br />
<br />
<b>Tickets to Mali</b><br />
Lee Evans is a British carpenter who visited Dakar with a friend from Brighton as part of their voluntary work in West Africa. I hosted them for a few days through online social network, couchsurfing. One morning, Lee and his friend left my house to go to the city center to buy their coach tickets for Mali.<br />
<br />
On their way, a gentleman wearing a suit and carrying a file, approached them. ‘He told us that his family owned a travel company and he could take us to the office to buy our tickets to Mali’, Lee says.<br />
<br />
<b>Professional</b><br />
The two British lads trusted the man because ‘he looked genuine and his approach was professional’.<br />
Lee and his friend also needed to change some cash and the gentleman again offered to help them out. He claimed his family had a money exchange shop. They handed over their bank notes of more than 100 pounds sterling to him.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw_CUF5sXr2pYVTiG7eVY5qu9ttFwbytGjgRjqAqXGlR1q5OBFrzoFj-LUh9rZkyKBlt-DPYF-xWV_vo57Ay_pFo-aRjbnnplZGgprfSBRT9I4_ALfiNoPLZWM_6fg02B3ml9uMkImttLI/s1600/pick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw_CUF5sXr2pYVTiG7eVY5qu9ttFwbytGjgRjqAqXGlR1q5OBFrzoFj-LUh9rZkyKBlt-DPYF-xWV_vo57Ay_pFo-aRjbnnplZGgprfSBRT9I4_ALfiNoPLZWM_6fg02B3ml9uMkImttLI/s320/pick.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>After a long walk and interactive discussion with the man, they arrived at a street corner with a narrow walkway. He told them to wait for him in the corner while he went into the ‘shop’ to change their money. When the man didn’t come out for about 10 minutes, Lee and Evans looked into the ‘shop’ to find out what their helper was up to. To their surprise, it was in fact a walkway leading to a busy main road.<br />
<br />
<b>Fancy car</b><br />
This new form of robbery also extends to the middle-class neighborhood of Dakar. Madame Kane and her husband were at work when a smartly-dressed man parked his fancy car in front of their house.<br />
<br />
The man told the couple’s maid that he worked with Madame Kane and that he was instructed by her to collect some items from her bedroom. The mysterious man pretended he was talking to Kane on the phone and the maid believed his story.<br />
<br />
All was left for him to do was to walk into the bedroom and take Kane’s expensive jewelries and other personal items before driving off.<br />
<br />
<b>Desperation</b><br />
Hassane (not his real name) is serving a six-month jail term for robbing a Belgian couple earlier this year. He introduced himself as a smart bar owner in Dakar and conned the couple into believing that he was taking them to his bar.<br />
<br />
Hassane eventually took them to an isolated area and while they were taking photos of the area he ran off with their bag containing money, bank cards and passports.<br />
<br />
He was given a light sentence after pleading guilty of the crime. While he feels sorry for the couple, he blames the system for his action.<br />
<br />
‘I was not born a thief but what else could I do? There’s no job and no one in high offices care about poor youth like us’, he said in the prison meeting room.<br />
<br />
<b>Confusing</b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Asked if he would rob again when he’s out, he said with a broad smile: ‘Only God knows. I’m only human’.</div><br />
The rate of ‘classic’ theft has been growing, Police Inspector Gueye told RNW, citing the dress code and new tactics used by thieves.<br />
<br />
“Because the new thieves dress smart and approach their victims in a professional and confident manner, it would be difficult to arrest them since the police would not know if they are genuine people or thieves”, the inspector says.Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-21167861659145041132011-05-13T20:40:00.005+01:002012-01-07T13:11:01.941+00:00Maxima the grassroots princess visits Senegal<b>RNW - May 12 </b>- Princess Maxima has already won the hearts of the Dutch people and now she looks set to win those of Africans. As part of her West African tour of Senegal and Mali, the Crown Princess of the Netherlands is acting as a UN advocate for inclusive finance in the fight against poverty. Her goal? To prove that microfinance can turn dreams into cash and self-reliance.<br />
<br />
<b>By Sheriff Bojang Jnr</b><br />
<br />
Inside the PAMECAS microfinance office in Dakar, about a dozen middle-aged women sit quietly waiting to be served by one of the microfinance officers.<br />
<br />
All these women are brought together by a common enemy: poverty. And they turn to microfinance for a way out.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGiIyHLF387fD0TjtgRe-GhQSMWmpRxZai2oblDrbjRzKDdnptKLZb_xXRMYNnabvG4OJU386WvmhpWIfAWfOehDvuUllZm_SHS0TIcJFCIWWf0cDSbEw8DR6n5ts9OxJIMGMBvyYDF98/s1600/DSC03282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGiIyHLF387fD0TjtgRe-GhQSMWmpRxZai2oblDrbjRzKDdnptKLZb_xXRMYNnabvG4OJU386WvmhpWIfAWfOehDvuUllZm_SHS0TIcJFCIWWf0cDSbEw8DR6n5ts9OxJIMGMBvyYDF98/s320/DSC03282.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Princess Maxima of the netherlands</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b>Escaping poverty</b><br />
Ndeye Toure is a 48-year-old mother of three young children. Her husband was a factory worker in the suburbs of Dakar in the 1990s but was laid off due to poor health. With no job or earnings, Ndeye couldn’t send her kids to school.<br />
<br />
In order to put food on the table for her family, she cooked for people in her neighborhood whenever they have occasions such as weddings and christening ceremonies. She earned just enough to buy three loaves of bread for her sick husband and the three kids.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<b>Grassroots banking</b><br />
By late 2009, Ndeye was introduced to microfinance by a relative who had seen the benefits of grassroots banking. At first, she thought her semi-educated relative was plotting to use her own poverty and illiteracy for personal gains.<br />
<br />
‘When she told me that she was taking me to the microfinance office so that I could take out a loan and start my own business, I was a bit suspicious because I could not imagine me of all people taking educated people’s money and starting my own business’, she says.<br />
<br />
But after her relative used her own household items as a guarantee, Ndeye was given a loan of 50,000 CFA Francs (about 75 Euros) to start her own business. She started selling vegetables in a market stall, before adding soap and body cream to her stock list. Today she’s the proud owner of three different hair and body cream shops and multiple market stalls across Dakar. Her children are all going to school and she provides a job for at least seven of her relatives.<br />
<br />
<b>Senegalese women</b><br />
Like the case of Ndeye, the booming microfinance market is changing the lives of many women in Senegal. According to the West African Central Bank (BCEAO), nearly 40% of Senegal’s population (most of which were women) borrowed money from microfinance providers in 2003.<br />
<br />
At present there are over 600 microfinance institutions across Senegal, with numbers of grassroots borrowers steadily increasing.<br />
<br />
<b>Maxima champions microfinance</b><br />
Senegal’s fight for inclusive finance was boosted this week by a visit from the Crown Princess of the Netherlands, Princess Maxima, as part of a tour around West Africa.<br />
<br />
In her role as the UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance, Princess Maxima met with Senegalese authorities including President Abdoulaye Wade and other non-governmental stakeholders to push for inclusive finance for all.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xNKFcFUIbo6XLPFb6VhnnLL-qnR3Z8CkjukDJfCaXpIrHqvF-YsmWuZAnMvouogI1q_2-I5AMcorEcVh6ukw5pWbOlhJHlZc5Mwpwh8NsfXvVSIN54HDERCfN_e-_eNIt1NyhiFK6-nE/s1600/DSC03284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xNKFcFUIbo6XLPFb6VhnnLL-qnR3Z8CkjukDJfCaXpIrHqvF-YsmWuZAnMvouogI1q_2-I5AMcorEcVh6ukw5pWbOlhJHlZc5Mwpwh8NsfXvVSIN54HDERCfN_e-_eNIt1NyhiFK6-nE/s320/DSC03284.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I pose here with the charming princess</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In an exclusive interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) in Dakar, the Princess said: “what I try to advocate is that everyone can have access to an array of financial services that are affordable for everyone needing them, provided by a variety of sound and sustainable institutions.’<br />
<br />
<b>'A lot of work underway'</b><br />
Princess Maxima is impressed with the rapid growth of microfinance in Senegal. However, she told RNW that financial institutions now need to “reduce their costs and therefore reduce the interest rates for the people.”<br />
<br />
When asked about the future of Senegal, the princess replied: ‘There are lots of challenges but I think we’ve had some very good conversations and there’s a lot of work underway.’<br />
<br />
While microfinance has changed the lives and fortunes of many Senegalese people, especially women, some experts often describe the initiative as a way for micro-financiers to exploit the finances of everyday people.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://soundcloud.com/westafricademocracyradio/sheriff-bojang-jnrs-interview">Click here to listen to Sheriff Bojang Jnr's interview with Princess Maxima</a><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22px;">Copyright 2011 By Radio Netherlands Worldwide. All Rights Reserved.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-2594542836565642122011-04-16T19:13:00.001+01:002012-01-07T13:13:15.281+00:00Forgotten by Senegal, honoured by the US<strong>On Sunday May 29, 1994 Senegalese army captain, Mbaye Diagne rang his wife, Yacine Mar Diop from a military base in Rwanda, where he was serving with the UN peacekeeping team.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>By Sheriff Bojang Jnr. </strong><br />
<br />
RWN - April 15 - Cpt. Diagne’s final words to his wife: ‘We are completing our mission in 12 days and I’ll come home. Tell everybody at home to pray for me’.<br />
<strong> </strong><br />
<strong>Similar name</strong><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Two days later on the fateful day of May 31, Yacine was at home when a relative informed her that RFI had announced the death of a UN soldier with a similar name as her husband. When she tuned in to listen, she was confused as the radio broadcaster announced the family name of the dead soldier as Ndiaye instead of Diagne, even though the rank and first name were right and it was clear the soldier was a Senegalese UN peacekeeper in Rwanda.<a name='more'></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/hgdU1B2bzxw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe>As Yacine was preparing to go to the military headquarters in Dakar to find out if it was her husband, her brother-in-law arrived at her house and confirmed the news.<br />
<br />
‘I broke down in tears and I remember repeatedly saying no it couldn’t be my husband’, she says.<br />
<br />
<strong>Saving hundreds of lives</strong><br />
Cpt. Diagne was one of the hundreds of officers who served in the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR) during the 1994 genocide.<br />
<br />
His mandate as a military observer was just to observe the horrific events but he defied orders to just stand and do nothing. With determination and mostly risks, he smuggled hundreds of Rwandan civilians from danger zones into UN-protected hotels without the knowledge of his bosses. He sometime bribed armed militias at checkpoints with money and cigarette to pass through with smuggled citizens.<br />
<br />
Mark Doyle, BBC’s correspondent in Rwanda during the genocide is one of the witnesses of Cpt. Diagne’s heroism and he helped in spreading the captain’s rescue mission to the world. <br />
<br />
In an interview with Frontline TV for a documentary, ‘Ghosts of Rwanda’, he says of Cpt. Diagne, ‘He saved quite a lot of people by driving through the front line, hiding people in his car, driving back through the front line and so on. … You could see he was never hanging around the car park like some of the UN officers.’<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmx_mEttWCDgpcw9Mwypm1LCvoyqityRahSFzkHlpm53KWXQzBLBndLJlYnB3acCAaFHl24OxY0k1_xf-cQ4UlFTWdMBcQGsJlUt433_hYHAdsmXn8CweMZggS2dfZ6rtQbqfbIUaZP2iE/s1600/Cpt+Diagne%2527s+widow%252C+Yacine+Mar+Diop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmx_mEttWCDgpcw9Mwypm1LCvoyqityRahSFzkHlpm53KWXQzBLBndLJlYnB3acCAaFHl24OxY0k1_xf-cQ4UlFTWdMBcQGsJlUt433_hYHAdsmXn8CweMZggS2dfZ6rtQbqfbIUaZP2iE/s200/Cpt+Diagne%2527s+widow%252C+Yacine+Mar+Diop.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cpt. Diagne's widow, Yacine</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Cpt. Diagne was also credited for saving the two children of moderate Rwandan Prime Minister, Agathe Uwilingijimana when she was murdered at her residence by Tutsi forces. He hid them in a closet and then in his car to safety.<br />
<br />
<strong>End of the road</strong><br />
After a busy day on May 31, 1994 Cpt. Diagne was sitting in his vehicle in Kigali when a mortar shell hit him in the back of his head, killing him instantly.<br />
<br />
His UN colleagues held a ceremony in his honour in Kigali before his body was flown to Senegal for burial.<br />
On April 6, US State Department honoured Cpt. Diagne for his courage and heroism in Rwanda. But in Senegal, the captain seems to be long forgotten. His friends complain of the fact that nothing has been done by the state to keep his image and memory.<br />
<br />
<strong>Believer</strong><br />
Cpt. Diagne’s widow, Yacine has been taking care of their two children on her own, with no support from the state or any other institution.<br />
<br />
‘I am a believer in God. My husband died saving people he was not even related to and this legacy will stay with us, his family.’<br />
<br />
Mark Doyle complains: "Can you imagine the media coverage a dead British or American peacekeeper of Mbaye's bravery and stature would have received? He got almost none." <br />
<br />
And for Cpt. Diagne’s children, he will always be remembered for his ‘big smile, tenderness and generosity.’<br />
<br />
<br />
<div id="refHTML"></div>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-35264948706798193602011-03-20T11:02:00.007+00:002012-01-07T13:17:36.336+00:00Senegal united by anger<b>RNW - 19 March 2011 - Momodou Ba, Asse Sylla and thousands of others met at Dakar’s Independence Square this morning where they have gathered for one of the biggest anti-government protests in Senegal.</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrMJXJ7uHz1hFKp_tT0w75hKhPTVFDSRljr03fhAAgi3m8qadYRi-TTugtCraWPzvnhOBd-H8NC7pnGnOHuk_kkN2OajoGSZKFlZPjyzy80FaHciC8dJ4TPCQ58Poso9iHLcK25jJ8gVr/s1600/DSC02936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrMJXJ7uHz1hFKp_tT0w75hKhPTVFDSRljr03fhAAgi3m8qadYRi-TTugtCraWPzvnhOBd-H8NC7pnGnOHuk_kkN2OajoGSZKFlZPjyzy80FaHciC8dJ4TPCQ58Poso9iHLcK25jJ8gVr/s320/DSC02936.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Holding placards with messages like ‘Enough is enough: Senegalese are fed up with lies’, Ba and Sylla stand shoulder-to-shoulder among the crowd. It is the first time they have ever met but it doesn’t take long before they become true friends. The two men are united by one thing: unemployment.<br />
<br />
<b>By Sheriff Bojang Jnr.</b><br />
<br />
26-year-old Ba has graduated from college in 2007. His initial plan was to find a job, save some money and start his own business.<br />
<br />
He has been searching for a job for more than three years now. Ba fills his days hanging out in front of electronic stores in Dakar asking tips from foreigners, showing them directions to places they already know in order to earn some money. He earns a maximum of 10 dollars every week.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
“I wake up every morning and head to the electronic stores because that is my job. I had so much ambition but because I don’t have a father, an uncle or a cousin who is a top government official, it’s impossible for me to get a job.”<br />
<br />
<b>Job applications without feedback</b><br />
Between late 2007 and 2010, Ba sent out at least 200 CV’s and application letters to employers, but he received no feedback from any of them. He blames the government for his ill-luck.<br />
<br />
“In this country, the government and the population are like two separate countries. Government officials live in luxury while the masses suffer. They don’t create any job for us and as a result the lives of most of the youth are being wasted. My friends always try to give me hope but I don’t have any hope anumore. My life will never be any better under this government”, Ba says in tears.<br />
<br />
<b>Betrayed by government officials</b><br />
Ba’s friend, Sylla, was one of President Abdoulaye Wade’s youth campaigners in the suburbs of Dakar during the election in 2000 which brought him to power. He spoke a few times at Wade’s political rallies and he had hoped that he would be guaranteed of a job once his candidate won the election.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3WCchXKvhdeDvBrKUe2Q2lZJX1L_s4wyTr_OhhV1Tpp3prqKeyehbpVXZea8oJZKo4q9qbGRplA5BDB_4as-zhfwk1kEL7F7hh6kZ3OUP8b03V7Tz8d2W84OP6940hm8WTpO6pGTNTDI0/s1600/DSC02966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3WCchXKvhdeDvBrKUe2Q2lZJX1L_s4wyTr_OhhV1Tpp3prqKeyehbpVXZea8oJZKo4q9qbGRplA5BDB_4as-zhfwk1kEL7F7hh6kZ3OUP8b03V7Tz8d2W84OP6940hm8WTpO6pGTNTDI0/s320/DSC02966.JPG" width="320" /></a>But in 2005, Sylla left the ruling party for the former Socialist Party. “During the 2000 campaign, I had access to Wade and most of the officials of his campaign team. They needed the votes of the youth and they turned to me for mobilisation. They promised me jobs would be created and the youths would be better off.”<br />
<br />
<b>Used and dumped</b><br />
But after Wade won the presidency, Sylla’s access to him was stopped. The president’s officials stopped taking his calls and never gave him a job. “I feel betrayed”, he says. “And most of my colleagues who campaigned for him feel the same. We were used and dumped."<br />
<br />
Sylla, Ba and thousands of other Senegalese in the major towns and cities across the country took to the streets to call for the president’s resignation.<br />
<br />
On Independence Square, approximately eight hundred meters away from the presidential palace, Sidy Lamine Niasse, a prominent Islamic Religious leader, mobilised at least five thousand people to express their ‘disgust and anger’ to the president and his regime.<br />
<br />
<b>Forced to listen</b><br />
They sing and chant songs such as ‘Wade is dead and he needs to be buried.’ The protesters vow to stay on the street until the president steps down,. They are fed up with the frequent power cuts, lack of employment, high cost of living and bad economical situation in their country.<br />
<br />
Despite heavy security presence, Ba is confident that for once, President Wade will be forced to listen to the population who put him in power.<br />
<br />
“For 11 years, he disconnected himself from us. But with this protests, with the determination and anger in the faces of the demonstrators, I think the president will now understand that he is the most unpopular man in this country.’<br />
<br />
The government initially unauthorised all protests, but backtracked less than 24 hours before the event.<br />
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<div id="refHTML"></div>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-80749947979335335932010-12-24T17:00:00.000+00:002010-12-24T17:00:28.282+00:00Iranian arms in West Africa: Set-up or mess-up?<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>RNW-Dec 2010-</b> Late October, news came in that Nigerian police in Lagos had seized a ship carrying 13 containers with heavy arms and ammunition. Estimated price tag: some 20 million US dollars. Origin: Iran. Destination: the Gambian presidency. Now, two months later, relations between Senegal and Iran have reached breaking point.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8IKRxwNmeSLRkvqO2PHjyLPgVF1LS9SXkylR-xiiVSQ7Fxi4T-z103p1S2SRv_zIJFqhOM81YzwKgWS9Wmaz2VvEsVds59hfQv2w_vdU1NY7djIP7bsKfEjU3j3JSOe9X0ktuTMMkImc/s1600/seized-arms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8IKRxwNmeSLRkvqO2PHjyLPgVF1LS9SXkylR-xiiVSQ7Fxi4T-z103p1S2SRv_zIJFqhOM81YzwKgWS9Wmaz2VvEsVds59hfQv2w_vdU1NY7djIP7bsKfEjU3j3JSOe9X0ktuTMMkImc/s320/seized-arms.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>By Bram Posthumus and Sheriff Bojang Jnr</b><br />
<br />
Three questions. First, why would Iran send arms to West Africa? Second, does the Gambia, a small country along the river of the same name, need such a copious quantity of arms? Thus: third, who were they for?<br />
<br />
<b>Gambia's ambiguous role</b><br />
Let us begin with that last question. Since 1982, there has been a low-intensity conflict going on in the southern Senegalese region of Casamance, which shares a border with the Gambia and another with Guinea Bissau. Northern Guinea Bissau was a rear-base for the Casamance rebels for years but recent incursions into Senegal from there have been rare. While still a nuisance, the rebel force itself is weak and splintered.<br />
<br />
So what of the Gambia? Its role in the Casamance has been ambiguous. It has tried to facilitate peace talks but it has also been a shelter to the rebels and arms have reached Casamance through the Gambia before. So the news of this particular shipment caused consternation in Dakar, especially since the stated destination was the home village and permanent residence of Gambian president Yahya Jammeh, Kanilai – a few kilometres from the Casamance border.<br />
<br />
<b>Mutual suspicion</b><br />
Gambian diplomats have denied that their country was the destination for the arms and the country has now also severed ties with Iran. But Senegal remains unimpressed and suspicious. That feeling, by the way, is mutual.<br />
<br />
But even though the arms saga has further soured the mood between Dakar and Banjul, things still do not add up. As we said, the rebel movement in Casamance is hardly worthy of the name and such a quantity of arms and ammunition would be wasted on them. So: who were these arms for? <br />
<br />
"We have looked at several possibilities," says Mark Schroeder, the Africa analyst at Stratfor, a global intelligence company. "Individual countries such as the Gambia don’t need so many arms. Another one, like Ivory Coast runs its own ports and can source weapons independently. So then we thought about various insurgent groups in the region, like MEND in Nigeria and the Casamance rebels. And we have certainly been thinking about AQMI (al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a loosely organised series of groups that has been involved in kidnapping foreigners in among others Mauritania, Mali and Niger)."<br />
<br />
Schroeder thinks that the weapons shipment could easily have had multiple destinations. "And I’m sure the US government would love to get proof if AQMI were to be one of the recipients of these arms. The US is concerned about AQMI and has worked with various countries in the region to keep it in check."<br />
<br />
<b>The Iran connection</b><br />
The sender, Iran, does not have the habit of shipping arms directly to its clients, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. One Iranian deputy has declared that it’s all a set-up by Western intelligence, designed to cause embarrassment between Africa and Iran. Stratfor’s Mark Schroeder does not rule that out. "This is not a high cost activity for Western intelligence," he says, "and the US is always trying to put pressure on Iran’s behaviour. Every little bit helps."<br />
<br />
If so, they have succeeded and Senegal is a case in point. Iran was a welcome guest at the summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference that was hosted by Dakar in 2007. Two years later, Iranian president Ahmadinejad paid a high-profile visit to the same city. Iran runs development projects in Senegal, Iranian Khodro taxis (assembled locally) ply the streets of Dakar – and crucially, Senegal supports Iran’s quest to go nuclear.<br />
<br />
Tehran maintains that the intercepted arms were part of a private business transaction. But Nigerian newspapers report that the two Iranian businessmen involved, Azim Aghajani and Sayed Akbar Tahmaesebi, were operatives of the Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s chief military force.<br />
<br />
<b>Two losers</b><br />
That would confirm Senegal’s view that you do not organise a private arms shipment of this magnitude without the Iranian state knowing about it. Dakar recalled its ambassador to Teheran on December 14th “for consultations”. A break-up seems imminent.<br />
<br />
So far, the fallout appears to affect mostly Iran and the Gambia. Both have dreadful reputations internationally, in part thanks to their human rights record. In addition, there is controversy over Iran’s nuclear plans, while the Gambia is mostly known as a regional hub for money laundering, drugs trafficking and now weapons smuggling. But it is even worse for Iran.<br />
<br />
According to Mark Schroeder, it has just lost a valuable pipeline. "This is an old supply chain that Iran has used for channelling political interest and also drugs, weapons and money. Now it’s blocked. Things may still go through Lagos but they will have to find new ways." </div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-67189304624084126002010-12-05T10:46:00.002+00:002010-12-24T16:46:04.901+00:00Hero abroad, Criticism at home: The two tales of President Wade<b>New African – Dec 2010 - Senegal’s 84-year-old president, Abdoulaye Wade is one of the African leaders championing the course of a United. But while he is busy solving problems across the continent, resentment and discontent over his government back home are growing.</b><br />
<br />
<b>By Sheriff Bojang Jnr. </b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitja3tYCNLgDoiW9pi0lgqU8a9MsWjF1L7msX-NwuS3W-5d7QZiD0cJElkRFS-vXSHawKruUG0QtIOCu40hf5ZgLxPWfhg2XU9g6BZOsOWtHz0cFWxbqnL2LAo4DO2DHR8t-A0Vz9m076U/s1600/DSC01372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitja3tYCNLgDoiW9pi0lgqU8a9MsWjF1L7msX-NwuS3W-5d7QZiD0cJElkRFS-vXSHawKruUG0QtIOCu40hf5ZgLxPWfhg2XU9g6BZOsOWtHz0cFWxbqnL2LAo4DO2DHR8t-A0Vz9m076U/s320/DSC01372.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Soon after the devastating earthquake struck Haiti killing up to 200,000 people in January, President Abdoulaye Wade surprised the world when he offered free land and repatriation to the Haitians.<br />
He said ‘Haitians are sons and daughters of Africa and they have the right to return to Africa’. He offered them an estate ‘if they come in small numbers and a fertile region if they come en masse’.<br />
<br />
Nine months after the offer, a group of 163 Haitian students arrived in Senegal to take up Senegalese government scholarship to condition their studies at various universities across the country.<br />
<br />
Their arrival marked another phase of President Wade’s long quest for African renaissance. The students landed at the Leopold Sedar Senghor Airport to a thunderous welcome and jubilation by Senegalese students and traditional musicians who sang ‘Africa for Haiti, Senegal for Haiti’ and chanted ‘Welcome to the land of your ancestors’. <br />
<br />
At a lavish welcome ceremony at the site of the African Renaissance Monument attended by the president of neighbouring Guinea Bissau, Prime Minister of Niger and dignitaries from at least six African countries, President Wade was hailed a hero and ‘true son of Africa’ by various speakers.<br />
<br />
Early this year, the President launched the $27 million dollar bronze African Renaissance statue of three figures looming over the Atlantic to ‘give flesh to African renaissance’ and to serve as a symbol in ‘fight against racism.<br />
<br />
<b>Power broker</b><br />
<br />
Since he came to power in 2000 after unsuccessfully vying for the Senegalese presidency for 22 years, President Wade has seen himself more than a leader of just Senegal. <br />
<br />
From his role in the formation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) to his regular advocacy for a United States of Africa, the 84-year-old leader has made a name for himself well beyond the boundaries of his tiny country of about 12 million people. He has become a regional and continental power broker.<br />
<br />
In August, President Wade flew to neighbouring Guinea following political a deadlock over transition to civilian democracy. President Wade told the media his role was ‘to advise Guineans to understand the situation and to contribute in unblocking the situation’. <br />
<br />
In April, President Wade was invited by stakeholders to mediate in the political crisis in Cote d’Ivoire. Two months earlier, the regional economic bloc, ECOWAS had appointed Wade as mediator in Niger’s political crisis following military overthrow there. Thanks to the mediation of people like him, Niger is still calm despite the fact that the ousted president is still in military captivity.<br />
<br />
After a similar coup d’état in neighbouring Mauritania in 2008, President Wade quickly took it upon himself to mediate between the coup leaders and the political elite. There is now a civilian government in Mauritania thanks to mediation like his.<br />
<br />
Wade was also involved in political mediation in Chad, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Madagascar. Outside the frontiers of the continent, President Wade even offered to negotiate in the Middle East crisis and has invited Israeli and Palestinian leaders to talks in Senegal.<br />
<br />
In 2005, UNESCO awarded the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize to Wade for ‘his contribution to democracy in Senegal and for his role in mediating political disputes in the region.’<br />
Criticism at home<br />
<br />
However, as he mediates crises across the continent, the conflict over secession in the Southern Senegalese region of Casamance is today one of Africa’s oldest wars, starting in 1981. Rebel attacks in the region have resulted in the death of at least a dozen soldiers and the displacement of thousands in recent years.<br />
<br />
When Wade came to power in 2000, he promised to resolve the conflict in 100 days time. But more than 10 years into his presidency, the Casamance rebels are still fighting. Thus, Wade has been under intense criticism from his people for ‘failing to initiate a serious plan for the crisis.’<br />
<br />
On the economic front, his people his people do not have high mark for him. The high unemployment rate in the country has forced thousands of Senegalese youngsters to emigrate to Europe.<br />
The high unemployment rate has forced thousands of Senegalese youth embark on clandestine migration to Europe through the Atlantic by death-trap boats.<br />
<br />
While Wade was applauded and hailed as a great leader for giving the 163 Haitian students an academic opportunity of a lifetime, education continues to be a luxury for most Senegalese. The main Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar has become synonymous with protests. Students regularly protest against bad conditions on the campus. Armed police men are now permanently based outside the campus to control any protests by students.<br />
<br />
‘It's a good thing to help Haiti considering what it went through. But I don't think giving scholarship to over 160 Haitian students to study in Senegal is the best thing. Students here are facing so many difficulties and the government should have helped them instead’, said an unimpressed female student of the University of Dakar.<br />
<br />
Regular power cuts across the country have been met with mass street protests mainly by opposition supporters and the consumers association. <br />
<br />
There is also discontent over Wade’s attempt to grooming his son to succeed him as president. Karim Wade is currently the state Minister of Energy, International Cooperation, Territorial Management, Aviation, Air Transport and Infrastructure. Many Senegalese see him as an outsider. His first official entry into politics was in March 2009 when local government elections were held and overwhelmingly won by the opposition.<br />
<br />
President Wade’s supporters say he is still the right man for the job, making reference to the tarred roads he constructed mainly across Dakar and other infrastructures. <br />
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<div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-24274563165418102152010-10-15T09:30:00.005+01:002010-12-25T17:53:01.346+00:00Senegal takes in Haitian student refugees<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Fears country cannot afford generous gesture to earthquake victims as 163 chosen from 2,000 scholarship applicants</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<b>By Sheriff Bojang Jr.</b><br />
<b>Guardian.co.uk</b><br />
<br />
Guardian, London- It is one of Africa's poorest countries, with simmering discontent over power cuts and unemployment with nearly half the population living in poverty. But Senegal has made good on a promise to give free homes and education to a group of Haitian students who lost everything in January's devastating earthquake.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7A2QA6CgKXjPctWa4NL2lEUrt90bs65OTEhYyDOkmAb0D2fa-hNJqDFlYwLjuJZ5vA2hC39K0b0HorBtwzwC_TBoZxcf1NUJCtP0Yi_1mu-PEHQJvuAgZJcjwMMd7ZcleWWlwpIekwfb/s320/DSC01361.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President Abdoulaye Wade poses with Haitian students </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Traditional dancers and singers – and the leaders of three African countries – turned out to greet 163 Haitians who arrived in Dakar on Wednesday night. The students stepped off a chartered plane to a rapturous welcome from hundreds of people chanting: "Senegal for Haiti, Africa for Haiti."<br />
<br />
Senegal's octogenarian president, Abdoulaye Wade, the president of neighbouring Guinea-Bissau and the prime minister of Niger were also at the welcoming ceremony.<br />
<br />
Adonis Verad, a 24-year-old medical student from Port-au-Prince who lost his entire family in the earthquake, was overcome with emotion. Punching his fist in the air, he said: "I have heard people saying that Haitians are originally from Senegal and right now I'm feeling that this is my root. I can smile now after many months of tears and trauma."<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7A2QA6CgKXjPctWa4NL2lEUrt90bs65OTEhYyDOkmAb0D2fa-hNJqDFlYwLjuJZ5vA2hC39K0b0HorBtwzwC_TBoZxcf1NUJCtP0Yi_1mu-PEHQJvuAgZJcjwMMd7ZcleWWlwpIekwfb/s1600/DSC01361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Outside, dozens of Senegalese students held up signs reading: "Welcome to the home of your ancestors."<br />
<br />
But the scheme has been criticised as a grandiose gesture which the country can ill afford. Nearly half the population is out of work and the average wage is just $130 (£81) a month.<br />
<br />
The Haitian students were driven in a motorcade to a reception hosted by Wade, and then taken to the westernmost point of Africa, where a 49-metre bronze statue of a family rising triumphantly from the ground looms over the Atlantic.<br />
<br />
"Your ancestors left here by physical force," Wade told the students. "You have returned through moral force … When the slaves embarked on the ships, this is the last piece of African earth they saw … Dear students, it is on this point of land that sticks out farthest into the Atlantic that we have chosen to receive you," he said. "You are neither strangers nor refugees. You are members of our family."<br />
<br />
The enormous monument, built by North Korean engineers, was unveiled this year, and is supposed to symbolise Africa's renaissance. But, like the relocation of the Haitians, it has received mixed reviews locally and has come to represent government profligacy.<br />
<br />
The Haitian students were selected from more than 2,000 applicants in what officials described as a "very tough" selection process. They will benefit from a scholarship and free housing from the Senegalese government.<br />
<br />
Nelsen Menendez said he planned to study statistics. "All our universities in Haiti are in ruins and we have spent months wondering how we were going to get back to school. But then came President Wade's offer and we are very grateful to him and the people of Senegal for standing by us," he said.<br />
<br />
Wade has said that Senegal will pay for the students to complete their studies, but the country's universities have become the focus for discontent and are frequently paralysed by protests over the non-payment of scholarships.<br />
<br />
Armed police have been posted at the main university, while many Dakar schools have been closed by flooding. Thousands of families displaced by floods are also sheltering in schools across the country.<br />
<br />
Aissatou Thioune, a third-year law student at the university, said: "It's a good thing to help Haiti considering what it went through. But I don't think giving scholarship to over 160 Haitian students to study in Senegal is the best thing. Students here are facing so many difficulties and the government should have helped them instead."<br />
<br />
Every year, thousands of Senegalese brave the Atlantic to reach Europe in flimsy wooden boats – just as many Haitians risk their lives trying to reach Florida.<br />
<br />
"We are giving the rest of the world a lesson in humanity. Senegal has shown that it's in the hearts of the poor that you can find the gift of generosity," historian Iba Der Thiam, vice-president of Senegal's national assembly, told the Associated Press. "A country that is neither rich nor developed has agreed to share the little it has with its brothers."<br />
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<div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181420069319849830.post-83295858385922750042010-08-02T16:41:00.002+01:002010-08-02T16:48:54.750+01:00Dakar: Senegal's booming sex capital<div style="text-align: left;"></div>RNW - Every day at 7pm, 23-year-old Rama carefully packs her cosmetics in a lady bag and heads for a popular bar nearby. The bar is a regular for rich Senegalese men and expatriates with posh cars and big bank accounts.<br />
<br />
By Sheriff Bojang Jnr.<br />
<br />
"You have sex with some men and they give you a fortune. It's a real business. No one loses." Rama is one of thousands of young sex workers flourishing in the streets, bars and nightclubs of Dakar. Most of them say they are driven into prostitution by poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunities.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLxdd4Ia86Lx5O2RdgMvhuMM9naVl-X_Ik1lb0kQ7vwO1cUBHG0YOCY_8CMTgX6Owg6yxqv4S71psm0gpjuqndVxujbI-wpVuWsaVD-X4wArVvynsN5iiE1NBI_AOciCmOCZb595xdGuxi/s1600/prostitutes+at+a+bar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLxdd4Ia86Lx5O2RdgMvhuMM9naVl-X_Ik1lb0kQ7vwO1cUBHG0YOCY_8CMTgX6Owg6yxqv4S71psm0gpjuqndVxujbI-wpVuWsaVD-X4wArVvynsN5iiE1NBI_AOciCmOCZb595xdGuxi/s320/prostitutes+at+a+bar.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Busy night for sex workers in a Dakar pub</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Bilkisu is a 31-year-old Nigerian who moved to Dakar in 2008 after her friends told her about the booming sex trade in Dakar. "I was reluctant to come to Dakar because I did not speak French. But once I discovered the amount of money my friends were making and what kind of houses they live in, I packed my bags and moved. Today I say Senegal is my home, because I have better opportunities here. Men are interested in prostitutes and they mostly pay you what you ask for - I'm home!"<br />
<br />
In Senegal, prostitution has been legalised for decades. The official reason for this is to keep track of the health status of the prostitutes. But others say legalising prostitution is just a way of attracting tourists.<br />
<b><br />
Police registry</b><br />
Any woman over 21 can become a prostitute as long as she is registered with the police, has regular health checks, carries a valid sanitary card and is discrete. But many of the prostitutes on Dakar's streets do not meet these requirements.<br />
<br />
Rama, for example, thinks registering with the police is a waste of time: ""Why should I register with the police when I know that it will put me in funny situations? Lots of my friends who registered were discriminated against. The police would harass them, call them names and treat them like trash."<br />
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When Bilkisu arrived in Dakar, she was also advised by her room-mate and co-sex worker to register. It turned out to be a nightmare: "I was arrested. The police had a go at me for leaving my country. They said I was bringing disease and immoral behaviour to Senegal."<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><b>Rama's scar</b></div>Rights groups and NGO's have raised concerns over exploitation of sex workers. One group says sex workers are frequently victims of physical violence.<br />
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Rama once was a victim of an attack. She shows her scar in the back of her neck: "I was hit with a torch by a customer who refused to pay after sleeping with me. And sometimes customers deliberately break the condom because they don't like the idea it. They put both of us at risk."<br />
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For Bilkisu, however, customers aren't the biggest problem - it's the police. "They often pick you up from the street and trick you into bribing them. If you are unlucky, they take all you earned that night and warn you not to tell anyone."<br />
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Although Dakar is reportedly one of the biggest commercial sex capitals of Africa, it is unknown how many unregistered prostitutes work on the streets. So far the Senegalese government has no plans to outlaw prostitution.<br />
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So, as long as men are willing to flash their cash, no amount of risk or exploitation will keep Rama, Bilkisu and many of their colleagues from going onto the streets.<br />
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<div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Wreckxjuniorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847111517414682361noreply@blogger.com0