Final Reflections/Family and Friends

My time in Senegal is coming to an end and there are questions which I am asking myself to try to conceptualize what this three and half month experience has meant for me. What have I learned? How have I changed? What will I take away from this experience? How will this experience impact my actions in the future?

Before coming to Senegal I hadn't ever been to a country in Africa. I thought studying abroad Senegal would be an invaluable opportunity which would open my eyes to the realities faced by those in developing countries. I believed viewing first hand and learning about these realities would allow for more development and growth in my own character, rather than time in a first world country like France. I was also interested in improving my French, although this only happened on a small scale due to the fact that most of the time people in Senegal speak Wolof. However, I am not disappointed by how much my French has improved, because I have found that my experiences in this country have not only been extremely informative, but also very self-reflective.

Another motivation for coming to Senegal was the fact that I was ready to be in a country where I was the norm. I explained to my mom that my experience in Senegal was fundamentally different than all of the other students because I am black and I am a male. She appropriately said this was the the only time in my life where that was case because it is black males such as myself who often victims of the many forms of systematic oppression ingrained into our American society. However, in Senegal, the color of my skin and my gender made my transition into Senegalese culture and society much smoother than that of the other students in the program. Some of them deemed the fact that I had an easier time in Senegal as my "Black Privilege". The dichotomy of being the only African-American in an American program, while being in an African country was also truly an experience in itself for me.

My black identity meant that I didn't know how it felt to the be the only "Toubab" in my village/city or how it felt to be called "Toubab" by all of the children. This was something which many of the students found to be problematic and it lent to the feelings of resentment towards the Senegalese understandably. The students were not only being singled out by the color of their skin, but they were also being grouped into one conglomerate under the label of "Toubab", despite their differing ethnic identities. Krishna, an Indian-America , as well as Marcos, a Brazilian, Eura, a Korean-American and Jack a Caucasian-American, were all called "Toubab" at one point or another by the Senegalese. I myself did not have a direct relationship with the word "Toubab", as it was never used by the Senegalese to identify me, at least as far as I know. Although there were some instances in which some of the students would inquire from the Senegalese if I, as an African-American, was a "Toubab" as well. We received mixed answers to this question as  majority of the time they said that I wasn't because of the color of my skin, however I remember one person saying I was because I was American.

My male identity meant that I was never proposed to men on the street or asked about my marriage status by anyone. Sometimes people asked me if I had a Senegalese girlfriend, but that question was always in my interest and not purposed towards the interests of the other person. In contrast, for the girls in our program, the men who asked them about their marriage status usually did so because they were interested in having them as wives. I am sure that many of these situations on the streets, in their homes and in their work places would have been categorized as sexual harassment. The girls in our program also dealt with other situations in their homes such as when one student was once asked to move from her place at dinner with the men of the family one night to go eat with the women and another was asked to cook her father eggs, who asserted that all women can cook. These are just a few of the experiences of the other female students that as a male in Senegal I did not have to deal with. While I benefited from my male identity in Senegal, I realized that it was because of the patriarchal Senegalese society which is entirely founded on a definition of Senegalese women as subservient.

Senegalese society is entirely dependent on the very women whom its culture oppresses. The women are the ones who are required to do all of the household work, cook for the family and provide for the children. It is always the women who serve as maids in the households and it is the young Senegalese girls who are given away by their fathers for marriage. Senegalese women consistently are shorted by a society that they support and uphold. The belief in the inherently subservient nature of women was even supported by one of our "Professors" at the Western African Research Center. He defended with his life the belief that it is the women's responsibility to prepare meals for the family and do the housework. He asked us if we had spoken with any Senegalese women who were unhappy with their position. He then asserted that because we had not had such conversations with Senegalese women about their unhappiness, then there was no reason to change the culture. Disappointingly he was our Economics "Professor" and he failed to acknowledge the fact that the oppressive nature of Senegalese culture in regards to Senegalese women was also a hindrance to the struggling economy. We explained that it was unrealistic and unfair to expect the women to have a job which was equally as demanding as that of a man and also have the full responsibility of taking care of the family. Although the same professor was replaced after the fourth week.

In Senegal there is a clear duty to ones family and community, which at all times comes first before the interests of the individual. I think many students witnessed this emphasis on the community before the invidual to be a premise on which women accepted their position in society. This was also the justification that our Economics Professor used as he explained that each member of the family has a role they play in that family unit. For the women, that role is often one of subservience. I had an interesting conversation with a friend about the individual versus the community, but in regards to gay marriage. My friend who I was talking with spoke of another Senegalese friend that he had who was gay. After coming out to his mother, his friend left Senegal, since homosexuality is forbidden by Senegalese culture and more that 97% percent of Senegalese don't approve of or believe in homosexuality. What I found interesting was how my friend disapproved of his friends actions because he thought that by declaring his sexuality and leaving Senegal, he let down his mother, his family and his community. He said that he had a responsibility to his community and he failed. He thought that if anything he should have repressed his sexuality and remained in Senegal for his mom, who had given so many years of her life to raise him and with his actions he had essentially abandoned her.

I recognize that this fortified sense of one's duty and one's place in the community as a staple of Senegalese culture is problematic in many respects.  However this focus on the community has also been a very refreshing break from the extreme focus on the individual that I feel in the United States. I will miss the sense of community I felt every time I sat down for a meal with either of my host families as we always shared one plate. I will miss being in households which are not not only individual family units, but who are also truly a part of the greater community. Overall there's a level happiness and satisfaction with life that I witnessed and sensed in the Senegalese people which I feel doesn't exist as universally in the United States.

While my status as a straight, black, male positioned me as the norm in Senegalese society and undoubtedly played a role in the acceptance that I felt by the Senegalese, I did feel that my relationships and interactions with some of the Senegalese were impacted by my status as an American. Many of the Senegalese would ask for things such as visas, money, articles of clothing or just anything I could physically give them. This was something that happened with all of the students in the program and we all reacted differently to it. Their requests never angered me because I realize they were only a result of their perception of America as a place of wealth, a perception for which I would not fault them for having. My sister joked that she thought no one in America was poor, which I had to refute. I understand that her point was likely that the poverty in Senegal is more serious than that in America, which I would not deny. However, I explained to her that not everyone is a beneficiary of American wealth due to the gross inequalities that we have in the country.

My host mom in Kaolack, Binta Sarr, has a son who lives in New York right now on a visa. My brother Amadou explained to me that he, the brother in New York and Khadim had entered the visa lottery together and the brother won, so he went to New York.  I spoke with numerous people about the difficulties of obtaining an American visa and how the process is not only expensive but largely based on luck. Each time I have these conversations about visas I think about how my American privilege has allowed me to enter this country with ease and how I have the liberty to return to America when I want. If anything being in Senegal made me aware of the extreme privileges of my middle class American status. I recognize that as an American I have more of a liberty to travel and see different parts of the world than many of the Senegalese who I met. Additionally I recognize that this liberty is often a matter of whether or not one has the financial means to be able to travel. This is why I understand and I am not angered by the Senegalese who ask for things based on the assumption that Americans who come to Senegal have money, because often times it is indicative of some level of disposable income.

Studying abroad in Senegal I have had the unique opportunity to visit this new country and witness realities of other people from a position of privilege and the knowledge that it is not my own reality. I had a conversation with my friend Khadim about the significance of my time in Senegal. Something he said to me which really stuck was the importance of being dropped into this new society and have the ability to be able to adapt to an entirely new culture. In America I realize that I exist in certain places like California and New York. In those places there are of course changes which happen everyday, but there is certainly a pattern to my day to day life. My time in Senegal has provided me with a temporary departure from that pattern of life to experience different realities of the Senegalese people. I have seen the places that they call home, the places where they go for entertainment, how they pass time, how they interact with one another, the things that they give value to and overall just another way of life. Witnessing the culture of the Senegalese and adopting their manner of living as my own over the course of the last three months has given me a new perspective on my own life and how I live it in America. This is especially important to consider in the conversation of development because not everyone in has had access to the type of education or travel experiences which have been fundamental in helping me understand and broaden my perspective of the world around me.

During my time in Senegal I have had the unique opportunity to visit and spend time in so many cities throughout the country including Dakar, Toubacouta, Saly, Mbour, Kaolack, Touba and Fatick. I have experienced the vibrant night life dance scene of Dakar as well as the traditional dance scene in the villages and in the city, both essential aspects of Senegalese music culture. I have been to beautiful beaches of Dakar, Saly and Mbour, which have all been incredible. I will always remember the sights of the bustling market places of HLM, Soubedioume, the Fois as well as the Village Artisinal and the Grand Market in Kaolack. I am very appreciated of the Ataya tea making lessons from my brother Amadou, which I will surely be making use of in the states. I am most thankful for my two amazing host families who welcomed me with open arms and they took me in as a member of their family. I know that I have two families in Senegal with whom I can stay if I come back.

Overall I am happy I came to Senegal because for a semester I got to explore an entirely new country and myself in the process. Being a student at any college, it's easy to get lost in the stress of student life. I often got so caught up with the lists of things to do, assignments to finish, tests to study for and clubs meetings to attend and taking a break from that pace of life was a good decision. In retrospect I can definitely say that it was one of my greatest life experiences.

My host mom and host dad in Kaolack

Raki, Me, Khadim, Amadou (My family in Kaolack)

My little sister Nogaye

My mom and my host mom in Dakar

Women's Rights and Education

I asked my mom about going into the village with her one time before I left Kaolack and she recommended that I go to one of the theater that happen every Friday in the village. Some of the students from Belgium who intern for APROFES went last Friday, although I had missed them because by the time I got back from my internship they had already left. This Friday I asked my supervisor if I could leave after lunch so that I could attend the performance in the village. I left the Chamber of Commerce for lunch around 13:00 and walked through the grand market on my way home where I bought a Senegal soccer jersey for 2000 CFA. When I got back to the house I ate lunch with Louise and my host mom then we departed for APROFES where we were to meet the rest of the people who were going to the performance at 15:30.

When we got there we waited about an hour for the bus to depart. During that time I just spoke with Krishna, a girl from my program who lives in Kaolack and who works at APROFES. I hadn't seen her in a few weeks because I opted out of the trip to Saint Louis that she went on the weekend before. In retrospect I'm glad I didn't go because she said it took her 10 hours total to get there and the same amount of time to get back and she only got to be there fore 12 hours. She said it was worth it though and I'm sure Saint Louis was a beautiful city. She told me about her experiences at the micro-credit firm of APROFES where she is working now instead of the main office. She talked primarily about her issues with the Senegalese men who would come in and constantly harass her at the micro-credit firm about whether or not she was married. She said they would often say things in Wolof to her then in French when she didn't respond and pester her consistently. She could only remember two occasions when one of the women stepped in and did something about the men. This has been a common experience with the girls in our MSID group, as many of them, if not all, have been approached by Senegalese men in regards to their marriage status. Many of them have even proposed to by men on the spot.  

We spoke about their experiences in our Cultural Analysis class and our professor explained that he thought this was the case because of the way American women are portrayed on television and in movies. In American movies he said, two people always fall in love very quickly, then they are in bed together and then they get married. So because of this media portrayal Senegalese men think that American women are more likely to sleep with men and get married than Senegalese women. He brought up how sexual scenes are shown much more on American television shows and American movies than their Senegalese counterparts. From my personal experiences here I would agree with that because I have yet to see a scene depicting sex a Senegalese television show or movie. I've only seen it in an American movie (Get Rich or Die Tryin') and my siblings turned the volume all the way down when it came on. The explanation by our professor was undoubtedly met with backfire by our class about the variety of American movies that are shown in Senegal. I could understand his reasoning, because I understand that power of media and the impact that it has on people's perceptions. Especially when one group only has media to form their opinions of the other group since many Senegalese do not interact with Americans on a daily basis. This is the case I think at least in Kaolack, Dakar may be another situation since there are many Americans who study abroad and work there. Although this is not an excuse for their actions and they should take their interactions with American students, like Krishna, who ask to be left alone and are in no way interested in marriage, to be a clear sign of the faultiness of their perceptions based on television and movies.  

When it was about 17:00, we loaded the bus which reminded me a lot of the bus we took to Pikine. They said that we were supposed to be there by 18:00 so the fact that we were still leaving early on Senegalese time meant that it was pretty far away. The first half of the ride to the village was smooth as we were on a paved road, which was probably the best I've been on since being in Kaolack. We also saw some construction workers fixing up a part of the road that had a lot of pot holes in it, which surprised me because I rarely saw construction in process in Kaolack and Senegal in general. Halfway there we veered off the main paved road and onto a dirt road as we made our way to the village. At many points during our journey off road I felt like the bus was going to tip over but luckily it never did. As we passed through a number of villages on our way to the destination people would stop what they were doing and stare at the bus. It's always an interesting feeling for me passing through villages and seeing the life there. I think about how dramatically different my life is the states from the lives of many of the people in the village. I saw young men collecting large sticks to make walls for their compounds and roofs for their houses as well as a group of young people huddled around a well drawing water from it. Two activities which have never been necessary for me. 

When we got to our destination a group of young boys ran towards us and greeted us as we got off of the bus. They brought Krishna and I chairs to sit in as the men who we came with began taking down drums, speakers and other equipment down from the roof. It was then that I realized that we brought the performance with us and that the people in the bus were the ones who were going to be acting, singing and playing music. As we waited for them to set everything up a couple of the men began playing their drums for the children who quickly gathered around them. Before I knew it there was a group of about 30 kids listening intently to the music of the drummers. I was in awe by how much the children were in awe of the drummers. You could tell how much happiness and excitement the kids got just from listening to the beat of the drums. They were all completely zoned into the drummers and whenever the drummers did something funny or tried a new beat, all of the kids broke into laughter. I just really enjoyed seeing how content all of those children were just from the sound of the drums.  

When they finished playing the drums Krishna's host mom asked us to move our chairs to the circle of chairs where the performance would be. We were actually on the grounds of the school of the village. A lot of the young students had helped set up the chairs and the benches that we would all be using later on. After we moved our chairs I saw that the door was open to the classroom and I really wanted to check the school out since working at the Chamber of Commerce most of my activities and opportunities for learning have been in the areas of economics, business and agriculture. So I wanted to use this opportunity to learn more about the school system/situation with schools as my only experience with education and schools was in the village of Toubacouta when we visited the Koranic school. We walked into the school and the director/principal was sitting down with a few of the other performers. Then Krishna and I began asking him a variety of questions in regards to the school. 

He explained that it is a French secondary school for kids who are 10 and 11, and it was established in 2009. The Senegalese schools go by the French system since they were colonized by the French. The school had 106 students, 50 boys and 56 girls. I was surprised initially by these numbers because in Senegal the ratio of female to male secondary enrollment has historically been very low as it was .4 in 1970. Although this ratio has improved dramatically over the years and was at .918 in 2011. He showed us the schedule for the students and all the subjects that they study. Since it was a French school they took a variety of different subjects like in American schools; history, mathematics, sciences, writing, oral comprehension, French. This is in stark contrast to the Koranic schools where they only study the Qu'ran.

Koranic School (Toubacouta)

Koranic School (Toubacouta)

Although the director of the French also mentioned that they will be studying Arabic soon which I thought was a great thing. I asked him if he thought the people in the village felt that the French system with a variety of subjects showed respect for Senegalese culture. He thought the solution was the combine the French and traditional Senegalese Koranic school systems. So here at this French school the students are not only studying Arabic but they also have a class dedicated to religious studies since 95% of Senegalese are Muslims. I think this was a good because it was a way for including important subjects like mathematics and the sciences while also having  a school system which reflect realities that are historically and culturally important to the Senegalese. 

After we spoke with him about the class structure and the curriculum he showed us the other two classrooms which were outside. At first we were looking at them before I didn't quite know what they were then he said that they were in fact two classrooms. The "classrooms" were completely made of tree branches and grass, just like the walls around the homes in the village. He said that in each classroom they could fit 25 kids which meant there would be about three kids at each of the 8 desks.There was a blackboard put up on the wall in each classroom and they had different basic french words on pieces of paper that were stuck in the walls. I say walls but the entire classroom was actually made of branches. I couldn't believe the conditions that these kids had to study and learn in because so much of my learning is about  my environment. If you're physically uncomfortable I know how hard it is to mentally concentrate on the subject at hand. However, if you're out in one of these classrooms with the heat of Senegal and all of the insects and mosquitoes, I don't know how you can concentrate day to day. Although, they likely are used to the conditions because it's all they have, I think it still takes a lot of mental and physical strength from the kids which I admire. He explained that the reason that these two classrooms were necessary is because they were still waiting on the other building to be completed, which is going to serve as the other two classrooms in the future hopefully. Although the construction is dependent on an Italian man who has apparently been on vacation for the last three weeks. He showed us the bathroom which he said was exclusively for the students and that if the parents need to use the restroom they had to go to the village to their own homes. 

The outdoor classrooms

Interior of the classroom  and the director

Classroom under construction

We then ask him about some of the primary problems he's had with running the school. He said that sometimes getting the support of the parents is difficult because they say that their kids don't know anything so there's no point in putting them in school. This is why continuous participation and attendance is a common problem for the students. He said that all children have the ability to learn and that he always encourages the parents to put their kids in the school. I asked if he has any trouble providing for all the students who need an education since there are so many children in the village and he said that he has space in the school for any child who wants to learn. I thought his perspective was inspiring and from first impression he seemed like the type of person I would want to run a school. At least in terms of his positive outlook and complete faith in children. He said that he often has meetings with parents from the community to try to convey to them the importance of education. 

I asked if he felt that the cultural disconnect between Senegalese the French school system poses a problem for some of the parents. He said that there is still a large percentage of students who are enrolled in the Koranic schools, but he encourages collaboration between the two schools and that lately more and more are coming to the French school. Although overall he said his biggest problem was finding funding because he could not depend on the state for help and assistance. Speaking with the director and seeing these conditions was extremely informing, because I understand that he is not the only one, but one of many who is facing these problems with education. He helped me really understand the problems that these schools in the villages are facing and they how they make do with so little at times. The public school system in Senegal is struggling, even at the university level, and it is having trouble accommodating the growing young population of Senegal. The percent of the total population enrolled in private schools has been on a steady decline due to this growth. 

Then Krishna's mom called us over because the performance was about to start. It began with the drums playing music while the other women, whom we came with in the bus, sang and danced. At one point girls from the crowd would run into the circle and join the women dancing for a few minutes, then run back to their seats. It reminded me of middle school when people would form circles at dances and people would go into the middle of the circle to dance when they felt inclined. Everyone in the crowd loved when the girls did it and you could here people clap louder and cheer whenever a girl would go into the circle. I thought it was interesting though how the girls were the only ones to run and go dance. There was a group of guys standing to the right of the performers from where I was sitting and none of them went into the circle to dance.

 

The director of the school whom we had spoken with earlier thanked everyone for coming and said a few words about the event. Then Krishna's mom got up and spoke on behalf of APROFES since she is of the heads for the Kaolack branch and she came as a representative since this was an APROFES event. She introduced Krishna to everyone which was nice although I could only understand when she said our names and that we were American.

Then the act began. The act consisted of 3 story lines which all were purposed towards shedding light on women's rights in Senegal. The first story line was about a man who was attempting to sell off his 13 year old daughter for marriage. He had attempted to give her to a family friend who rejected his proposal. Then the father went to the village chief to ask for his help with finding a man for his daughter.The village chief declined to help the father with his search and ended up calling the police on him because it was illegal since his daughter was so young. The second story line was about a polygamist family with a man who had two wives. He treated the second wife better than the first wife as he gave her chickens and supported her financially more so than with the first. So the two wives went to the village chief to resolve the problem and he called the husband to change his ways. After we departed the village for Kaolack, on the bus one of the actresses explained to me that she thought these situations were the reason for the domestic violence in Senegal. She said that when polygamist households begin to face financial hardships, the man stops supporting one of the women. This is problematic because often the wives are financially dependent on the man, so argument and frustration ensues which leads to violence. The third story line was about a teacher and a student with whom the teacher wanted to begin relation. The student explained that this was not okay because she was the student and he was the teacher, and he was not supposed to abuse that relationship. So she went to the village chief who contacted the teacher to explain that was he was doing was wrong.





 I noticed that although the themes of all of stories were in support of woman's right, it was always the chief of the village, a man, who made the final decision and fixed the situation. I thought that although his decisions and opinions empowered Senegalese women, the fact that he was making these decisions on behalf of the women supported the patriarchal structure of Senegalese society, which the act was purposed to combat in the first place. However at the same time the village chief is a figure who is established in Senegalese culture and tradition as the one who makes the decisions for the village. So even though he is a man, it says a lot this figure who everyone in the village recognizes as a leader is working on behalf of Senegalese women in the skit.

I had an interesting conversation about education for girls in Senegal with my host mom, Binta Sarr, who is the director of APROFES in Kaolack. I asked her whether she thought the people in the village valued education, because I had talked with a friend about this subject. I asked specifically about the people in the village because I knew that the people in the larger cities valued education. I have lived in two major cities of Senegal, Dakar and Kaolack, and almost all of the young people who come from families with the financial ability to send them to school, attend a school or university. My mom explained that over the years the people in the village have come to value education more and more, however there is still a grand problem with parents taking their children out of school to work. When the boys are taken out of school it is usually to do agricultural work for the family, which is very important for Senegal. However, they take the girls out of school is to send the girls to work and be maids for families. She said that even one of our maids, Adama, was taken out of school to work for her family and she hasn't returned ever since. She wanted to go to school however her father made her become a maid to help provide support the family financially in the short term. My mother explained that it's the father who makes the decisions for his children and often the women in the family because he is viewed as the person who knows what's best for everyone. She thought that for this reason it is important to address the beliefs of the parents, who choose to send their kids to school or keep them at home.

Adama and her baby