Sunday, April 4th promises to be a good day here in Senegal.
All of the holidays are feted here. Surtout avec la danse.
In case you hadn’t made it into a Casino (that’s a supermarket, people) to see the whole aisle devoted to bunny-shaped candy, Easter (or Pâques, as it is called in French) falls on 4 April. While I have already been invited to Mass, and an Easter basket-themed package is on its way to me (thanks, Mom!), I think that this duly-noted holiday will be a bit obscured this year by something bigger. (Lord, please hold your lightning bolt until the end of my post.)
It is 2010, which means that Senegal is celebrating 50 years of independence from its colonial power, France. Apparently, the line for birthday ceebu jeen will run long this year among the continental cinquantenaires; check out this list of African countries that turn 50 this year (rely on my shallow internet research habits at your own peril- I’m no expert on these matters).
Rumor has it that the North Koreans originally shipped over statue heads with Asian, not African features. Is this true? Who knows, but it sure makes for an excellent story. I can confirm that the statue has since been completed, and that the heads are distinctly African. The scantily-clad woman in a Muslim country is an other story however….
The lead-up to April 4th (La Fête Nationale) has seen a number of ambitious, and sometimes eyebrow-raising preparations undertaken by the government. I have mentioned before the African Reconnaissance Monument built by the North Koreans, but there have also been a number of additional preparations underway to mark this well-deserved milestone. La grande lutte (wrestling), parades, marches, and spectacles (shows) are all being organized with great anticipation -well, la lutte is, at the very least.
Today as I was walking through Plateau (the “downtown” part of Dakar), I snapped some pictures of banners that are being put up to kind of complement and/or mark Senegal’s independence:
“Senegal under Wade!
A country of Peace, Security, Stability
and confidence-inspiring democracy”
Perhaps it’s just a residual effect from my visit to Yahya’s kingdom, but I am a newly-arrived guest in this country, and I won’t talk too much about President Abdoulaye Wade (pronounced “Wahd”) or his administration. I also don’t think that I really warrant an opinion in this debate; I’m not Senegalese, and they hold their own quite well when it comes to discussing current affairs, thank you very much.
That said, here are two banners that have been put up across from the Presidential Palace. A chacun ses goûts (each to his own), even the opportunists:
The trade union of employees of Dakar Dem Dikk (Dakar’s public transportation network), showing their support for Wade’s 2012 re-election campaign. As an aside, President Wade is a spring chicken- officially reported to be 84 years old this year. And you were all scared of John McCain kicking the bucket were he elected….
“50th Anniversary of Senegal’s Independence. I like/love my country, I like/love my President”
I am just now realizing that this topic is far too expansive and tangential for me to neatly encapsulate everything into one Reader’s Diegest-style entry. Heck, I’m not even going to attempt to do that. You’re still doing to get Megan’s Idiot’s Guide to Dakar. So I’ll stop here and build on this later on. Maybe not tomorrow (there is still dust and weather to complain about!), but as the big day draws near, I’ll be keeping an eye out for more interesting events that I will chronicle in franglais and frustrate my readers.
P.S. “Un Peuple, Un But, Une Foi”
One People, One Goal, One Faith (the country’s motto)
De rien.