Birth of a Name

Once upon a time, an explorer happened upon an unknown coast. The first two people he met were fishermen, hard at work in their small vessel. When the explorer inquired as to what this place was called, the fishermen misunderstood what he was asking. “Sunu-gaal,” they answered.

“Our boat.” 

Photo by Beth

To Create

We didn't go back to the women's organization today (so we will never know the conclusion of yesterday's drama), but spent some time instead at a hospital in Dakar. It was so great to see the programs being implemented for patients suffering from mental illnesses.

First we visited the therapy garden, run by a member of the Peace Corp from Tennessee named David. Here patients and their families can spend time tending the garden, and any vegetables grown are used in the hospital kitchen.

David employs urban agriculture techniques of planting in tires and plastic bottles. In this way, he is able to both recycle and teach patients techniques that allow them to grow plants in their own homes with objects easily found littered on the streets.

Next was the art therapy studio. The workshop is open to the patients and supplies them with any type of artistic materials needed (paint, clay, canvas, etc.). Some of the patients were great artists, and some not so much, but it is the creative process that can be so therapeutic. The artwork is sold at the hospital, with part of the funds going to the patient, and part to fund the studio. 

I was very pleasantly surprised to find mental illness so recognized here and so much being offered for these patients. The patients were all so nice and very excited to show off their work to us!

After lunch, we went to the Leopold Senghor Cultural Center to visit a hip-hop organization called Africulturban. The organization is home to a recording studio and radio station, and works to support the upcoming generation of hip-hop in Senegal. They organize different events to showcase the talent - we missed a huge concert that just happened a few days ago, and there will obviously be a B-boy competition with teams from all around the world right after we leave the country. Senegal is apparently at the top of the rap game right now, and we did convince one of the artists to rap for us (in French). The rappers in the studio told me their favorite American artists are Jay-Z, Tupac, Talib Kweli (my favorite!), and Kanye West.

 

 I bought a CD that I'd be happy to share when I get home :)

Women's Rights

I’ve been spending my week so far interning at the Association de Femmes Juristes – an organization that offers free legal advice to anyone (but mostly women) who is unable to afford it. One of the organization’s main objectives is to educate women, particularly in rural areas, about what their rights are and how to access those rights.

Islam plays a huge role in what is socially acceptable in this country. Since it is permissible for an Islamic man to take up to 4 wives, we have spent quite a bit of time discussing the marriage contract here. Traditionally, once a woman is married, she moves in with her husband and in-laws, where she generally becomes responsible for the cooking and housework. He will eventually be pressured to take on co-wives, who tend to hate each other because they are competing for the attention of the same man. It can be a very oppressive situation for women.

A generally new belief in human history is the idea that one has a right to be happy. The “pursuit of happiness” is, after all, perhaps the only line from our constitution the American public knows. The belief that women have a right to happiness is an even newer concept. But as it takes hold in a society, something changes. Women demand their rights, marry for love, plan their families, and can stand on their own. Above all else, women start expecting to be happy.

The modern Senegalese woman wants a monogamous relationship with a husband she loves in an apartment of their own. She wants to choose her life. Divorce is still looked down upon in the Islamic community, but the younger generation of women is starting to become free to end a negative relationship. I don’t mean to commend divorce, and I think as women we tend to depend far too much on our partners to bring us ultimate happiness and fulfillment (thus setting high expectations that can never be reached), but I do not believe a woman should be trapped in a marriage where she is being abused or her husband is going to take another wife against her wishes or she just feels utterly miserable and abandoned. When a man and woman sign a marriage certificate in Senegal, the man must state whether he will be monogamous, engage in limited polygamy (2 or 3 wives), or polygamy (4 wives). In this way, the woman now has an official document to prove her husband promised to be monogamous (and grounds for divorce) if he later tries to take another wife.

The problem is that many couples never get this marriage certificate. They have a religious marriage ceremony, but never complete the paperwork that causes it to be official in the eyes of the state. If the marriage later turns ugly, the woman can leave her husband, but since they are not officially married, she is not entitled to anything. One thing I have noticed in my time at this organization is that women in Senegal do have rights, but since pre-marital sex is not recognized in such an Islamic nation, she must be married to exert those rights. The main consequence of this is that only a married woman can file a paternity suit for child support. If a man gets you pregnant and you aren’t married to him – oh well! He doesn’t owe you anything.

This little diagram is to help you understand the following paragraphs, which are admittedly fairly confusing.

We witnessed a very interesting (and bizarre) case consultation where an Islamic father and daughter came into the office. The daughter had been married 4 months ago, but in a strange turn of events, the husband moved in with her family. Eventually, the father told him he would need to start renting a room of his own for the 2 of them. At this point, the husband said he no longer wanted to be married and disappeared. The problem is that the daughter is already pregnant. The husband is claiming the child isn’t his, so to force him to recognize the child, the daughter needs to file a paternity suit. They are in the process of filling out the paperwork to obtain a marriage certificate since they never originally did this (as long as you have 2 witnesses who will testify that the couple was indeed married, you can get the marriage certification at any time). Once they can prove the marriage, the divorce and paternity suit can proceed.

The problem is that to complete the paperwork, they need to know the parental information of the husband, which they don’t. This is where it gets weird. How do you marry your daughter off to someone whose parents you don’t know the names of? I personally felt that the woman was mentally handicapped to some extent. Her father did all of the talking, even when she was directly spoken to. She was 28, which is rather old to not be married here. Why else would you be so desperate to marry off your daughter that you give her to someone who can’t support her, who has to move in with you, and who you clearly know nothing about? And to top it off, the husband apparently already had a wife that the family didn’t know about. It was a very confusing situation, but it does illustrate my point of women needing to be married to be recognized by the Islamic community and access their rights.

Side note:  This entire post was influenced by my reading of the book “Committed” by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love). Highly recommended!

We have one more day planned there tomorrow...hopefully we'll find out the conclusion of the above drama.

Weekend: Wrestling Match

Wrestling is the national sport in Senegal. It has its roots in traditional Senegalese culture - although it has evolved with the urbanization of the country. Traditional wrestling has been fused with urban boxing to create a more modern sport, but one that is still highly ritualistic.

The early part of the event basically serves to make the men feel more manly. Each wrestler had his own entourage with him and they would dance to the drum beats and pour holy water on him - all rituals to increase the strength of the wrestler and offer him protection. Traditionally, the wives or girlfriends of the wrestlers would also sing songs about them as inspiration (one of the many roots of rap music). There was singing, dancing, crowds going crazy. There were 5 wrestling matches, each about a minute long, but the event lasted an hour and a half.

Drum circle and dancing

We were apparently in the "foreign" section in the middle of the stadium. The fans of each team were split to our left and right. The right side (pictured here celebrating) won every single match. The sport evokes a lot of angry words and gestures :)

The wrestlers still wear the traditional outfits made of a strong cloth woven in Senegal. The objective is to get your opponent either on his back or on all fours. The instant one of these occurs, you lose. 

I don't know what to compare this sporting even to because there was soooo much going on all the time. Even during the matches, the drums were going, women were dancing - half the time I was too distracted to even watch the actual wrestling. I enjoyed the experience though. 

I have videos of a couple matches, as well as lots of videos of the music we have been experiencing, but it is impossible to upload them on the internet connections available here. They will all have to wait until I return. I've been here 2 weeks today!

Oh, and all photo credits go to Beth because her camera (and she) is awesome and I have been slacking in the picture taking department.

Weekend: Keur Mousa

This weekend…

…watched a call to prayer from outside the Grand Mosque on the Islamic holy day (Friday)

…attended a mass at the Keur Mousa Monastery

…official start of the rainy season

… visited Lac Rose, the “pink lake”

…crazy ride through the desert sand dunes

…live music at Balajo

…danced all night at Nirvana

…morning jog and beach meditation

…experienced a Senegalese wrestling match

The juxtaposition of Islam and Christianity here is so interesting. Although the vast majority (90-95%) of the country is Islamic, both religions co-exist very peacefully. It was interesting to see both practices within the span of a weekend. Visiting the monks at the monastery was particularly thought provoking. What dedication – it takes over 10 years to be able to take one’s final vows and become a monk. Each day is spent in prayer (7 times a day), mass, fellowship, studies, and work. The monastery is almost entirely self-sufficient, at least in terms of food. It is also home to some of the world’s finest koras. A kora is a very popular African string instrument made of cow skin stretched over a large gourd called a calabash. It looks a little bit like a guitar except it has two sets of strings instead of one. The monastery has a famous workshop where koras are produced and sent all over the world. The instrument has evolved greatly since ancient times, and the monk mentioned that the monastery recently worked with an engineering school in Senegal to determine the exact tension needed on each string to create a metal lever that switches between major and minor key.

The kora and drums are used for music during mass at the monastery, which added a different flair to the service. It’s so interesting to see what instruments have evolved in different parts of Africa and around the world, in a way that is mostly dependent on the environment (particularly access to wood). 

The imagery of a black Jesus is also extremely prevalent here. The chapel that mass was held in had an entire wall depicting the birth of Christ and various events in his life, with all characters illustrated as black. And why wouldn’t it be this way? Christ is a figure of freedom, and I imagine it’s hard to reconcile a white man in this role. Christianity was originally forced on the African people, yet here they have adapted it to their own understanding. A figurehead who understands their suffering, who offers something to believe in. Hope.

I liked that the monks were also involved in scholarly (seminary) pursuits. The monk we talked to at the kora workshop said he has taken all the courses personally offered by the monastery and is now taking online courses to continue studying. Online courses at the monastery! Technology shows up in the strangest of places.

More about my weekend soon!

Microgardening & Microlending

Part of our trip involves doing a short internship in a field of interest to us. We have groups doing healthcare, art, music & dance, education, and women’s issues. The obvious choice for me would be healthcare, which I love, but already devote the majority of my life too. So instead I am focusing on women’s issues, another big interest of mine. 

Next week (Mon-Wed), my group will intern at the Association des femmes Juristes, an organization that provides free legal help to women pursuing issues of divorce, domestic abuse, etc. I think it will be a great learning experience as I have many questions about the rights of women in this country. This afternoon we spent a few hours at an urban agricultural site that utilizes a concept called “microgardening.” The organization takes empty spaces in the city and turns them into a support system for low-income women living on the outskirts of Dakar. It was amazing to see such green in the midst of city life.

The plants are grown on these table structures, and crops with quick turnaround time (about a month) are chosen to maximize productivity. We saw heads of lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, and mint being cultivated.

When a woman is chosen to participate in the program, she is given 4 tables to plant as she pleases, along with the seeds, tools, fertilizers, and training she will need to be successful. The entire project is fully funded by local and overseas organizations so women do not have to pay any start-up costs. The vegetables a woman grows can either be brought home to her family or sold as extra income. It seems there is potential to make quite a bit of money too (at least by standards here):

1 head of lettuce = 500 CFA ($1) x 25 per table = $25 per month

1 bell pepper = 125 CFA ($0.25) x 3 per plant x 25 per table = $18.75 per 3 weeks

1 table of mint = $40 per week

Mint is very popular here because of its use in tea. With growth time of about a week, it has the potential to bring in several thousand dollars of income a year.

The money is exciting, but the project is much more than just a business. It creates a community of strong women who are able to support and help each other.  They learn about financial responsibility and investment.  Although their seeds and tables are always provided for, they are asked to chip in with the monthly water bill. It gives these women an opportunity, a chance to obtain a specialized skill and something they can strive for success in. Women who do exceptionally well are asked to train the new members as they are accepted. The garden we visited currently “houses” the gardens of 8 people, but more such gardens exist around the city. I think as long as funding is available, this project will only continue to expand and benefit women. Our guide was actually the only man who participates in the project. He works as a guard at a bank across the street. In exchange for watching the garden, he was given 4 tables of his own.

This project seems to be an extension of the concept of microlending (microfinance). Microlending was a revolutionary idea by Dr. Mohammad Yunnus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for it in 2006. It involves extending small amounts of money ($100-$1000) to groups of women, just enough capital to allow them to start a small business. The women keep meticulous records of how much money each member in the group has received and hold each other accountable to eventually pay it back. Having a business allows these women to support their families, and the loans are paid back with interest 97% of the time. It has been a hugely successful program. One of my favorite websites is www.kiva.org, where you can learn more about microfinance and even extend loans to groups of women in the country of your choice!

Although the women participating in microgardening never have to pay back their start-up cost, the idea of providing women with the resources to start their own small business is the same. It is all about the opportunity. 

We did see a bit of protesting yesterday on our way back from the garden. Things burning in the street, dumpsters tipped over, police standing guard. Although the president’s proposed constitutional amendment was withdrawn, the worry is that now the people will be calling for his full resignation from office. Once the tide of unhappiness and desire for change has been unleashed, it can be hard to stop. Things seem back to normal today though.

P.S – Last night I ate a cheeseburger with a fried egg on it.Whoever invented this is my hero.

Politics - Senegal in the news

The political climate in Senegal is a bit heated right now. I've mentioned previously how the current president, Abdoulaye Wade, although 85 and having already served his 2 terms, wants to run again in the next election. Senegal currently has a president and a prime minister, but no vice-president. If the president dies or otherwise leaves his position, the head of the National Assembly briefly becomes president until new elections can be organized. Wade has introduced a new bill into the Assembly that would amend the constitution to create a vice-president position and lower the percentage of votes needed in an election to only 25% (rather than 50%). 

Since a fairly small portion of the Senegalese population is literate enough to vote, lowering the amount of votes needed to 25% would essentially allow a candidate to be elected by 5% of the Senegalese population. This would likely allow the president to win another election, even though the majority of people here do not want him to serve again.

If the president does succeed in securing another election, he will serve into his 90's, increasing the chances that he will die during his term. The creation of a vice-president position would more-or-less allow the president to name his successor, as the vice-president would now take office when the president dies. This new bill is being seen by the people as a ploy for the president to hand off power to his oldest son, Karim Wade. Abdoulaye seems desparate to maintain power and the people feel he is attempting to turn the democratic system of Senegal into a monarchy.

Since the vast majority of the National Assmebly and the Senate are in the president's party, there is no doubt that the bill will be passed. To combat this, university classes today have been canceled and the students have taken to the streets in downtown Senegal to protest this change of their constitution. So far, the president has dropped the clause which would change the percentage of votes needed, but the police have been called in to "control" the protestors. The story seems to be getting increasing coverage on the internet, and may very well be on the news tonight.

This post is mainly so no one (parents!) freaks out if it is on the news later. Downtown Senegal is quite far away from where I am, and we are all being kept very safe. I respect the people for protesting such a valid cause, and I hope the president will ultimately honor the wishes of the people he is meant to serve. More updates soon!

Maa ngi fi rek

I love language. I am, quite sadly, terrible at it. But its transcendent nature is so appealing to me. This chair I sit on is not really a chair. It is an object, the form of which exists in some metaphysical land inside our brains. The English language has labeled it a “chair,” allowing you to understand what I mean when I use this word. Similarly, each language has created a combination of sounds to refer to this same object. The communication language allows us is a thing of such beauty. What I need, what I want, what I feel – can all be expressed if I just find the right syllables.

We recently had a lesson in Wolof, one of the native languages spoken fairly universally in Senegal. It was fun to pick up a few phrases, but I really enjoy the literal translations into English. Many times they are able to convey the desires of our heart with a simplicity that gets lost in our day-to-day interactions.

For example, the typical Wolof greeting goes something like this:

Salam maalekum = Peace be with you

Maalekum salaam = And also with you

Nanga def? = How are you

Maa ngi fi rek (pronounced Mangee fee reck)

This last line, the answer to how are you, literally translates as “I am here only.” Meaning nothing has happened to me, I am not here with hurt or pain – I am just here. 

Photo credits to Beth - who is clearly much better at using my camera than I am!

A day in pictures

1: Chocolate for breakfast

2: Walking to school

3: Learning :)

4: Taxi to the market

5-8: Milkshakes and free wi-fi at Caesar's

9: Cute kids

10: Free reggae concert 

African Renaissance Monument

One of the sights we visited on our tour of Dakar was the African Renaissance Monument. This huge monument is very controversial because of the money spent on it. The president, without the support of the people, ordered it built at the price of about $25 million dollars (billions in CFA). In a country with so much poverty, you can understand why there are questions surrounding this use of money. To compound matters, the work of building and maintaining the monument was not given to Senegalese people. Instead of creating jobs for its own citizens, the work was hired out to the North Koreans.

Lei (our tour guide):  “Africa is not a poor continent. We just have poor leaders.”

Mama Aida:  An eye roll and “It’s for the tourists.”

The monument itself is meant to represent the African man, woman, and child. The child is pointing to the West (to America) and is said to be pointing towards the “future.” Westernization has become synonymous with progress. Yet are we really the model the world should follow? True that a democratic model allows for freedom of speech and religion, two things I value highly. True that even poor Americans have a greater quality of life than many in third world countries. But as far as developed countries go, we are far from the top. Our health care system is ranked 37^th in the world, despite being #1 in health care spending per capita. Our school system is the same way. Money doesn’t seem to be our problem. Even when we don’t have the money, we continue to dump it into programs that aren’t working. Westernization can bring with it many great things, particularly for women – the end of female genital cutting, birth control, education, business opportunity, equality, choice. This monument, however, while pointing towards the “future” of Africa, still does not put women on par with men. Not only is the man much larger than the woman, her body language suggests utter devotion and commitment to him. While the man and the boy child gaze towards the West, the woman is gazing at the man, suggesting that she does not look to the future, but will simply follow his lead. So what? She will gain opportunity as he allows her to? She will be educated as he gives his permission?

Ultimately, I find this statue a bit ridiculous. Westernization is not necessarily something to be worshiped. Letting the men lead and discounting the women won’t get a country very far. And there are (as usual) far better uses for that kind of money. Hard to argue with the view though.

Highly embarrassing

Sooooooooo at our orientation to WARC (Western African Research Center), we were told that our laundry would be done for us, but we would be expected to wash our own undergarments. Following these instructions - I thought tonight would be a good night to do that. The power was out so I, of course, put my head lamp on for hands free lighting. I started filling with water what appeared to be a little basin just made for washing my clothes. At this moment, Mama Aida choose to walk by. She did not comment on my head lamp, but was clearly confused about what I was doing.

I managed to convey that I was washing my clothes. She said the laundry would get done tomorrow. At this point, I called Beth in as translator to ask if it was okay if my undergarments were in with the laundry. Mama Aida then took my pile of things and went through each one. She obviously laughed at my underwear, but said it was fine. After she left, Beth informed me I was washing my clothes in a bidet. I only sort of know what this is, but apparently it is for washing something quite other than clothes....

Pretty sure this is a classic mistake ;) but for your amusement, Beth and I decided to recreate the moment.

Goodnight America! 

Marche de HLM

Today Mama Aida took us to the clothing market. She was the greatest bargainer ever! I'm sure we got much better prices than we ever would have on our own. So many bright colors and fun outfits.