Senegal for beginners
Senegal.
Everyone has heard or read about this country. You know that it is located in Africa, that Dakar is the capital and maybe even that French is spoken there.
But beyond that? It can be a bit difficult for some people, which is completely okay. Admittedly, I had to google where Senegal is when applying myself, and I'm certainly not the only one. This blog is supposed to give an insight into life in Senegal, so for the beginning it is a good idea to introduce it in a short profile:
Senegal is slightly more than half the size of Germany and has about 16 million inhabitants. It is located in the west of Africa on the Atlantic Ocean and borders Mauritania in the north, Mali n the east, Guinea & Guinea-Bissau in the south and completely surrounds Gambia. The capital is Dakar with 2.5 million inhabitants, which is located at the westernmost point of the country directly on the sea.
Landscape & Climate
Senegal is located in a transition zone between the Sahara in the north and the tropical forest in the south. There are no mountains worth mentioning, the landscape consists rather of flat savannah land with sandy soil. Nevertheless, it is unexpectedly colorful: thanks to the many rains, the landscape is wonderfully green and fertile right now.
European seasons like summer and winter do not exist, here a distinction is made between the rainy and dry season:
Dry season: November - June, lots of sunshine, dry air, about 24° - 28° C
Rainy season: June - October, many heavy rain showers, high humidity (which is why the temperatures seem even higher), approx. 25° - 32° C
Fortunately, at night it cools down a bit, so that the temperatures become a bit more bearable. On some days the thermometer shows 40° C and therefore we sweat a lot. But we have already gotten used to that and also to the new daily routine: At noon, when it is hottest, everyone takes a break and stays inside. The streets then fill up again around late afternoon and empty out only very late in the evening.
Population
As in many other countries in Africa, the population is very young: about 40% of the Senegalese are under 15 years old, which I can well imagine, because on the streets you see a lot of children, teenagers and young adults.
I was also immediately struck by the difference between families in Germany and in Senegal: the question "How many cousins do you have?" is often answered with a laugh, followed by a rough estimate. Families here are much larger than in Germany, but the cliché of the African mother giving birth to countless children is not true either. On average, the fertility rate (children per woman) is falling and currently stands at 4.56.
Roughly half of the people live in rural areas, the rest in cities, which are experiencing a large increase. Thiès, the city where I live, is the third largest city with about 300,000 inhabitants.
Many ethnic groups live peacefully together in Senegal: About 90% of the population belongs to Islam, the rest is divided between Christianity and Animism. However, Islam is practiced in a weakened and less dogmatic form. For example, very few women wear headscarves or are veiled. Coexistence between Muslims and Christians is quite harmonious, and Senegal is considered a model country in West Africa in this area.
The most important ethnic group is the Wolof. Smaller ethnic groups are the Sérèr, Diola, Fulbe, Mandika, ...
All ethnic groups have their own language, all belonging to the same language family. Nevertheless, the native speakers cannot understand each other. So children grow up at home with their tribal language and then learn French in kindergarten, because that is what is spoken at school or in public institutions. 80% of the population can speak Wolof, so many people here are trilingual! (tribal language + Wolof + French)
Politics & Economy
After being under French influence during colonialism, Senegal gained its independence on April 4, 1960. Today Senegal is a presidential republic, the head of state and parliament are elected for five years.
Without doubt, Senegal is a poor country, but real hunger or naked misery are exceptions. Many people work in subsistence farming (agricultural production for personal consumption) or in the informal sector (traders, cab drivers, etc.); about 50 % of GDP is generated from this sector. Important export products are cotton and precious metals such as gold and titanium, formerly also peanuts.
As in seven other West African states, the currency is the CFA franc.
1€ is equivalent to about 656 CFA francs. So bills with large amounts are not unusual. (For example, a cab ride costs 500 francs (76 ct) or a pair of shoes costs 5,000 francs (7.62€).)
I hope that you were able to get a good insight and that you can now imagine a little better where I will spend the next year. Soon I'll be back with more concrete information and stories from Thiès!
Ba beneen yoon!