My dear messed up country

Three weeks ago I was trying to cross a very busy avenue in Dakar, holding my six year old son’s hand, when he asked me a question that has been haunting me ever since : “Dad“, he said “why do people in Senegal have no manners?“. Well, i remained speechless. Even though thousands of words were rushing through my brain, I still did not know what to say.

How in the world do you want me to answer that question? So i just tactfully avoided it and invited him to talk about something else. Damn it! I never had to ponder on any subject matter harder than that one. Actually, all my life I have been thinking about it, I just never could find an answer. And I don’ think there is any… Of course I can mention ’ignorance‘, ‘lack of education‘, or even blame it on the economic hardship that make people only focus on their survival instinct, or may be more… but whatever the reqson might be, it won’t be proportionally fit to justify their actions.

Few days earlier on our way to Saint-Louis, in a taxi, he asked me similar questions : “how come the driver throws out the piece of paper that was used as a wrapper for the bread he was eating? how come the driver passes another car and drives over the thick line? why is it that all the taxi are so rusty and dirty?… then he ended up saying : “i don’t know why Senegal is so old”.

For each of his remarks, I felt ashamed after all the beautiful stories i told him about our Home Country while we were in DC. My shame culminated the day he asked me: “Dad, when are gonna return home?” (meaning the U.S.).

Eight weeks after i got back home, hoping to settle down and focus on my job at one of the major telecommunication companies in West Africa, I decided to submit my letter of resignation in order to return to the U.S. and start to build what I want from life for me and for my family.

How sad is it be to be disgusted by your own country, your own people!

I just cannot take this anymore. It has been raining a lot lately over Dakar and the populations in the suburb are living in aquatic hell, unable to sleep at night, cook anything, sit in their houses filled with water. The few schools that are not under water have become refuge to many of them… at the same time, our president in enjoying his vacation on the shore of Lake Leman in Geneva, Switzerland. The ministers are probably flying around too in their airplanes to other ‘exotic’ places as well or live in castles in Dakar.

During the raining season, temperatures are over 85°F… Regular people (98% of the population) are facing power outages EVERY SINGLE GODDAMN DAY! Those who have a refrigerqtor have to throw away the wasted food they were hoping to live upon.

The air stink because of the heat and the rain that mix with the trash in dumpsters outside every street.

The gutters are filled with sand and rocks and garbage.

The sidewalk are used as shops, personal gardens, storage area, parking lots… you can only walk on the pavement hoping not to be hit by a car or motorcycle.

The smoke from the car exhausts is stinky and cause immidiate reaction from people throat or nostril

The roads are paved with holes, filled with water; mosquitoes everywhere, people driving like nuts…

I cannot sleep at night because of the constant noises and disturbances in my neighborhood. If there is not some partiy, there is sabar (a traditional dance party), or a religious gathering where people use loudspeakers to sing, or cars honking at any moment of the day or night (i am convinced those cars are equipped with none conventional horns), or simply my neighbors make loud noises…