Senegal is considered one of the most stable countries in Western Africa. They are held up as an example of democracy and they are a popular tourist location. All would seem well, but Senegal has recently been added to the Voice of the Martyrs Monitored Countries List. While there is a lot of positive things to say about this country, when one peels back the veil we also find that this country has its share of problems. The Southern region is inundated with rebel separatist groups who have increasingly been targeting civilians. Most of the Christians in this country live in the Southern region, and are in danger from the continued fighting. There is also a problem with child beggars forced into that position by their Islamic teachers. However, the country has a new President, and hopefully he and his wife will help to bring about lasting change. Let us pray that God will work in the hearts of the government to step up and protect all of its citizens, including its Christians. May we never forget to be grateful for the safety and security that God provides daily for us.
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Senegal
Basic Info: Senegal is a country inWestern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania. It is slightly smaller than South Dakota, and faces problems like deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, desertification, overfishing, and the wildlife populations are threatened by poaching. Of the 13,300,410 (July 2013 est.) population, the ethnic breakdown is: Wolof 43.3%, Pular 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke 1.1%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4%. French is the official language, but Wolof is spoken as a first language by around 40% of the population. Pulaar, Jola, and Mandinka are also spoken. About 49% of the population is literate. The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem separatist violence, cross border raids, and arms smuggling into their countries from Senegal's Casamance region, and in 2006, respectively accepted 6,000 and 10,000 Casamance residents fleeing the conflict. Around 2,500 Guinea-Bissau residents fled into Senegal in 2006 to escape armed confrontations along the border. Due to the fighting in the Casamance region between government troops and separatists, there are around 10,000-40,000 internally displaced persons in the country. The country is a transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and South American cocaine moving to Europe and North America.
Government: The French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as the Mali Federation in 1960. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye Wade was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and to weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff election with Macky Sall. The country is a Republic, and its civil law system is based on French law.
Economy: Senegal relies heavily on donor assistance and foreign direct investment. The country's key export industries are phosphate mining, fertilizer production, and commercial fishing. The country is also working on iron ore and oil exploration projects. About 77.5% of the population works in agriculture. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to an economic reform program backed by the donor community, which led to real growth in GDP averaging over 5% annually during 1995-2007. Annual inflation was pushed down to the single digits. The global economic downturn reduced growth to 2.2% in 2009. Senegal also receives disbursements from a $540 million Millennium Challenge Account for infrastructure and agriculture development. In 2012, the economy began to rebound after a weak 2011. The economy continues to suffer from unreliable power supply, which has led to public protests and high unemployment (48% unemployed) and has prompted migrants to flee Senegal in search of better job opportunities in Europe. Nearly two-thirds of all fixed-line connections are in Dakar where a call-center industry is emerging, but expansion of fixed-line services in rural areas is still needed. Mobile-cellular service is expanding rapidly. The state run Radiodiffusion Television Senegalaise (RTS) operates 2 TV stations, and a few private TV subscription channels rebroadcast foreign channels without providing any local news or programs. RTS operates a national radio network and a number of regional FM stations. Many community and private-broadcast radio stations are available and transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are accessible on FM in Dakar (2007).
Religion: Muslim 94% (mostly Suffi), Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic), indigenous beliefs 1%
The Casamance region in the south has been troubled for many years by groups who are, at times, separatists, but often mere bandits. The Casamance is separated from most of Senegal by geography (separated by Gambia), ethnic composition (Jola-dominated as opposed to Wolof) and even religion (significantly more animist and Christian sentiment in the south). The region has ample rainfall, abundant in the south, and the lower course of the Casamance River is covered by dense vegetation, mangroves, oil palms, and raffia palms predominate. Rice, cotton, and corn (maize) are cultivated. Much of the area that is now Casamance was once the kingdom of Kasa. Kasa’s king, or mansa, was a leading trader with the Portuguese. The region was subsequently inhabited by migrants from the Mali empire, the Diola (Jola), the Fulani (Fulbe), the Malinke, and other groups. Casamance was the last part of what is now Senegal to be conquered (beginning in 1903) by Europeans, and small pockets of resistance were active until after World War I. Isolated from the larger northern portion of the country, Casamance retained a distinct identity; many of its inhabitants, for example, retained traditional beliefs while the northern Senegalese adopted Islam.
A separatist group, the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), emerged in the early 1980s, organized by the Diola. Demonstrations by the MFDC led to a number of arrests, and in 1990 the group attacked several administrative locations in the region. The Senegalese army was sent to Casamance, and fighting persisted until a cease-fire was signed in 1993. Two years later, however, southern rebels split with the MFDC and renewed the violence. By the late 1990s thousands of civilians had been killed and more than 20,000 had fled the region. Several subsequent cease-fire attempts failed, and fighting continued into the early 21st century. The leader of the main rebel forces declared the war over in 2003, and a peace agreement was signed in 2004, but some rebel factions continued to fight. Basic services and infrastructure in many conflict-affected areas continue to deteriorate, even now there are no wells, no roofs, and buildings are falling down because they are inaccessible. Many villages remain abandoned due to landmines; landmines have killed up to 800 people since 1988, and government efforts to demine have flagged, leaving much of the work to NGOs such as Handicap International. As of late 2011 just eight villages had been declared mine-free.
Civilians are also increasingly coming under direct attack, with a dozen civilians reportedly killed in November 2011 when they were collecting firewood in a forest in northern Casamance. The collection of firewood is a key revenue source for MFDC factions as, allegedly, are other illicit activities such as the growing and selling of drugs, and drug-trafficking. While some groups may also be getting institutional support, this has not as yet been proven. MFDC is split into several rival factions - some with bases in France, one based in Germany, and at least five with representation in Casamance. Three faction leaders have formed an MFDC “contact group” in Ziguinchor. Famara Pape Goudiaby, a member of this “contact group”, told IRIN weapons continue to flow thick and fast through Casamance, and “even as we speak” more were being brought up to the north. Pray for long-term stability and peace as well as for sustained Christian ministry – these are often disrupted by sporadic violence.
Info compiled from CIAWorldFactBook "Senegal"; Irin Africa: Senegal (irinnews.org)
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About SENEGAL (2012)
CNN Interview with First Lady of Senegal (2012) Part 1
CNN Interview with First Lady of Senegal (2012) Part 2
BBC News June 2013
BBC News How Salt miners save Senegal's lake
God's Beggar Children BBC News part 1 2011
God's Beggar Children BBC News part 2 2011
