Thanks Ylva for the forward and keep up the good work. Chi Jaama Joe Sambou >From: Ylva Hernlund <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Americanization of Senegal (fwd) >Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 08:55:15 -0800 > >*** >NYT January 28, 2004LETTER FROM AFRICA America Tugs at French-Accented >Lands: It's Not Peanuts By SOMINI SENGUPTA > >DAKAR, Senegal, Jan. 26 -- This was once the portal to the French Empire >on the African continent. > > >From here, Paris administered the vast territory known as Afrique >Occidentale Franaise, stretching east across the arid savannas to what is >now Chad and south along the lush coast to the present-day Congo Republic. > >Downtown Dakar bears the 19th-century French stamp, from the shuttered >windows of its colonial-era buildings to its perennially jammed main >commercial street, named after Georges Pompidou. Senegalese men once >fought in the French military. The Dakaroise were once French citizens by >birth. > >Even after independence, in 1960, the French stayed on, pouring aid, >installing bureaucrats in virtually every important government ministry, >maintaining a military base here with a view of the Atlantic. French >companies still run Dakar's telephone company and water service. From the >Peugeots on the street to the Pouilly Fums on the hypermarch shelves, a >quarter of all imports to Senegal come from France; 20,000 French citizens >live here. > >With the advent of the campaign against terrorism, though, things began to >change. Africa once again figured in Washington's strategic thinking, and >there was something to be gained for an overwhelmingly Muslim country by >cozying up to the Americans and, not coincidentally, threatening the >French with a loss of influence. > >These days, because of a swirl of additional circumstances ranging from a >drop in French foreign aid to bitterness over French immigration policy to >the power of American hip-hop to a variety of slights and perceived >slights, Senegal is marching headlong into the arms of a new empire run >out of Washington. > >This is by no means a line in the sand, ending French influence here. It's >more as if the dunes are shifting, slowly but perceptibly. France remains >the biggest donor and trade partner, but Senegal's relations with the >United States have already created some Paris-Dakar frisson. > >Publicly, both sides say all is well. Africa-watchers are fond of likening >it to a difficult moment in the life of an old couple, a love-hate >dialectic born of an intimate familiarity. > >"It's a period of friction," said Mamadou Diouf, a historian at the >University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and Senegalese by origin, "where two >partners are trying to adjust to a new moment." > >The "moment" that Mr. Diouf refers to has as much to do with the global >primacy of American power as the diminution of French power in the shadow >of a united Europe. Complicating matters, just as the former colonies on >the continent still need France, France still needs its former colonies: >French influence in Africa allows it to punch above its weight in the >world. > >Influence, of course, comes at a price. And the price of supporting a >swath of destitute countries in Africa has lately proved to be too much. >French aid to its former colonies has plummeted. In Senegal alone, the >number of French "technical experts" assigned to work in government >ministries has fallen to 124 in 2003 from 750 a decade ago. > >The signs of shift are small and subtle, based as much on assumptions and >perceptions as anything else. Among ordinary Senegalese, the resentment >against all things French is based on the one thing they know best: the >difficulties of getting a visa to study or work in France. (They have not >had as much experience with the American immigration bureaucracy.) > >For strivers, New York is now the promised land. For the elite, a degree >from Harvard is more fashionable than one from the the Sorbonne. The >cabinet of President Abdoulaye Wade is sprinkled with people who have >studied or worked in the States. English is now de rigeur. And ardor for >all things American is exploited by marketers: ads for American Cola >(endorsed by a Senegalese wrestler who calls himself Tyson) and Houston >brand cigarettes plaster Dakar. > >Mr. Wade's government has unabashedly sought to strengthen ties with >Washington in recent years. Senegal has vowed to fight against terrorism. >It has signed an agreement, sought by the Bush administration, promising >to exempt American citizens from prosecution by the International Criminal >Court. It has kept quiet on the war in Iraq. > >An African diplomat said he sensed "an openness to the world outside the >Francophone world" since Mr. Wade's election in 2000, and particularly >since the Sept. 11 attacks. "I think Wade is playing that quite >intelligently" the diplomat said. "He's very shrewd with the U.S. in >particular. He realizes it's the only way to diminish the influence of >France." > >A French diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his country >was hardly threatened by Dakar's efforts to make new friends. > >"We have long regretted that the United States has done so little for the >African continent, and we rejoice, seeing that that great country is >trying to turn its words into deeds," the diplomat said. Feeling less >charitable, the diplomat wondered how long it would take for the United >States to reach the level of French aid and trade with Senegal: nearly $60 >million in development and military assistance in 2003. > >What Senegal will receive in exchange for cozying up to the United States >remains to be seen. Military and economic aid has been modest, so far. >American companies aren't exactly rushing to do business here. Senegal >produces peanuts, not oil. > >Senegal stands to gain its biggest reward later this year, when the Bush >administration announces the recipients of its new $650 million >development aid program called the Millenium Challenge Account. Senegal >was the only country to receive a planning grant on how it would use the >funds. > >Still, Senegal knows it cannot afford to oust the French, said one member >of the Wade government, but is seeking a way to escape exclusive French >control. "The only question is, `Will France accept Senegal's being more >independent?' " he wondered aloud. "We don't know. But they have no >choice. Senegal in 2004 is not the same Senegal as in 1960. The world has >changed." > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: >http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _________________________________________________________________ Learn how to choose, serve, and enjoy wine at Wine @ MSN. http://wine.msn.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~