Beyond the ra ta tat tat of Dakar, composed of humming motors of passing cars, the hissing of the car rapide man, the honks of the taxis, the greetings of women, the whispering of children, there is a music that Dakar is known for: Senegalese rap. In the states, when a person talks about rap and rap artists, my mind usually connects to thoughts of money, love, and some slang word for women. Though that genre of rap music exists among Senegalese rap artists, it fades in the much more common political and social discourse lyrics.
In 2000, Senegal's political election scene was pushed and guided by this rap culture. Music became the voice of the people. 50 % of Senegal's demographic is comprised of people under the age of 18! So, when political libertarians looked for a way to reach this audience, they found music. Abdoulaye Wade, the current president of Senegal, became president during this time, promising Senegal's young people the change that they were looking for in their country's judicial system. Twelve years later, Wade remains on this platform without having made any significant changes in the time he has been given, besides a billion-dollar (yes, I said billion) statue of himself and public school buildings that lay vacant due to a severe lack of funding for teachers and students.
His notorious rejection of the rights of Senegalese people has been recently prolonged through an unrighteous constitutional amendment, which was passed by a jury of his own choice. This amendment gives him the ability to run for president once again, though under the original constitution a person may only be president for 3 terms. Wade is expected to win, even though there is a great resistance to this. Don't get me wrong, plenty of people like Wade. For example, I'm pretty sure that my family supports him. However, those who do support him are people who are already rich enough to be able to afford water for a bath everyday, food for every mouth in their family, and private school education for their children. Every day while in class, I hear and see the parades of people who have been paid by Wade to sustain his campaign. This music in the streets does not seem like the real music of Senegal for it serenades people into a false security.
And that is the extent of my knowledge of the political situation. I'm finding it a bit difficult to really know about feelings about the election because of the characteristic Senegalese quality of harmonious relations with one another. The Senegalese are not passive, but they also do not often state a personal opinion on matters. I have yet to decide if this is positive or not. Much of the political/social rap music will describe the situation of the streets of Dakar, but no one takes much action against those who are responsible for the streets of Dakar. A common response to the latest constitutional amendment has not prompted a movement against impeaching Wade, instead it has birthed an indifference to the election process. Young people in contact with other students have responded to this amendment by stating that they will simply not vote. In other words, while they wish to achieve change through a refusal to be a part of this system, they uphold this system through a lack of active reaction. I am not saying that they need to vote, for their vote will be of no good. Instead, they must find other political means, besides that of disregard, to improve their rights.
Despite these "drawbacks", the music scene in Senegal has taken immense steps towards helping people become aware of widespread, common problems in Senegal, and Africa at large. Their rap music is not the rap music of the States. It has serious depth and meaning for people of all ages. This past Friday night I went with a group of students to see the performer Nix. It was REALLY good. The opening act was a solo rap artist who did some pieces (good pieces) on the state of the streets in Dakar, which are filled with trash.
Then came Nix. I don't know if it's because I've never been this close to an artist at a concert (there were probably about 200 people there and I was like 20 feet from him) or what, but the mood, the music, the night was GOOD. I think the best part was when a little girl about 8 or 9 went up to dance near the stage, and Nix helped up on the stage sing sing with him. She was ecstatic. Also, at one point, his mom came up on stage and gave him a hug in between songs. The feeling of interconnection among the crowd mad the experience that much better. I didn't feel like I had paid someone to entertain me. I felt like we all came together to enjoy some good music about real-life problems.
As well, as the presidential election comes closer, day by day, the group called "Y'en A Marre" (literally meaning to sharpen your self/tool), blessed our presence at school just the other day. They are a movement that begs people in Senegal to ask themselves what it is that they are doing to improve their life and the lives of those around them. Y'en A Marre is led by a rap artist group that works with others to inform people throughout ALL of Senegal about how the presidential process works and what is necessary for a person to vote. Similar to the USA, voters must have a voter registration card for the section of Senegal in which they live. Without this card, they are not allowed to participate in the general election for their president. Unlike in the USA, this actually MATTERS because they do not have an assembly such as our electoral vote. However, as Y'en A Marre does this, President Wade continues to thwart their efforts through the closure of voter registration buildings or through the claim that peoples cards have been "lost" or are illegitimate due to the government misspelling the person's name (so that it doesn't match that of the identification license).
Though this is a frustrating force to fight against, Y'en A Marre pushes on, encouraging everyone to continue to register and to vote for their upcoming president. You see, a candidate only wins when that candidate receives 50% of the vote, plus one. So, Y'en A Marre understands that the best way to fight the system is to educate everyone about the system. The second problem facing groups like Y'en A Marre is the accuracy of the vote count. In 2007, there was great opposition against Wade, so great that it was with disbelief that Wade had won. Even though there is not explicit evidence, many people think that Wade had the elections rigged. At the beginning of his campaigning for this election, he stated that he would win this election with a 53% vote. What often happens in presidential elections like this is that a main candidate will have lesser candidates as, in a sense, deploys that give up their votes to the main candidate at the end of the vote. Yes, that's possible here. So, it's even more possible that Wade will still win even after serious efforts have been taken against him.
Hence, with all of this stirring, our Spring Break has so far been postponed for a few days, while the many but structured manifestations occur throughout Senegal. If Wade wins, which is completely probable, then our Spring Break will be postponed for a later time. Our professors expect much disruption in the form of transit strikes, power outages, and lack of water during the weeks after, if Wade wins. Even after talking with Y'en A Marre, I am not what this country will do if Wade takes the election for they gave no answer to that question. Instead, they reminded us that it was not their place to tell Senegal who to have as their president. Rather, there must be a system change before their is any power gained by the people. To be here during this time, to witness a country that wears a veil of "democracy" upon its head start to unravel and question its veracity, is amazing. Kudos Senegal.
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