Reality and a Muslim Sound of Music

Last week, a boat broke off the coast of Mauritania, which is directly North of Senegal. It was a boat, a pirogue (a fishing boat), filled with 150 men fleeing to Europe. 48 people died and the rest were returned to their countries of origin. The boat left from the Casamance (Southern) region of Senegal. Most of the people on the boat were Senegalese, but some were Guinean as well. The week before a boat trying to make its way to Europe was stopped by police; everyone on that boat was dead except for one person who had been without food for 20 days. It is a harsh reminder of the economic situation here in Senegal. Some people here simply have nothing. Many have no hope. It is very tough to get a job here. There's a debate going on about whether or not there's a famine in the Northern part of the country. The President recommended last week to decrease the monthly salary of all government employees (well, all those trained in national schools; aka, not maids and cooks who happen to be employed by the government) by 1,000-3,000cfa ($2-$6) depending on their salary. There was an outcry from the population against the initiative. The President recommended it to create fund for the poor in the country. The fact that the government blatantly recognized the fact that there is a great need among the population here is a huge deal. Because those who are not in power are the ones arguing that there is a famine. It is the government which is arguing that there is not. Therefore the suggestion of the creation of the fund was a huge admission on the part of the President and the government.

I was out of my house late Sunday morning and when I arrived in the afternoon it was almost as if I had arrived on the set of a Muslim Sound of Music. The five children of my family were in the backyard on plastic chairs facing a chalkboard and a teacher and they were all chanting at once. Except instead of Julie Andrews, it was a teacher of the Koran. And instead of songs, it was the Koran as well. It was the first time I had seen this, but I have learned that the man comes twice a week to teach the children. But he usually comes on Wednesday afternoons while I am at school, and this was the first weekend since the end of their summer vacation that he has been here. It was quite a sight. The blackboard was filled with Arabic. The kids are being taught the language along with the memorization of the Koran. It was quite fascinating to watch and listen to. He was there for about a half hour after I arrived.

I have a new French teacher now. One of the ones I've had the whole time I stopped learning from. He was more interested in telling me stories than actually teaching me French, so I asked to have a new professor. And the new one I have is incredibly demanding, which I'm not going to like pretty soon, but which is really necessary for me. I know my French is going to improve rapidly again, because it had plateaued for a little while.