You may have heard me say, at one time or another, that Senegal is one of the safest African countries, and it still is. Apparently Senegal is credited with the first ever peaceful transfer of power, and it remains relatively stable. That being said, we are headed into a federal election, February 27. In light of this fact, here at D.A. we have spent the last week testing emergency phone trees, participating in training for anxiety management, and consulting 'just in case' lists of necessary supplies/provisions.
The potential trouble could start as early as today. The committee will be announcing the official candidates for the election. The current president is serving his second term and has announced his intention to run for a third term, though the consitution has changed since he took office. The constitutional change is controversial as it would prevent him from running again, though he feels that his plan is legitimate. We anticipate that there will be protests and demonstrations today and/or tomorrow once the announcement has been made whether or not the decision is in the president's favour. To make matters more sensitive, the government announced a ban on public gatherings (including protests/demontrations) from Thursday to Monday which may only serve to aggravate the problem. We have been advised to stay in this weekend just to err on the side of caution. Families who live far from the school picked their kids up early, and after school activities have been cancelled so everyone can get home before any trouble develops. I did an extra big grocery shop this week so I'm set for a few days at home. It just gives me a good excuse to take it easy...watch some movies, read some books, play some games, cook some food. I'm content.
We would definitely appreciate your prayers for our safetyand for a peaceful election process, but also for the leadership of our country. One of our senegalese teachers on staff was expressing the need for a leader who is willing to invest in the strengthening of the infrastructure and institutions of the country.
I'll be sure to keep you posted on any further developments, but in the meantime, here are some links if you're interested in reading more...
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/senegal-must-not-curtail-freedom-expression-and-assembly-election-run-2012-01-26
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iws5MAqyikUwVjIS3IcPd2SqvJXQ?docId=CNG.ee1bddd4457ce3b723591a220164ea21.71
http://www.france24.com/en/20120126-fears-violence-senegals-ban-protests-takes-effect-election-abdoulaye-wade
http://www.africareview.com/News/EU+election+monitors+arrive+in+Senegal+/-/979180/1312650/-/ang5kwz/-/index.html#commentsAnchor
Thursday, January 26, 2012
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