Stories about Senegal from May, 2006
Senegal: Conversations on Drowned Migrants
Senegalese blogger Seckasysteme has been keeping a close eye on thousands of migrants from Senegal who have attempted to reach Europe on clandestine rafts since the beginning of the year. Last week the blogger explained that 23 migrant hopefuls had been intercepted by Senegalese authorities on their way to the...
Senegal: Immigration as colonization
“No Sarkozy! Immigration does not come from a vacuum,” says (Fr) Semett in a post on French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy's immigration policies. “With centuries of merciless exploitation of subsaharan countries and a continuous transfer of their riches to the North, it is logical that the disinherited masses from Africa...
Senegal: Forum on Cheikh Anta Diop
Semett announces (Fr) an upcoming forum taking place from May 25 to May 28 in Dakar entitled “20 years Later: the Intellectual and Scientific Legacy of Cheikh Anta Diop and the Challenge of the Building of Africa in the 21st Century.”
African Diaspora: Victory for Sarkozy's Immigration Law
” [French Interior Minister] Sarkozy's immigration law [CESEDA] passed in the French National Assembly! ” says (Fr) Aimafrica . “For a country like Mali, this could be the beginning of an economic catastrophy. France … after having looted our riches and our people, wants business as usual. She no longer...
Senegal: Tiff with France over “Chosen Immigration”
Commenting on a recent tiff between French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade over France's new policy of “choosing its immigration,” Forum Realisance says (Fr): “Wade is dead on because it is evident that France wants its pick of the best of African elites and takes for...
Chad: What is France doing there?
Generation Consciente, Une Autre Afrique asks (Fr) “What is France doing in Chad? In Africa?” and answers: “The day before yesterday, they waved the communist threat to explain France's presence in Africa. Yesterday Anglo-American jolts justified the need to stay. Today Islamist regimes peak their heads in and explain our...
Africa: Clandestine Emigration
Seckasysteme would like to see (Fr) “a summit of West African heads of state so that clandestine emigration can be uprooted and so as to find a durable solution to the problem.” “Hundreds have died since the beginning of the year for having simply tried to escape misery,” continues the...
Africa: List of French Institutions Specialized in the Continent
Generation Consciente, Une Autre Afrique posts (Fr) a list of French universities, centers, laboratories and other French institutions that specialize in the study of Africa.
France & Francophonia Commemorate Slavery Amidst Curriculum Controversy
Image courtesy of oliviermr2 A Day of Remembrance France commemorated slavery for the first time on May 10, reports Haiti's Alterpresse: Le président francais qualifie d’infamie, la traite négrière et invite les Français à « regarder tout notre passé en face », « sans concession ». Abdou Diouf, Secrétaire général...
Francophonia: Remembering Bob Marley
“May 11, 1981 – May 11, 2006: It's been 25 years since Bob Marley left us”, says (Fr) Martiniquan blog Bondamanjak. France-based Forum Realisance posts lyrics to Redemption Song and commemorates the Jamaican legend (Fr): “I had the incredible fortune of meeting him in Brussels in a private club; I...
This Week's Synopsis of West African Weblogs
Nigeria Political Impasse in Nigeria– Yebo Gogo Fontaine at Yebo Gogo, continues the discussion on the political impasse in Nigeria as a result of an attempt to extend the tenure of the current president, Mr. Obasanjo, whose tenure expires in 2007. “Rumors have been swirling the past few weeks that...
Senegal: Festival of Negro Arts
Semett posts an article announcing (Fr) that the Senegalese government plans to hold the next Festival des Arts Negres [Festival of Negro Arts] in June 2008 instead of June 2007. The Festival was created by then President Leopold Sedar Senghor in 1966.
Senegal: Unrest Leading up to Election?
Seckasysteme posts two mp3s of local music, invites (FR) readers to relax and says: “Hanging on to their power and privilege like bloodsuckers, PDS [Senegalese Democratic Party] leaders seem … ready to do anything to maintain power… and seasoned political observers fear a resurgence in violence leading up to the...
Barbados: More on the death boat
Barbados Free Press posts a follow-up to an earlier entry concerning the boat found adrift off the Barbados coast containing the corpses of 11 men. It would appear the men were en route from Senegal to the Cape Verde islands.
Senegal: Microsoft to Issue Wolof Applications
Senegalese blogger Semett posts (FR) a Le Soleil article about Microsoft's plans to launch Wolof language applications. The new applications should help bridge the digital divide and modernize government as they will permit “individuals to fill out forms such as fiscal forms online instead of on paper.” Says Cheick Modibo...
African Diaspora: Hard times for Africans in France and Belgium
Several francophone blogs have tackled African immigrants’ latest tribulations in France and Belgium. Choosing Immigrants Le Pangolin criticizes French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy’s latest round of immigration policies. The blogger sees Sarkozy’s approach as a diversion from the real social issues raised by protestors of the CPE [Youth Employment Law]....
