O’Reilly’s camera also caught an explosion of color and life amidst the drab concrete of Pikine, a poor neighborhood on Dakar’s outskirts, as a young drama group gathered to perform. Young people set aside their everyday wear—baggy jeans, white sneakers, T-shirts, bandanas, and baseball caps—for bubus, the traditional bright, flowing robes commonly worn by both men and women in Senegal. Donning facial makeup with the customary markings of the Toucouleurs, a West African people, they prepare for street theatrical performances intended to preserve and popularize the ancient art and rituals of their ancestors. They especially highlight the region’s historic reliance on oral storytelling, as delivered by revered narrators known as griots. The goal of the performers, who are themselves young, is to bring their entertainment to the youth of the poorer neighborhoods “to remind people of our culture.”

Related Links

• Senegal’s Breakdancers Take It to the Beach
  This piece of online photo journalism by Finbarr O’Reilly is bringing global recognition to Senegal’s Nomad Dance troupe. (Source: Global Post, November 23, 2009)
• Dakar’s Kaleidoscope of Color
  This article includes a series of startling color photographs of costumed young Senegalese street performers, which can be viewed full-screen. (Source: Global Post, November 23, 2009)
• Senegal: People & Culture
  This Web site features links on Senegalese languages, religion, cooking and recipes, music and musical instruments, and arts and crafts. (Source: The Africa Guide; accessed November 30, 2009)
• Map of Senegal
  (Source: The University of Texas)

Other Issues in the Region

The Legacy of Colonialism

The European colonizers who divided the African continent among themselves, gave little consideration to the people living there. They disrupted borders separating various ethnic groups and frequently overturned the governments of those groups. New borders often pushed warring groups together, setting the stage for civil conflicts and border wars that have continued to this day. Sudan, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are among the countries that have been torn by corruption, political unrest, and brutal wars.

• Clinton Says South Africa Must Press Zimbabwe Harder
  While on a diplomatic tour of Africa, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on the government of newly elected President Jacob Zuma of South Africa to push for reforms in neighboring Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe, the former British colony of Rhodesia, is ruled by dictator Robert Mugabe. Mugabe’s policies have been blamed for immense suffering, hyperinflation, and economic ruin. Mugabe says his country’s woes are the result of economic sanctions placed on Zimbabwe by the European Union, the United States, and other nations. (Source: Reuters, August 6, 2009)

Economic Development

Economic development remains a major challenge for African nations. After colonial rule ended, many African nations continued the colonial practice of exporting raw materials instead of using those materials to produce manufactured goods. Like the colonial powers before them, leaders of the newly independent African nations and a few multinational corporations based in Europe, Asia, and North America have benefited greatly from the export of natural resources. Meanwhile, in all but a few African nations, civil wars and cross-border wars, corrupt governments, foreign debt, and the AIDS crisis have severely hampered economic growth.

However, Africa is changing. A growing awareness of the need for economic diversification is taking hold and inspiring action. Education and democratic principles are increasingly recognized as keys to progress. But some concerned leaders say that along with these principles, there must be fair trade, reduced subsidies and tariffs by the major players in the world market, greater rights for African workers, and greater empowerment of women. About 55 percent of Africa's people are under age 18, and this group especially needs education and employment if Africans are to break the cycle of poverty. Africa's human capital and abundant natural resources offer great potential, but these assets need to be developed for the good of a greater number of people in Africa.

• Conference for African Ministers of Finance and Education
  Top-level delegates from more than 30 African nations met in Tunis, Tunisia, in mid-July 2009 to discuss ways to address the global economic crisis. One of their chief concerns was how to sustain African economies so that gains in education and economic development over the past decade would not be lost. (Source: Reuters, July 17, 2009)

Health Care

The African continent faces many serious health issues. They range from high rates of infant mortality to shortened life spans for those who survive past infancy. The reasons that many Africans have shorter than average life spans often stem from the continent's high rates of poverty, malnutrition, and disease. Public health departments in Africa must deal with a variety of illnesses, including those transmitted by insects (such as malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes, and sleeping sickness, which is spread by the tsetse fly). Other diseases are associated with parasites and bacteria found in improperly cooked food and contaminated water. Still other serious diseases, such as hepatitis-B, are spread through viruses transmitted from human to human. Tuberculosis and polio are also a concern, as is the occasional outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. The greatest health concern is the AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa, which is home to over 70 percent of the world's AIDS-infected people and where around 19 million Africans have died of AIDS.

• South Africa: Improve Migrants’ Access to Health Care
  Human Rights Watch has issued a dire report on health care among South Africa’s migrants that urges the country to improve treatment for its asylum seekers, refugees, and other migrants. (Source: Human Rights Watch, December 7, 2009)