Guy de Tivaouane

Tivaouane, a Muslim city, 1^st step before Dakar 3 days ago. I arrive late at night after fighting against the wind face to face. I’ve been to the police stop to check where I could sleep. Only one hotel a few hundreds away. Guy, 34 yrs old warns me: there’s no water, no electricity and a lot of mosquitoes, but he can gie me a candle, a bucket with water and a spiral to fight mosquitoes. The government has stopped all supplies and doesn’t want to support financially this hotel. I spent the whole night to scratch myself and decided not to pay the 11000 FCFA requested. Very early morning, he came to me with some coffee and a small piece of bread with butter and we talk …

Guy is the manager of the hotel and lives with his wife and 2 kids. He earns 500 FF per month and gives one part to his cousin Georges who can’t speak but smiles all the time. He can’t save any money and can hardly feed his family. 2 years ago, he decided to come in France for 2 or 3 yrs to make enough money and buy a grocery shop in Senegal. He succeed to save 8000 FF which he gives to a “passeur” (a border escort) but this one went to France with the money and he never saw the color of that money again …. He will try to go to France again by selling his 205 Peugeot which is in a good shape. He wants to go there by plane because the trip by boat costs around 4000 FF and it’s very dangerous. More than 2000 people from Senegal leave the country every week with these pirogues, around ¼ of them disappear in the sea and the rest can go to the Canaries as a first stop. 150 succeed to go to Europe, the rest are taken by the police and have to go back to Senegal after having lost everything. They have a small chance to find a job as the unemployment rate reaches 50% and in fact, it’s more 80% than 50. I have paid the 11000 FCFA without saying anything. I’ve arrived hier in Saint Louis, old capital in Senegal and first place where the French arrived in Africa. The good mood is everywhere despite the extreme poverty and the difficult way of living. I should be in Mauritanie very soon tomorrow night.