by Justin Mendy, Senegal, December 1997
THEME = VIOLENCE
A trend towards a "security
psychosis"
has developed in recent times among the people,
especially in the Dakar area, to such an extent that
an Interministerial Council was devoted to the subject last
November
For some time now, women, when walking around Dakar, have had the unpleasant experience of having their chain necklaces torn from their necks. It's become so common that some women are exchanging their gold jewellery for cheap imitations, or simply no longer wearing real jewellery. The most sadistic attackers slash the bare necks of such ladies with a knife, chanting as they attack their victims: "Tell your husband to buy you some jewels!" or, "Wear your jewels, don't leave your neck bare!".
Victims aren't prepared to protect themselves, so it's been a big temptation for a large number of young delinquents to take part in such muggings, defying the forces of law-and-order with machetes.
This is but one example of the many and varied acts of violence taking place at the moment in both the town centres, and on the outskirts, especially in the city-area of Dakar. The most frequent attacks take place during protests and strikes organised by students or workers.
Last July, there were demonstrations concerning the activities of a section of the criminal fraternity known as "sex- shrinkers". (Sex-shrinkers are individuals believed to have mystical powers, who simply by shaking a man's hand, can cause his sexual organs to shrink. Only by paying over a sum of money can the victim be restored to his normal state). Those involved in such nefarious acts, real or suspected, were caught by lynch mobs. Some were killed and others released after they had confessed. Suspects came from Nigeria, and operated in other African countries before ending up in Senegal.
In fact, the good people of Dakar know how to "deal" with thieves caught in the act, and with public transport drivers who cause road accidents. These can find themselves victims of the lynch mob. All this recalls the atrocities committed against Mauritanians in 1989.
There's also been quite a bit of breaking-and-entering into private houses and business premises, both during the day and at nighttime. Thieves frequently force an entry, using television aerials to break the locks on doors and windows. Entire houses have been stripped bare, and if by any chance the owners were away leaving their domestic staff to care for the property, these poor unfortunates were either tied up or rendered unconscious with a whiff of some obnoxious gas.
Looking after themselves - The current situation has forced the people of Dakar to take individual and/or joint security precautions.
In other words, people are increasingly taking their own precautions - some would say, taking the law into their own hands. Guard dogs, security firms, vigilante policing of the areas concerned by residents (young people mostly take this on), are all part of life in Dakar's residential areas, these days.
The number of security firms (more or less genuine) has been increasing at a dizzy rate. The Interministerial Council puts it down to fewer police and less resources available over the last few years - all causes of the deterioration in levels of security experienced today. The Interministerial Council mentions other reasons: Inadequate street lighting (doubtless caused by arrears owing to the electricity company); the anarchy on public highways; young people with nothing to do; the increase in begging and homelessness.
There's no doubt that the increased amount of violence is mainly due to the fact that young people have nothing to do and frequently nowhere to go. "All of which leads to", according to the government, "the emergence of bands of malefactors who threaten the safety of passers-by, and the on-going existence of a certain amount of drug-trafficking, despite many successes achieved in the fight against drugs. There is also a worrying increase in petty crime (theft and minor offenses), carried out by younger and younger people, mainly, adolescents from 15 to 25 years old"
Decisions and solutions needed - In order to face up to this situation, which has the potential to "get dangerously out of hand", important decisions have been taken by Prime Minister Habib Thiam, aimed at "giving the security forces (police and gendarmerie) the physical and human resources to protect the safety of people and property".
But that's not enough. Long-term and long-lasting solutions must be found so that young people have something worthwhile to do - if there were sufficient jobs to absorb even part of the unemployed, that would be better than nothing.
And what about good education in the home, so that young people can be taught the difference between right and wrong and be shown that there is a viable alternative to acts of violence? A number of social workers are adamant - educational and training programmes drawn up by those involved in social work, especially the Churches, must be part of the growing-up process among Senegal's up-and-coming generation. They add that the whole of Senegal's education system needs to be revised, since everyone agrees it's not very effective.
END
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