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2011-12-23 Africa Subsaharan

Wade orders army to pursue fleeing rebels into Gambia

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Posted by Fred 2011-12-23 00:18|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top

#1 A review:
The French seized the Senegal River Valley because it is the first navigable river south of the Sahara. The river became their gateway to the interior. The climate of the Senegal River Valley is Sahel, desert scrub. Agriculture depends on peanuts as a cash crop, plus whatever vegetables (onions, mostly) and grain people can grow by irrigation. Goats and sheep can subsist on the scrubby natural vegetation.

The British seized the Gambia River Valley, which has good agricultural land, where people can raise rice and a good variety of produce. They created a British zone about 50 miles wide and 150 miles long, surrounded by the French Senegal territory. Of course, the borders have no relation whatever to the ethnic character of the area. People who find themselves on opposite sides of the border from relatives, markets, and even the other half of the village, simply ignore the border.

The Casamance River is the next big river south of the Gambia. The Casamance Valley feeds the rest of Senegal. Even then, the government has to import a lot of rice.

The Sahel region of Senegal is Muslim, with a heavy dose of animism thrown in. I read a very interesting article recently in which 11 people threw themselves out of a second floor window because they thought the Devil had come into the room. The Casamance region is animist, with a veneer of Catholicism.

At the time of Independence, the leadership in Dakar gave vague promises to the Casamance that they'd be given their own autonomy. Of course, once the leadership realized that they'd be letting go of the best agricultural land, they changed their minds.

Wade is 86 and has been cozying up to the North Koreans lately. They helped him finance his ludicrous $50 million dollar statue honoring African Culture. This in a country where the teachers and college professors don't get paid regularly.

Senegal has 22 Ethnic groups and at least as many languages and dialects.

As I noted earlier on the Burg, among the many refugees it absorbs are people of various Bantu ethnic groups escaping slavery in Mauretania.

Posted by mom 2011-12-23 10:07|| 2011-12-23 10:07|| Front Page Top

#2 thanks for the info.

Posted by bman 2011-12-23 11:07|| 2011-12-23 11:07|| Front Page Top

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