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ALIENATED CITIZENS IN SEARCH OF A STATE By LAURA JAMISON A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2007 1 © 2007 Laura Jamison 2 For my grandparents 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks must first and foremost go to my chair and my advisors. I could never have completed this without their insight and encouragement. I also extend my thanks to the director of the NGO(non-governmental organization) with whom I worked, Seynabou Tall Wade, and her staff. Louis Maguette, my translator in Senegal, also proved invaluable in the researching of this thesis. Further thanks must also be given to my husband and daughter who remained patient with my endless revisions and spells of frustration. Lastly, I’d like to thank my parents who not only provided baby sitting but whose expectations of success kept me moving forward. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................7 CHAPTER 1 A NEW APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF YOUTH ............................................................9 A Brief History of Senegal .....................................................................................................11 A Brief History of Education in Senegal................................................................................13 Problems with Senegal’s Nationalist Approach to Education................................................19 Methodology...........................................................................................................................22 2 THE CHILD AND THE STATE ...........................................................................................28 Education and the State ..........................................................................................................35 Children: Emerging Social Actors.........................................................................................37 3 THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF SENEGAL.................................................................42 Formal Education....................................................................................................................42 Public Education..............................................................................................................44 Private Education.............................................................................................................48 Technical Training Schools.............................................................................................50 Non-State Education...............................................................................................................50 Koranic Schools...............................................................................................................50 NGOs Training Centers...................................................................................................53 Discussion...............................................................................................................................54 4 CONSTRAINT AND CHOICE: BEGGING, BANDITRY, AND WAGE LABOR ............58 International and State Legislation “Constraining” the Child ................................................59 Familial Constraints................................................................................................................64 Discussion...............................................................................................................................70 5 CHILDREN SPEAK: RURAL VOICES ..............................................................................73 Introduction.............................................................................................................................73 Children in Rural Areas..........................................................................................................75 Children of Londier .........................................................................................................77 Children of Somb ............................................................................................................80 Rokhy Diop .....................................................................................................................83 Cheikh Sene.....................................................................................................................84 Cattle Boys ......................................................................................................................85 5 6 CHILDREN SPEAK: URBAN VOICES..............................................................................88 Privileged Children.................................................................................................................90 Children of Nolivé ..................................................................................................................90 Children of Parliament............................................................................................................93 Underprivileged Children .......................................................................................................94 AFEE’s Pikine Students .........................................................................................................95 Mame Baityruy, Nafi Seck, Fatou N'Diaye, and Sekhma Awa Dieng...................................97 Koranic School Students.........................................................................................................99 The Talibes from Guinea........................................................................................................99 Mamadou ..............................................................................................................................101 Street Children......................................................................................................................102 Moussa and Ousmane...........................................................................................................103 Badara, Serign, and Mamadou..............................................................................................105 The Shoe Shiners ..................................................................................................................106 Discussion.............................................................................................................................108 7 CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................114 Introduction...........................................................................................................................114 Discussion.............................................................................................................................114 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................122 APPENDIX A LIST OF INTERVIEWS ......................................................................................................124 B NGO STAFF MEMBER INTERVIEW ...............................................................................130 C PARENT INTERVIEWS .....................................................................................................132 D RURAL CHILDREN INTERVIEW ....................................................................................134 E CHILD INTERVIEWS.........................................................................................................136 LIST OF REFERENCES.............................................................................................................137 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................143 6 Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts ALIENATED CITIZENS IN SEARCH OF A STATE By Laura Jamison December 2007 Chair: Brenda H. Chalfin Major: Anthropology One of the most important questions in the anthropology of the state today is whether or not the state is weakening. To interrogate this idea, I look to how loyal new citizens are being formed in the African state of Senegal. Knowing the primary point of interaction between the state and the child is the state education system, I consider how well the state draws young people into this system and whether this system does in fact produce loyal new citizens. Both internationally and within Senegal itself, education is perceived of as a “right.” Unable to fulfill its obligations to individuals within its borders, the state is producing a population of alienated citizens who are removing themselves mentally and/or physically from the Senegalese state. Children who are unable to participate in the state education system are pushed onto the streets, into NGOs, or move into the diaspora. Young people who are able to acquire an education, struggle to find employment that makes use of the schooling they receive. I suggest that the production of an alienated class of citizens is, rather than a

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