Project Paper 2 Senegal Country and Research Areas Report Final Version, 2010-10-01 Responsible institutions: Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD) Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Authors: Papa Demba Fall María Hernández Carretero Mame Yassine Sarr 1 Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3 Country Background .................................................................................................................... 4 Geography ................................................................................................................................. 4 Demographic Situation ............................................................................................................... 5 Political Situation ........................................................................................................................ 5 Post-Colonial Period .............................................................................................................. 6 Wade Presidency ................................................................................................................... 6 The Casamance Conflict ........................................................................................................ 8 Socio-Economic Situation ........................................................................................................... 8 Employment ......................................................................................................................... 10 Education ............................................................................................................................. 10 Gender Equality ................................................................................................................... 10 Public Health........................................................................................................................ 11 Cultural Situation ...................................................................................................................... 11 Borders .................................................................................................................................... 11 (E)Migration Policies and Developments over the Past 30 Years ............................................. 13 Relations with Europe............................................................................................................... 13 Relationship with France ...................................................................................................... 14 Relationship with Spain ........................................................................................................ 15 Relationship with Italy .......................................................................................................... 16 Relationship with the European Union ................................................................................. 17 Migration...................................................................................................................................... 18 General Migration History ......................................................................................................... 18 Internal Migrations .................................................................................................................... 18 International Migrations ............................................................................................................ 19 Current Picture of International Migration in Senegal ................................................................ 20 Stronger Presence of Women .............................................................................................. 20 Increasingly Young Migrants ................................................................................................ 21 An Outstanding Entry of Wolof Ethnic Group ....................................................................... 21 Women Fund International Migration ................................................................................... 21 Conflict-Induced Mobility ...................................................................................................... 21 Migration Flows within the African Continent ............................................................................ 22 African Destinations ............................................................................................................. 22 Presence of Migration Systems with Neighbouring Countries .............................................. 23 Migration to Northern Countries ................................................................................................ 23 European Destinations ......................................................................................................... 24 France: A Major Destination ................................................................................................. 24 Italy: The New Eldorado ....................................................................................................... 24 Increasing Irregular Migration ................................................................................................... 25 Senegalese Migration Networks ............................................................................................... 27 Link Between Internal and International Migration .................................................................... 28 Foreign Presence in Senegal ................................................................................................... 29 Migrating to Senegal and Naturalization ............................................................................... 30 Migration-Related Discourses ................................................................................................... 31 1 State/ Public Discourses ...................................................................................................... 31 Popular Discourses .............................................................................................................. 31 Research Areas ........................................................................................................................... 34 Research Area with High Emigration: Darou Mousty, Louga .................................................... 34 Darou Migrants and Local Development .............................................................................. 36 Research Area with Low Emigration: Lambaye, Diourbel ......................................................... 36 International Migration ......................................................................................................... 38 Research Area with Immigration History: Golf Sud (Guédiawaye, Dakar) ................................. 39 Research Area with specific Human Rights situation ................................................................ 44 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 48 References .................................................................................................................................. 49 Annexes ....................................................................................................................................... 56 2 Introduction Senegal, which is a small country because of its surface area and far from being an economic power, is nevertheless known all over the world. The country‟s fame and admiration throughout the world stem from its political stability and /or ability of its politicians who have been leading it since independence, from the Lions of Teranga, who are highly-talented footballers, its musicians includ- ing Youssou Ndour and Didier Awadi as standard-bearers, etc. As an important host country for populations coming from different regions in Africa and in the world, the people of Senegal has always put forth its role as a land of encounter and dialogue of cultures. Despite an economic situation marked by uncertainty, these basic choices have not been questioned at all. The new deal related to changes described above is the increasing involvement of all social seg- ments of international working migration, particularly to the countries in the North. Indeed, the Senegalese youth and their family members see in mobility a way to solve the existential problems related to the degradation of environmental and economic conditions whose affect on production of material and financial resources is more than negative. After presenting a rapid survey of the political and economic situation of Senegal, this report in- tends to make a detailed analysis of the four areas selected for research to assess two major questions: - What are the popular perceptions of democracy and human rights in Europe in the selected study areas? - What are the aspirations and intentions of these populations in the areas where they live? 3 Country Background Some Key Indicators - Surface: 196,712 km2 - Population density (2008): 63 inhabitants/km2 ** - Population (2009 estimate): 12,171,265 inhabitants * - Population growth (annual %, 2008): 2.67 ** - Gross Domestic Product (2008): 5.944 trillion FCFA *; approx. 9 billion EUR - GDP per capita (cst 2000 US$): 530.04 (2008) ** -