By Will Flagg

Senegalese people are constantly connected and engaged with eachother on a deep level. They do not live in one family- three bedroom houses in the suburbs, but in large compound villages with several different families. To us Americans it might seem cramped, or even crazy, this deep sense of community made me feel more welcomed than I’ve ever felt before. In Senegal people share each other’s problems. When my small group of four went to ask a guide to take us hand-line fishing, the whole beached helped us pull in our boat, including several very small children, even though it was just two guides being paid for the work. In Senegal it’s tradition to try and bring up as many people as you can with you. Senegalese students, professional soccer players, orchestra organizers, and a millionaire all told us they were keeping their community and home in their mind and giving back whenever they could. The Senegalese people have a very popular traditional saying in French, On est ensemble, which means we are together, and it rings true through Senegalese society. Senegal is an extremely tolerant country. While the people are around 90% Muslim, you can see an absurd amount of Christmas trees around some of the cities in Senegal. When meeting Muslims and telling them that I am Christian or when we visited largest mosque in west Africa in the holy city of Touba, or the only predominately Catholic village in Senegal, the first words out of everyone’s mouths were professing that there is no discrimination there. In Senegal, Muslims, Christians, and animists all marry eachother, there are no faiths not welcomed to join in worship in the mosques and churches. They all help each other, and build connections like they were in the same family.

The local branch of Sufi Islam in Senegal follows the Islamic prophet Amadou Bamba, and his follower Ibrahima Fall, two mystical and legendary figures who preached values of hard work, hospitality, tolerance, forgiveness, and community. You can see the doctrines of these visionaries everywhere, as well as their faces plastered on the back of most car windows. Amadou Bamba and Ibrahima Fall once said that the road to heaven is paved with hard work. Regardless of if those prophetic preachers shaped the contemporary culture of Senegal or if deep rooted Senegalese traditions shaped these men, every corner of Senegal has been influenced by their teachings. Tourists (or toubabs as they are called by locals in Senegal,) visiting the cities, villages, and countrysides can clearly see this culture: which most evidently reveals itself in the cult of the body. Put simply, men are meant to appear the most strong and muscular as possible, to show the amount of discipline taken every day to train and achieve a powerful physique. To show they are ready to help those around them. The cascading effects of this reveal themselves everywhere. We have observed Grown men, women, and children shoulder each other’s burdens without as much of a thought. These industrious people are always seen growing their businesses. On the global scale, Senegal is producing the most online applications of any country per capita. This reflects the culture of education in Senegal.

Education is one of Bamba’s main tenants. In the classrooms, the children are studious and disciplined. They ask how they can help their community and their country, not themselves. While driving in the countryside, we passed an extremely large university being built, one of many universities and colleges in Senegal. To put it into perspective: at the time of independence, around two thousand of the three thousand university graduates in Africa were located in Senegal. This is a place that values education.

In contrast to Senegal, American life’s core tenants of the individual experience bore mixed effects for the country. It has brought material wealth to millions of people in the 50 States, as well as across the world, but this constant search for growth and material has left a gaping hole in the soul of America. Our constant fixation on our individual desires and our constant need for new consumer goods, comforts, and novel experiences has disconnected us from our wider communities, traditions, and religions. We are told to work endlessly and to always be chasing the fancy things in life. As a society we are transfixed on the wrong goals. We do not strive for personal discipline, community betterment, or religious reinforcement, instead we strive to get the newest novelty in stores to fill the void and lack of purpose within ourselves created from our lack of engagement in the real world. Our reliance on our technological edge created by our forefathers (which is starting to wane) stifles our creativity and breeds laziness. As a teen myself, I can see the complete lack of motivation, direction, from my teens my age. When we do think of useful ideas, it’s most always come from the motivation of personal gain, and seldom the result of community problem solving. 

To remedy this problem, I suggest we look to the Senegalese for guidance. We must change our goals and align them with that of a community driven, hard working society. To find happiness and fulfillment we should concentrate on uplifting our community, shouldering burdens and creating a sense of brotherhood among people. In addition, we must look at industry with a different lens. Students and entrepreneurs must theorize how they can solve problems for their country and not to push the newest craze. The next generation is on the precipice of a defining moment for America. I hope we can all grow to be engaged and helpful members of our society. On est ensemble.