Chinatown in Dakar - Caitlin Fitzsimmons

a n y w h e r e / c h i n a t o w n i n a f r i k a
“The Chinese are my friends.
They bring jobs.”
k e m o b o j a n g , s e n e g a l e s e e n t r e p r e n e u r
China for travellers to Africa
g e t t i n g t h e r e
s e n e g a l i s s e r v e d b y d a k a r i n t e r n a t i o n a l a i r p o r t . a i r
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r e t u r n . w w w . a i r f r a n c e . c o m .
w h e r e t o s t a y
56 57
h o t e l s o k h a m o n , a s u m p t u o u s l e b a n e s e s t y l e h o t e l o n t h e
s e a f r o n t , w i t h s t u n n i n g v i e w s o f t h e a t l a n t i c o c e a n .
w e b : w w w . h o t e l s o k h a m o n . c o m . t e l : 2 2 1 8 8 9 7 1 0 0 . e m a i l :
h o t e l s o k h a m o n @ s e n t o o . s n
s o f i t e l t e r a n g a , i n t h e c i t y c e n t r e w i t h v i e w s o f t h e
o c e a n a n d a h e a t e d p o o l . t e l : 2 2 1 8 8 9 2 2 0 0 . e m a i l : h 0 5 6 3 @
a c c o r . c o m
n o v o t e l d a k a r , i n t h e c i t y c e n t r e , o v e r l o o k i n g t h e o c e a n
a n d g o r e e i s l a n d . h a s a s w i m n m i n g p o o l a n d t e n n i s c o u r t s .
t e l : + 2 2 1 8 4 9 6 1 6 1 . e - m a i l : h 0 5 2 9 @ a c c o r . c o m
m é r i d i e n p r é s i d e n t i a l , a b i t o u t s i d e t h e c i t y c e n t r e a t
p o i n t e d e a l m a d i e s , t h i s i s w h e r e v i s i t i n g p r e s i d e n t s s t a y
w h e n t h e y c o m e t o t o w n . t e l : 2 2 1 8 6 9 6 9 6 9 .
t h e a f r i c a n w a y . w h e e l b a r r o w s a r e a n i m p o r t a n t e l e m e n t o f c r e a t i v e m a r k e t i n g i n a f r i c a . h e r e , t o o , m a n y p r o d u c t s h a v e
m a d e t h e i r w a y f r o m c h i n a .
“The market is broken,” he says. “There are many, many
Chinese people. It’s no good. Chinese people are no good.
We buy our material from Senegal but the Chinese bring it
from China. It’s a cheaper price but it’s not good material.
Many, many Senegalese buy from the Chinese. Business
was better before the Chinese.” Senegalese traders, led by
the business organisation UNACOIS, went on strike in
2004 to demand caps on Chinese immigration.
Antoine Diouf, editor in chief of the local newspaper
L’Observateur, recalls the protest, which he says was
peaceful but ultimately ineffective. “They were protesting
to ask the government to stop the Chinese people in Dakar
– they were angry because the Chinese people sell products
not very expensively and people preferred to go to Chinese
shops,” Diouf says.
“There was no violence, just protests in the streets to show
the administration they were not happy and then the government
asked them to stop [so they did].”
But not everyone wants the Chinese to go.
With many basic goods within reach of ordinary Senegalese
for the first time, consumers are determined to
keep the lower prices. Also, since all Chinese shopkeepers
employ local staff, many young men owe their jobs to the
Chinese.
Momar Ndao, the president of the Senegalese consumers’
n e w i n f l u e n c e f r o m h u n a n . b i l i n g u a l s i g n s a r e a p p e a r i n g
e v e r y w h e r e
association Ascosen, says his organisation made a protest to
counter the traders and argue that the Chinese should stay.
He claims the Senegalese traders were routing their customers
with grossly inflated prices, charging up to 10
times more than the Chinese for the same products.
“If it was different goods it would be acceptable but it was
the same goods – they go to China, buy the same goods
and sell 10 times higher,” Nadao says.
He adds that Senegalese consumers shop with the Chinese
by preference because they know the prices are better.
The Chinese traders have not only led to reduced prices
for consumers but also expanded the range of products
available. “Glasses to drink water were very expensive and
w h e r e t o g o
g o r e e i s l a n d . r e g u l a r f e r r i e s t a k e p a s s e n g e r s b e t w e e n
t h e i s l a n d a n d t h e p o r t i n d a k a r . t h e r e i s a t i m e t a b l e
o n l i n e a t : h t t p : / / g o a f r i c a . a b o u t . c o m .
l a c r o s e ( t h e p i n k l a k e , a l s o c a l l e d l a k e r e t b a ) . a s a l t
l a k e w i t h a b r i g h t p i n k c o l o u r . d a y t r i p s a v a i l a b l e
t h r o u g h l o c a l t r a v e l a g e n t s o r b y b o o k i n g w i t h a n
i n t e r n e t b r o k e r s u c h a s l a s t m i n u t e . c o m .
m a r c h e s a n d e g a . a f r i c a n h a n d i c r a f t s a n d c l o t h i n g . a f t e r
s h o p p i n g , d r o p i n t o a u x f i n s p a l a i s f o r a c o f f e e a n d
f r e n c h p a s t r i e s o r a l i g h t l u n c h .
a u x f i n s p a l a i s , 9 7 a v e n u e a n d r é p e y t a v i n -
i m m e u b l e k e b e , d a k a r . t e l : + 2 2 1 8 4 2 7 1 9 2 .
e m a i l : a u x f i n s p a l a i s @ a r c . s n .
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6 , s i c a p r u e 1 0 , d a k a r , t e l . 2 2 1 8 2 4 3 8 5 8 ,
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