2006年VOA标准英语-More West Africans Migrate to Senegal

By Naomi Schwarz
Dakar
19 October 2006

Senegal has made headlines as a departure point for people desperate to emigrate to Europe and the United States.  But for many West Africans, Senegal, and particularly its capital, Dakar, is a destination in itself.

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The small gravel¹ courtyard in front of Muhammed Serif Diallo's house is full of friends watching the Chelsea-Barcelona soccer match on TV. He, like his uncle sitting in the back of the crowd, and several others there, is from Guinea.

But Senegal, not Guinea, is the location of the quiet road in which these men sit and cheer. They have all moved to Senegal's capital, Dakar, in the hopes of making a better living. 

Many immigrants to Dakar work in construction

"When I was in Guinea, I could not get work," Diallo says, mixing French with Pulaar and Wolof, the main African languages of Guinea and Senegal, "so that is why I came to Senegal."

Guinea borders Senegal to the southeast. Like Senegal, it is a former French colony.  But where Senegal has had democratic elections and peaceful transfers of power since independence, Guinea has suffered under repressive regimes and multiple coup² attempts.

Economists³ estimate that in the past several years, Senegal's economy has grown by about six percent and has had less than two percent inflation. In contrast, Guinea's economy is estimated to have grown by a mere⁴ two percent, and inflation has spiraled to 30 percent or more.

Although Senegal is still a very poor country, it ranks 157th out of 177 countries on the United Nation's human development index, it is economically better off than many of its neighbors. At more than $650 a year, per capita income in Senegal is a third to two-thirds higher than those of neighboring Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and The Gambia.

Demographers⁵ call the phenomenon "south-south migration⁶", meaning population movements from one developing country to another, and it happens throughout the developing world.

"The importance of south-south migration is underestimated," said Amand Rousselot is the West and Central Africa representative for the International Organization for Migration, a Geneva-based intergovernmental organization.

Unlike would-be immigrants to the United States or Europe, Mr. Rousselo explains, it is easy to move within West African countries. Thanks to a 1979 agreement, citizens from countries within ECOWAS, the Economic Organization of West African States, can move to any other ECOWAS country with nothing more than their identity card.

And with plenty of vehicles taking passengers overland, and a continuing nomadic⁷ tradition among many of the region's ethnic⁸ groups, lots of West Africans take advantage of the relaxed borders.

There are millions of foreigners living and working in countries like Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Ghana.

Rousselot says this could lead to tensions.

"The youth population in West Africa represents about 50-60 percent of the population," he added.  "And the same percentage of youth is unemployed⁹. You can imagine that sooner or later this will generate some social conflicts because the nationals will want to work, and the work will be done by foreigners even if they are done by people from neighboring countries."

Muhammed Diallo, the Guinean who has lived in Dakar for more than 13 years, says he suspects that he is sometimes paid less than a Senegalese would be.  And he has occasionally been told by Senegalese that Guineans should not be here.  But, he is quick to note, other Senegalese defend Guineans, and above all, the Senegalese are the ones who give him work.

But finding work in Dakar was not easy.  Eventually Diallo, like many foreigners in Dakar, began working in construction; he digs foundations.  He now leads his own team of foundation diggers, with an ever-changing roster¹⁰ that consists primarily of other Guineans, most of whom come from his family or his hometown in central Guinea.

I try to give work to other Guineans, Diallo says, to help out my countrymen, because I know how hard it can be to find work.

When asked, Diallo agrees that he would still like to go to America or Europe, where, he imagines, he could make even more money. But, he says, he has not had the opportunity. Rather, he seems settled in Dakar. He has a Senegalese wife and two children, and a small house he built himself.

Back in Guinea, which, like Senegal, is a predominantly Muslim country where polygamy is legal, Diallo also has a second wife, and two children, and a house he built himself as well.

1 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

2 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

3 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

5 demographers   

n.人口统计学( demography的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Demographers, however, point out that the'single" trend will have a profound effect on American institutions. 不过，人口学家们指出，“单身”趋势将对美国的公共机构产生深远的影响。 来自时文部分
• Selectivity of human migration long been the focus of demographers and economists. 人口迁移的选择性一直以来都是人口学家和经济学家关注的焦点。 来自互联网

6 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

7 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

10 roster   

n.值勤表，花名册

参考例句：

• The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
• The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。