Not So Dark

A Fistful of Euros has an interesting collection of first impressions in a visit to Senegal, and takes not on how French it is. I would recommend reading the entire post in its entirety, but one interesting comment is noted below on the relative calm and stability of the nation:

One interesting thing about Senegal: politically, it’s West Africa’s great success story. Senegal has no history of ethnic strife. It’s never had a military dictatorship or a coup. Their first President stepped down from power peacefully and voluntarily; their second one was defeated in a fair election. There’s a free press and a lively political opposition. They’ve never had martial law or a civil war. (There was a regionalist rebellion down south, but it never got past the guerrillas-in-the-bush stage, and has since been resolved.) So, while it has the full complement of African problems — poverty, disease, bad infrastructure, illiteracy — it’s not a place where the government may suddenly take away your passport or your business, or where armed men may bang on your door in the middle of the night. I suspect that’s one reason the diasporid communities are so healthy.