JOURNEY TO SENEGAL (SENEGAL CASAMANCE: 22-12 '02-05-01-'03)
In every life experience that goes outside what we consider routine is something special and unforgettable, I believe that each trip represents something important because it is the easiest way to enter into communication with the world or, at least, with his small portion.
The size and beauty of the journey just completed in Senegal lies in this feeling of having started a dialogue with the world, with the Earth, with a small corner of Africa and Black, especially with people who live here. Immerse yourself in the reality of Senegal, we discover almost immediately that the timing of life are completely different from those in Europe: at first you justify this aspect of thinking that everyone is on vacation or relaxing as we do, but when we look back and see the people who are actually working, you understand that there is something different, something magical, something wise. In the frenzy that we are unfortunately accustomed to, is opposed to a lower pace of life and an enviable tranquility: all work, work so much, yet their work does not appear as a duty, such as anxiety, but as life and joy. One of
most unsettling aspects of Senegal is this continuous work: women who are bent down for hours and fuck the sidewalk in front of their humble abode. They use a small broom without a handle to avoid having dust and then, like magic, straighten and begin to dance and sing with joy. Their effort is enormous, yet the sublime in a hymn to life. More accommodation for hours on huge piles of freshly caught fish, while the children help as best they can, everywhere you can see endless fields occupied by people who busy themselves with all their forces to make their contribution, whether large or it small. Upset, though, especially the fact that the man works hard in proportion less of the woman, as if life depended more among women than men.
Rejoice, however, being greeted and looked so "strange" because our skin is white: it's a special feeling, sometimes positive other negative, but certainly not something that goes by without leaving us in inner reflections ! The feeling grows exponentially if, in addition to being white, walking in a strange way, as in my case: curiosity, fear, humor, joke ... these feelings are often mixed up in the faces and gestures of the Senegalese when they see a disabled white. The reactions that surprised me the most were those of population Saint Louis, Senegal, perhaps the city more "westernized" and wealthy from all over the country: in fact, almost all laughed and did a caricature of the way I move, as if I were a freak. Not having found elsewhere, this attitude and being, indeed, much appreciated in other places, small villages, for example, I wondered how bad the influence of the "welfare" statement on this issue, and therefore whether it is really good to be "rich" or whether, instead, face losing the wealth to those who achieved something important for the person.
When you leave the big cities and bougainvillea, is ha la possibilità di entrare a contatto diretto con la Natura, con quella savana che si pone come naturale confine fra il deserto e la rigogliosa foresta pluviale. È qui che i pensieri umani trovano la loro pista di decollo per alzarsi in volo e prendere in considerazione l’ipotesi che l’infinito possa trovarsi anche nel Mondo. Un infinito rosso e caldo in cui si ergono in tutta la loro maestosità fantastici baobab, le cui forme sembrano esaltare il naturale sforzo di confrontarsi con la gravità. Un infinito collinare che ospita innumerevoli animali più o meno addomesticati dalle popolazioni locali: il confine fra pascolo e parco naturale, infatti, non potrà mai essere così netto come si vuol far credere, ma ci sarà sempre a dialogue between the two areas, a dialogue that gives life to both.
exciting results, at this time, the opportunity to spend at least one night in the Niokolo-Koba National Park in an attempt to regain at least for some time that primordial harmony with the magnificent nature of which we will always party like it or not. Rather than return to her roots, what would define this as a necessary measure to go forward in life. It is no coincidence that wherever you go, you feel almost always the vital sound of the drums that beat to the rhythm of life, making Senegal a warm cradle where you can relax at least for a while.
Juri Roverato
Padova, January 8 03
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