Concert Baaba Maal and my office at the Netherlands Embassy!

After my last blog post Friday afternoon, I went to a café for a big cappuccino with whipped cream to celebrate my first interview!! ;-) Coincidently, I met four Dutch girls in this café and I invited them for the concert of Baaba Maal at the Institut Français du Sénégal that night. We went with the five of us and we really had a good time!

The concert of Baaba Maal:

Saturday morning I started transcribing my first interview. I was very excited and I just couldn’t wait! ;-) 

When I was a student, I was a research assistant of Merlijn van Hulst and Laurens de Graaf (TSPB, Tilburg University). I transcribed many interviews for several research projects for them, which I really enjoyed. For me it was a perfect student job. I had to think about them a lot the past days when I was transcribing - this time for my own PhD research! The upcoming months, three very nice ladies (Alina, Sofia and Maria) who are enrolled in INTERVICT’s Master programme Victimology and Criminal Justice in Tilburg will assist me with my transcriptions as part of their internship. Ladies, I will be sending the first interviews to you this week! ;-)

Saturday afternoon I had my second interview, with someone who worked for more than 20 years at the Family Ministry. She had so much knowledge about the developments at government level regarding FGM/C since the 1990s. She comes herself from a tradition where FGM/C is practiced and also told me some personal stories. Very sad to hear, but at the same time so interesting. This is what I really wanted, this is why I am here, trying to understand the practice FGM/C. Hearing the stories and experiences from these women is so valuable for my research…

Usually I want my interviews not to take more than 1 hour, but this time I decided that it was no problem that it lasted 1h and 45 mins. Everything she said was interesting and after the interview I had so much energy!! There were 1.000 more questions I wanted to ask, but I am sure we’ll see each other more often during the upcoming months. 

Sunday morning something magical happened… Every day I opened the tap in my kitchen, while I make myself a cup of coffee, to see whether there was running water. It became kind of a routine every morning and I did not expect anything to happen. But: I opened the tap, there was some weird noise, and then....... there was water!!!! I just couldn't believe it!! I ran to my bathroom to take a look whether my shower was also working, and… yeeeaaaaahhhh!!!!!!!!!! I was extremely happy and I made a little dance of joy in my apartment! The next hour I was cleaning my apartment, I washed my clothes and for the first time in two weeks I took a shower!

I was extremely happy with this water.

With all the dust and sand here in Dakar, my clothes became really dirty. But when there is such a shortage on water (and you need to carry every liter of water you use), you realize how much water it actually cost to wash your clothes. Therefore I was so happy that I could finally wash my clothes again after two weeks in Dakar! I think one of the things I will appreciate when I am back home is our washing machine. But at the same time, it has its charm to put a pan with water on the fire, then wash your clothes, rinse it and hang up. And the advantage of the African weather is that your clothes are dry within one hour! ;-)

Hmmm... clean clothes! ;-)

Last weekend I also went out for lunch with a Dutch girl who works for an NGO in Dakar. I am a member of this NGO on facebook and that is how I found out that she was working there. We met in a nice Crêperie where we spoke about her work, my research and her life in Dakar. She is an anthropologist and living here now for more than 3 years. She also knows a lot about FGM/C, so it was so nice to talk to her and she had some nice tips for me. In the past years, she also did a lot of fieldwork and she shared her experiences with me. I became so excited! A few hours later we took the taxi back home, and I am sure we’ll see each other again any time soon.

Sunday night I watched the movie Desert Flower. It have seen the movie many times, but I must say that it is different now I am here. Especially the last three minutes of the movie are so touching. You can find it here:

Monday morning I received a phone call from the Embassy. During my lunch last week with one of the diplomats (see also the facebook page of the Embassy), I explained that I do not have an affiliation with any organization or the university in Dakar and that I am here just by myself. I told her that I work mostly in my own apartment or a café in the city centre of Dakar. When she called me on Monday, she offered me a workplace at the Embassy, where I can work two days a week (Tuesdays and Wednesdays)!  I can use the facilities of the Embassy and they will also facilitate a mini-conference at the end of January to present my preliminary research results!! I know that this is very uncommon, since I did an internship at the Netherlands Embassy in Israel myself a few years ago, so I am very delighted that they give me this opportunity. 

Today was my first day at the Embassy. In the morning I was introduced to the staff, including the Ambassador. He is a very nice man and told me that he was more than happy to receive me! It was really great to work in an office today (with airco!). I am so thankful to have the opportunity to be in a 'work-environment' a couple of days a week. My apartment is nice, but during the day very hot and noisy. In addition, it is nice to have colleagues. Today we had lunch together and I really enjoyed it!

My office at the Embassy!

The past days I e-mailed and called many people (mainly Ministries, international organizations and NGO's), inviting them to participate in my research. Unfortunately, approximately 10% replies to my first mail or phone call and around 20% replies after my second mail or phone call. And once we have set a date for the interview, in 50% of the cases the appointment is cancelled. Sometimes quite frustrating, but it is part of the job and I do not feel discouraged at all. As a researcher I am dependent on other people, and especially in Africa making appointments is not so easy. ;-) I knew beforehand that I had to be very flexible and I am happy that both pilot interviews went very well. The interviewees provided me with a lot of information and I am eager to learn more. I am glad I decided to stay here four months (and not three), so I don't have to rush or stress and I will have enough time to interview all people on my list! ;-) 

Further more, I collected more documents, reports and policies, in order to make sure I have a complete picture of all actions taken in Senegal against FGM/C. I will use the information following from these reports and policies, as well as the data that will follow from my interviews to write my chapter about Senegal for my PhD dissertation. 

Some of the reports and policies I collected!

Apart from these documents, I also read the book However Long the Night of Aimee Molloy. This book tells the inspiring story of Molly Melching, an American woman who founded the Senegalese NGO Tostan, to help millions of African girls and women. I red this book like a scientific article in a journal, because the human rights-based approach this NGO uses in their educations programmes to abandon FGM/C, are extremely relevant for my PhD research. Aimee Molloy describes for example the following:

“I have learned my lessons during the decades I’ve been doing this work,” Molly says, “but none as important as this: if you want to help empower people to positively transform their communities and their lives, human rights education is key. For many years, our education program did not include discussions on basic human rights. We were successful, but it was only after introducing human rights learning that an amazing thing happened. I can’t explain it. It felt like magic.”

One woman in a village testifies in the book:

“Where we once had fear we now have courage, because we have given knowledge. We know our rights and the rights of all women. We have the right to dignity and the confidence to change customs if they do not bring us that dignity. We have left the darkness, and we now live in light.”

If what she says above is really true (I am still very sceptical and I can hardly believe it – but suppose it is true), I am a happy researcher, and I think my PhD dissertation might be groundbreaking!! ;-)

The book. 

I studied the book like an article in a scientific journal.

In addition, I hope to get access to the field for my interviews at community level via this NGO. Upcoming Friday I have an appointment with the Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning in Dakar, so I keep my fingers crossed! I hope they are able and willing to help me. 

Tomorrow I have a day off, because it is Tabaski, an important holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honour the willingness of the prophet Abraham to sacrifice his young first-born son as an act of submission to Allah's command, I learned a few days ago from a taxi driver. Allah intervened to provide Abraham with a lamb to sacrifice instead. Dakar is filled with goats, goats are literally everywhere. It is a little bit crazy to realize that all of them will be slaughtered tomorrow...

Too many goats in Dakar:

I am invited at the family of Bocar (the husband of Bijou) to celebrate Tabaski with them. I am expected to be at 9am at the house of Bocar's parents to slaughter the goat. It will not be the first time that I see a goat slaughtered (that was in Kenya in 2010), but I will make sure that I do not have an empty stomach when that happens at 9 o'clock in the morning. ;-) I am looking forward to be part of this tradition with a Senegalese family.

The movie in the last blog did not work, below I'll try again. I made this movie in the bus last week, to give you an idea on how daily life looks like here. ;-)

In my next blog post you'll read about my Tabaski adventure! ;-) 

Warm regards from Dakar,

Annemarie

First interview is done!

The past week has been really good. I got more used to the climate (it is still between 30 and 35 degrees during the day and between 25 and 28 during the night), I moved one floor up (to the apartment I actually rented) and I settled down. Both apartments are quite the same, but in this kitchen the cooker is working so I can cook for myself. Although I really enjoyed cooking together with Bijou every night for her family, it is also nice to cook for myself a few days a week. I am now also able to wash my clothes properly with hot water (since I can boil the water in a pan!). I can stay in this apartment till I finish my case study, which is really nice.

Having dinner with Bijou's family.

View from the rooftop of my apartment.

I am the only ‘white’ person in the neighbourhood and in the past two weeks I sensed that people started to get used to my presence. When people started a conversation, I told them that I work here on my PhD and that I will stay for four months. Every day when I leave my apartment, I greet everybody – especially the Imams sitting in front of the mosque - kindly “Salaam Aleikum.” They know me well by now and I am no longer a stranger. Every morning I buy bread in a small shop around the corner and I can hear them yelling from a distance: “Bonjour Annemarie! Comment ça va?"

Last week I experienced that the rain season is not over yet. Usually I wake up early morning due to the morning prayers of the mosque that echoes from the speakers, but Sunday morning I woke up from a heavy thunderstorm. The weather was terrible: wind, rain, lightning, and it lasted a few hours. The consequence was that apart from having no water - unfortunately, the water problem in Dakar is not solved yet - there was no electricity either! I can assure you, without water and electricity, life is getting a little bit difficult. Luckily this was only for one day and I was glad that the internet-café had a generator, so I could charge my laptop and I was able to work. Welcome in Africa! ;-)

The rain season is not over yet...

On Monday I had the opportunity to attend the defence of Bijou’s Master Thesis. Bijou is trained as a social worker, but she decided after a few years work experience to go back to university to study international law. She chooses for human rights law (I like!) and she wrote her master thesis about the implementation of child protection laws in Senegal. 

Bijou defending her Master Thesis!

Since we were both quite tired after an exciting weekend where Bijou got married and graduated from university, we decided to cook something quick on Monday night. We went to the butcher around the corner, who had a barbeque in front of his little shop. The butcher was cutting the goat meat, while another guy prepared the meat on the barbeque. The barbeque looked like an old bed in its previous life. Nevertheless, the meat tasted delicious and it did not wonder why we had to wait in a queue since it was so busy (and in the end thus not so quick, haha). ;-)

 ‘Fastfood’ the Senegalese way

Goatmeat on the bbq!

On Wednesday I had lunch with a diplomat from the Netherlands Embassy. We spoke about my research, her job at the Embassy and must-see’s in Senegal. We already met in May and I asked her whether the Embassy could perhaps facilitate a mini-conference where I could present my preliminary research results of my case study in the end of January. A frequently heard critique is that many (Western) researchers come to Africa to do their research, to do interviews and to gather knowledge and take this knowledge home. In the end, most researchers do not share their knowledge with the local people in the country where they conduct their study, which is unfortunate. I would like to demonstrate the contrary and invite people working in the field of FGM/C who I interviewed (and others interested) to share my preliminary results at the end of my case study in January (and to receive feedback). For me, that is also a good way to validate my research results. She was very enthusiastic about my idea and she said that she was sure that the Ambassador would be more than happy to facilitate the conference in his own residence! I was so happy to hear that!

We had lunch at Villa les Jumeaux, such a lovely place!

Research-wise, everything is going well and I am satisfied. I finished my letter of consent and questionnaire last week. I discussed the letter of consent with Bijou and she had some very helpful comments, taking into account the Senegalese values, as well as the ‘Senegalese French’ (which is apparently slightly different than the ‘European French’.

My French is getting better every day. I can easily read reports in French, write e-mails in French and communicate with people. Bargaining the price for the taxi is no problem, but interview people about my (rather sensitive) research topic is something different. I don't feel comfortable doing the interviews myself in French. Therefore, I decided to conduct the interviews with French-speaking people with the help of an interpreter. The past week I discussed the issue of translations with Bijou and I am extremely happy that she is willing and able to join me during the interviews and do the translations. She really is the perfect person for this job. She has a background in sociology and human rights, experience in the field and working at community level, experience in doing research/interviews (she finished a study among refugees in Senegal recently), very knowledgeable about FGM/C and most importantly: someone I can trust. She knows how sensitive the topic is and we already spoke quite deliberately about the language we will use to gather the information I need, but at the same time not offend people.

Originally I had an interview planned on Wednesday. I was so happy that I managed to have the first interview planned 1,5 week after I arrived in Dakar! We agreed to meet at 2pm in a hotel in Dakar. I arrived well in time, waiting in the lobby, as you can imagine very excited, with my notebook and recorder ready. At 2pm, the lady came to the lobby, telling me that she had another appointment at 2pm. I asked her whether I could perhaps wait till she finished the other appointment, but she told me: "I am so sorry, I don't know how long this meeting will take, but afterwards I have to go home. I won't be able to talk to you today." Aah, alright… I was a little bit disappointed, but I knew that it was also part of the job – especially in Africa. We agreed to  have an appointment on Friday morning instead.

This morning, I took the bus at 9m and arrived at the Ministry of the Family one hour later. I had two appointments: one at 10am and the other one at 11.30am. In May, I did an internship at the Family Ministry for two weeks and it was really nice to be back here and to see everybody here again. They welcomed me warmly and invited me to join them for lunch. 

However, the two persons I had an appointment with, were not present… I waited for one hour till 11am and then I decided to call one of them to ask him where he was. His response: “Ooooh, I am really sorry, but I am really, really, really busy! I am at the Ministry of Justice and I cannot do the interview today. Maybe I have time next week...” 

Hmm.... I decided to call the other lady, but unfortunately she did not pick up her phone. Two hours later, I tried again and she asked me to come to her office for the interview "I have time now, can you come?" Haha, alright, I am very flexible!! I went there quickly and I am very happy to inform you that I just came back from my first official interview!! It went very well, exactly how I had it in mind. 

This week I spend most of my days writing e-mails and calling persons working in the field of FGM/C, inviting them to participate in my research. I started with inviting the international organizations (UNICEF, UNFPA, UN Women, WHO) and NGOs, since I can conduct these interviews myself in English. I first want to further pilot my questionnaire, before I finalize my questionnaire and translate it to French.

The past week I also worked one day on the report for the UNFPA in New York. I finished this report the week before my departure to Senegal, but Nafy Diop (Special Advisor and Coordinator of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM/C) informed me that the report will be translated to French, published and presented during a conference in Rome in two weeks. The editors had some questions for me and of course I was more than happy to answer them! 

Below you'll find some pictures I took the past days during my bus and taxi rides in Dakar:

The Atlantic Ocean!

Too many goats...

... for Tabaski (an Islamic holiday).

Anyone need a haircut?

You can find shops like these everywhere.

Washing cars - especially taxi's - is a national sport in Dakar.

The bus station where I take the bus to place d'Independance. 

I also made a small movie, to give you a better idea of how my life looks like here:

After all, I am doing fine. Tonight I go to a concert of Baaba Maal, a famous Senegalese Singer. I am very excited! Tomorrow I have another interview planned (we'll see whether I will indeed take place, haha). Time is flying, and in three weeks Erik will be here! I am really looking forward to his visit, and we are already planning some nice trips! I am counting the days. ;-)

Wish you all a nice weekend!

Kind regards,

Annemarie

Bijou and Bocar got married!!

Let me start by letting you know that - unfortunately - the water problem In Dakar is not solved yet. The president Macky Sall decided to cut short his visit to the UN GA to return to Senegal to address the water problem and he promised that he would solve the problem within a few days. However, nothing has changed yet and as a result there are riots and protests on the street. 

The water in the house of Bijou is still running, which is such a relief. I do not face many difficulties myself: I can wash myself every day, I can buy bottles of water to drink and have water to do my dishes and flush the toilet. Of course I would love to take a shower in my apartment and wash my clothes, but that is not really a priority taken into account that many people do not have water to drink – and it is 35 degrees today…

Everywhere on the street you see people carrying water.

After I wrote my last blog post, I went to the house of Bijou to cook dinner together. She asked me quite nervously to come and sit on the bed and she said: “I have to tell you something.” I became very excited, at the same time a little bit worried, because she was extremely serious. Then she told me that she and Bocar decided to get married – this Saturday! Whooooow, I was so happy for them!!!! …But at the same time confused: “Really, this Saturday? Like, in three days?!” She showed me the dress she bought for an Islamic holiday that is taking place mid October, but it will now be her wedding dress. It was a very beautiful traditional African dress. I was sure she would look so pretty.

We both laughed and talked for more than an hour about traditions in Senegal and the Netherlands regarding to marriage. I tried to explain Bijou that Erik and I took 1,5 year to prepare our wedding, but she stared at me as if I was crazy. ;-) She responded: “Some people even get married the same day!” Haha, I just love these cultural differences.

The next day I picked her up at 9am to go to the city centre to buy shoes for her wedding. We also visited the houses of several ‘aunties’ to bring the good news! We first went to the first wife of her dad, who lives around the corner of Bijou’s house: yes, polygamy is allowed in Senegal! ;-) They offered to bake cookies and sweets. Then we went to a good friend of Bijou she knows from university and some other aunts. I really enjoy discovering the Senegalese culture from the inside, and to see how their houses look like, how they communicate with each other, how strong the family ties are, etc.

On my way to Bijou's house.

The street where Bijou lives.

In the city centre we bought nice shoes for Bijou, I bought some pots and pans for my apartment and then I returned home to read some reports I gathered about the national law against FGM/C in Senegal.

'My' street

The picture above is the street where I live. In the morning I go to the shop on the left to buy bread and a cup of café touba (Senegalese coffee). My apartment is located in the second building on the right.

Here a few pictures of 'my' neighborhood:

On Friday I worked from home, reading reports I collected and I worked on my questionnaire. When I was working on the questions and the finishing of the questionnaire is in sight, I became very excited! I am really looking forward to the interviews and I am curious to know what people will answer to my questions. Next week I am planning to have the first interviews to pilot my questionnaire.

Writing and re-writing my questions. ;-)

Friday afternoon we had a Mukomeze board meeting in the Netherlands and I was able to be present via skype!! It was so nice to be more than 5.000 km away, but still be present and able to participate in the discussions we had. :-) I have said it many times, also when I was in Israel for 5 months: I just love the person who invented skype!!! I am able to talk to Erik every day and that makes life so much easier when you are abroad! 

And… yesterday was the big day!! At noon, I went with Bijou, her sister and her best friend to the hairdresser. We were there for more than 4 hours! 

Bijou at the hairdresser.

Almost finished. ;-)

When the hair and make-up of the bride was finished, all of us put our African dresses. Around 5pm the brother of Bijou came to pick us up and brought us to the house of her dad, who is living in a suburb of Dakar. This was the place where the women gathered (aunts, nieces, sisters, friends). All the men were with Bocar in the mosque, arranging the marriage. After an hour or so, some men came in the house and they were talking to Bijou what it is like to be married, what it means to be a good wife, what is expected from her and who she could contact in the mosque when there were any problems.

Men explaining to Bijou how to be a good wife.

Bijou with her mother and sister.

Bijou's friend from university, Bijou and me!

The photographer taking pictures of the family.

When the men left the house, the official part of was done and everybody congratulated Bijou. Of course, bowls with food were put on the floor (one thing that is common all over the world: when there is a wedding, there should be enough to eat!) ;-) and everybody enjoyed themselves. After a few hours, everybody went home and Bijou, a friend and me were brought back home.

As you can imagine, it was so special to be part of this day. I asked myself a few times: “When does Bocar come? When will he see his beautiful bride?” but then I realized that this will not happen. He would never see what a beautiful bride Bijou was (apart from the pictures). According to the Senegalese tradition, the men have their ceremony at the house of the groom, and the bride has her ceremony with the women at the house of the dad of the bride. Sometimes, couples decide to have an American/European style party afterwards, but Bocar and Bijou decided not to do that.

  

The past week was very exciting and special. I feel honored that I can experience all this. Next week I will move one floor up to another apartment and I hope I will conduct the first interviews. However, everything goes ‘the African way’ and we’ll see what will happen next week. ;-)

You might be wondering where I type all my blog posts. I do not have internet in my apartment, but close to my apartment there is this internet cafe, where I am a regular customer. ;-)

The internet cafe!

I keep you updated!

Warm regards,

Annemarie

Getting used to the Senegalese life

The past days I settled down in Dakar. I am getting used to the African rhythm and my new life. It is quite a contrast with my life back home, not to speak of my visit to New York a few weeks ago where I was walking on 5^th avenue with my high heels and pretty dresses. But that is exactly why I love my job, having the opportunity to live in both worlds. I enjoy living in both of them and I do not prefer on over the other. 

I felt in love with Africa a while ago. I like the African way of life. Every time when I arrive in an African country, it doesn’t matter whether it is Morocco, Egypt, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, or somewhere else, it has something magic. I can’t explain it, but I just love the different cultures, the people, their clothes, the climate, the smell of spices, and so on. I learn so much from the people in Africa, especially in terms of their way of life.

My apartment in Dakar is a really nice place and I feel at home there. The neighbourhood is very nice with a lot of small shops, where I go in the morning to buy une petite baguette or fruit for breakfast. Yes, the French influence is still present, not only the language (most people in Dakar speak French and Wolof or one of the five other major national languages - pulaar serer, diola, soninke and madinka - only some speak English) but also in daily life.   

Since autumn started back home and I know it is inappropriate to complain about the weather, it has been quite hot the past days in Dakar. I haven’t seen any rain so far, although the rain season officially did not end (it is supposed to end the end of October). It is however very humid; the temperature is 32 degrees during the day and around 26 during the night. I have no airco in my apartment, so you can imagine that my fan Kenedy is my best friend. ;-)

Let me introduce to you: Kenedy

At the same time, there is still a notorious problem of water shortage in Dakar due to a power failure. Half of the city does not have running water, almost for three weeks now. It is becoming quite serious and people are getting crazy. People are talking about water everywhere you go: the bus station, in the taxi, at cafes, restaurants, on the street, etc. It is so hot in Dakar and people do not have (or cannot afford) water to drink. You see people on the streets carrying water everywhere. People are getting less patient and sometimes they even aggressive to one another.

I am so glad that I can refresh myself these hot days with water in Bijou’s house. Every night I fill buckets of water in the house of Bijou and carry it to my apartment to wash my dishes and flush the toilet. As you can imagine, the price for bottled drinking water is going sky-high. I bought yesterday six bottles of water and people were watching me quite anxiously when I was walking on the street with these six bottles. I don’t know how long this water-drama will continue, but next time I’ll take a taxi for my own safety! Of course I am aware that I have the luxury that I can afford to buy this expensive water, while many people living in this city just can’t… The hospital in Dakar is also located in the area where there is no water. Pregnant women who are going to give birth in the hospital are asked to bring their own water. Dakar residents have bathed in the ocean. I am afraid that people will die if they do not repair the water pipe to Dakar soon… Then it is only a minor issue that I would love to wash my with dust and sand riddled hair. ;-)

Research-wise everything is going well. The past days I worked on my questionnaire and wrote my letter of consent. I am reading several reports that I collected in May to prepare my interviews. I am planning to have the first interviews next week. Most days I worked from home.

Reading a report on my balcony

Tuesday was a very hot day and although my fan Kenedy was trying very hard, it was too hot in my apartment to work. I decided to go to the Institut Français du Sénégal instead. This institute is a place with a very nice atmosphere where lots of cultural activities are organized. When I was here in May, a lady from the Netherlands Embassy took me there for lunch and of course I wrote it down in my little notebook. ;-) Apart from a cinema and arts centre, there is also a very nice restaurant and cafe (with wifi!) where I worked on my questionnaire.

The street where the institute is located.  

Working on my letter of consent.

Restaurant of the French Institute.

Garden of the French Institute.

As you can read, I arrived safely in Dakar and I really enjoy myself. Every night I cook together with Bijou and we eat together with her mother (since the gasbottle of my cooker is empty and not yet replaced by a new one by the landlord). Never mind, it is nice not to eat by myself and have nice company in the night, especially my first week. ;-)

I keep you updated! 

Warm regards,

Annemarie