Another New Father

As I was walking to N'Gor, I was near the Festival de Glaces when a man came running across the street.  The usual Bonjour--Ça va?--English?--Where are you from?--Oh, I lived in Alabama for 5 months!--Is it your first time to Senegal?--Welcome to Senegal!--How long have you been here?--How long will you stay?

Then he asked if I was getting out of Dakar?  He said Mali is better than Senegal. I told him I'm going to Mali.  He said Dakar looks like the United States--just buildings and the only things worth seeing were Île d Gorée and Pikine.  I told him I was going to Îe de Gorée on Saturday.

We walked along--I was about to tell him that I just wanted to continue into town by myself, when he reached out to shake my hand appearing to start to let me go.  But something happened that was interesting.  When he shook my hand, there was something in it.  A piece of leather with a cowry.  He said he was a new father!  His hand holding my hand--he pointed with his left hand at our two hands pointing out that one was black and one was white.

A ha!  I heard that one already.  And I was not in the mood.  I didn't even pretend to congratulate him.  I just gave him the cowry back and told him I had to go.  He looked sad but instead of talking of cursing his baby if I gave it back like I expected him to, he asked when I was going to come to his store.  I told him I was done shopping and didn't need anything.  He told me to come to his store on the way back.  I agreed just to get rid of him.

On the way back, I went as fast as I could.  He was there across the street but didn't come over.

This guy wasn't anywhere near as smooth as the knife-threat guy.  He didn't have the charm.  He did play the race card to evoke the guilt of white treatment of Africans and their descendants.

In fact, the other guy was so good at it, that I was second guessing myself for days--maybe he really was a new father and now he thinks I cursed his baby.  Maybe I had been just too jaded by the negative encounters the day before.  So I was happy, though annoyed, to have had this new encounter to show me that my original judgement was correct.

August 2, 2008 8:10 Senegal local time.