✿ Sullied Senegal

Hi everyone! This is another unplanned post that I figured I could talk about. As I was scrolling through my Instagram as part of my rest time, I chanced upon a post by the NY Times. It talks about plastic pollution in Senegal, a country from the Global South, and I thought I could summarize it on my blog today, and find a useful video to grab your attention on the issue.

Dakar, Senegal’s capital, holds annual marathons for people to race. This year, one man, Modou Fall, participated and wore a cape that was made out of plastic bags. He also wore a hat that was constructed out of plastic sunglasses that he found. The marathon is held every year, and hence, it attracts large crowds and wide media coverage. Hence, Modou felt that he could not miss the chance to share his concern about plastic pollution in his homeland.

During the race, he announced through his loudspeaker “I like my country, I say no to plastic bags”, gaining some fans who asked for selfies during the race. He took every opportunity he had to share with the attendees on the environmental issues haunting Senegal. He took part in the race not to run, but to collect the empty water bottles and plastic bags left behind by different groups of runners that left the starting line. Now, Modou is known as the Plastic Man.

Modou Fall sees himself as an educator, defender, and protector of the environment. Senegal is one of the top countries polluting the world’s oceans with plastic. In 2020, the Senegalese government attempted to ban plastic production, but it has a hard time enforcing this measure.

The image above is taken from the article, showing the scene in Bargny, a coastal town in Senegal, infested with plastic pollution.

Modou sought to change his country, because he has witnessed plastic pollution for far too long. According to him, he has witnessed the damaging effects of pollution since 1998, during his military service, when he saw cows in herding communities fall sick after consuming fragments of plastic bags in the arid landscape. He tried to start off by encouraging shopkeepers he knew to stop using excessive amounts of plastic, and if they could not, they should at least try to dispose of these plastics properly. Nobody listened.

He tried to take matters to his own hands by clearing the plastic produced by these shopkeepers. Although it took him 13 days, the plastic waste came back anyway. Luckily, his efforts managed to convince some shopkeepers to change their ways. But this is not enough.

Not many people in the Global South are convinced that they can do anything. If activists like Modou do not feel encouraged or supported to fight plastic pollution, then no one will. Hence, with the support he gained during the marathon, many are following his footsteps.

What do you think? Do you think activists like these can sustain their efforts in the long run?

I found this video that you can enjoy. You can see Modou yourself!

In this next video, you can see other activists in Senegal doing something to fight plastic pollution.

That’s it for today. Up next, my usual posts. See you in the next one! ✿

References

AFP News Agency (2019) Senegal: Dakar Divers Fight to Clear Plastic Tide. 5 October. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kw4fq5bQj8 [Accessed: 14 February 2022].

Camara, M. & Maclean, R. (2022) This ‘Plastic Man’ Has a Cape and a Superhero’s Mission: Cleaning Up Senegal. 20 January. NY Times. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/world/africa/modou-fall-senegal.html [Accessed: 1 February 2022].

TRT World (2019) Plastic Pollution: Senegal Activists Lead Clean-Up. 13 August. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiYlNtmzeiA [Accessed: 14 February 2022].