…and an additional thought.

One of our stops on our Dakar tour was at a Sand Painting workshop where the proceeds from sales of sand paintings go to UNESCO, the UN Educational and Cultural Organization. Sand painting, called “souwér” in the Wolof tribal language, is a West African art. Artists outline designs on wood or canvas in glue made from the baobab tree. We saw these giant trees in The Gambia. They sprinkle different colored sand, gathered and traded throughout West Africa, over the glue to make a textured and multi layered picture.

While we watched the sand artists a sax player and drummer provided background music including Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond’s “Take Five”. The drum beat out African rhythms. I can tell you it was not 5/4.

We bought some sand paintings to bring home for gifts. After paying the agreed price the sales guy asked for a contribution to help feed his kids. We understand that others heard this appeal in Dakar after a price was agreed.

Watching out the bus window I enjoyed the brightly decorated minibuses that are the main form of public transport in Dakar. Here is a gallery of some of them.

While minibuses are the main form of transportation there is a new electric commuter train. Our guide rides it every morning to work. It was built by the Chinese. The Chinese also built the new Museum of Black Civilization. When we went into a new Mosque (see separate post) the guide told us that it was built strictly with local donations, oh except for Chinese help. They provided the chandeliers. (I wondered what he thought of the way the Chinese treated their Muslim Uigur population.) As we cruised the streets, we saw shops owned by Chinese merchants, subsidized by the government, who employ Senegalese youth and sell cheap goods that locals can afford.

China is gaining influence, and resources, through its use of “soft power.” Investment, foreign aid and providing Chinese goods. The US used to be the champs at soft power. I have often joked that what brought down Communism was the trinity of Marlboros, Coke and Disney. Perhaps with a little Elvis thrown in. Certainly, the Chinese understood this. In the two thousand aughts we were providing aid to media outlets in the former Communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. So were the Chinese. Their aid included providing the best American broadcast consultants and broadcast software to commercial stations to allow them to rise to the top of their markets. What did they get in return? A fixed number of spots to promote Chinese goods and ideas, and influence over the news departments of these, mostly local, stations. They built Chinese soft power using American soft power.

Our aid was more than Coke, Marlboro, Disney and Elvis. We still have them. But it was also our drive to end polio, to help prevent malaria, our work on HIV/AIDS in Africa. The United States is surrendering our instruments to deliver soft power and conceding the field to the Russians, and especially the Chinese in Africa. The government has shut down USAID. It has closed American Libraries abroad, it is trying to shut down Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. While we were in The Gambia a government paper was released that called for the shutting of embassies and consulates in Africa, including the one in The Gambia. (They are also planning shuttering the Embassy in South Sudan, where we worked, one of the poorest countries in the world.) On this trip we are seeing China everywhere, and less of America.