times, they are a-changing

Dakar is changing. I have felt it since I returned from Morocco. There are flashier cars, more toubabs, and a greater disparity between the rich and the poor. However, these are just ideas of what I think is changing. I can't actually nail down what has shifted.

Hotels are being put up on the Corniche but who will they serve? Construction is everywhere. Houses are left empty and half-built. At night if you walk around classier areas, there are actually very few lights on. People aren't home because people don't live there. They live in North America or Europe.

Vendors have made it impossible for buses to pass through Marche Sandaga because they have doubled-up the tables in front of the shanty boutiques. There isn't enough space in teh cramped market for vendors, pedestrians, and buses. I was on a bus yesterday taht went through the market and it tapped two people. How can this be allowed to happen?

I have also been made aware of the increase in thefts in the city. Within the past 3 days, I know three people who had money stolen from them. Two of the people had about $1,000 in the bags that were taken. Is the increase in crime a reaction to wealth disparity? Probably.

I know it's useless to write a post about the subtle changes in a country. While changes may happen slowly over time, I felt that in the ten days that I was away, the country had been altered significantly. Whether it's true or not, is unclear.