boom car boom

I was in the neighborhood Fann this afternoon after a meeting at the West African Research Center. I happened to run into a new colleague and stopped to chat. We were standing outside of the ubiquitous Dakar boutiques next to the morgue. Fann is a bustling neighborhood that houses the public university, Universite Cheikh Anta Diop, a major hospital, and many embassies. We were standing near a large intersection, one that has an Oil Libya gas station (used to be Mobil) and the very popular My Shop. My Shop is the hang out place in Fann because it serves “Western” food and alcohol, although it is a gas station restaurant.

So, I was chatting away with Ahmadou, I think that’s his name, when all of a sudden I heard metal crunching. People who were in the post office on the corner came streaming out onto the street. Beer drinking patrons of My Shop peered over the terrace onto the street trying to figure out what happened. Taxi drivers pulled over and gawked, pedestrians ran toward the accident, beggars hobbled over, and I stood still. Suddenly, the people in the morgue came rushing out. I have never seen people move so quickly in my life. Senegal is a place of “non-time” and slow movement, until, apparently, a car accident presents itself. The cleaning ladies and the doctors came shooting out of that building and I am pretty sure it was not to collect a new customer, but simply to watch.

Finally when Ahmadou and I finished our conversation I walked toward the street where the accident had taken place. I couldn’t see that well because there were about 300 people crowded on the road, blocking traffic and making a commotion. The accident seemed to have taken place right in front of a private hospital on the newly built bridge that connects the VDN to Rue Cheikh Anta Diop. Cars, buses, and car rapides that were behind the accident were reserving on the bridge to be able to get to another road (not safe at all). Cars on the other side of the road were stopping to pay respects to the accident, meaning they would make a full stop, take a look, and continue on their merry way.

What was most impressive was the amount of people that materialized to watch (and obstruct) the accident clean up. Where these came from, other than the morgue and the post office, I have no clue. It’s interesting what motivates people’s curiosity and compels them to investigate. I have never seen people rushing like I did today. It was incredible. I don’t think car accidents in the US draw the same kind of attention. Bystanders wouldn’t stop and stare and then argue about the accident at hand. Yes there is rubbernecking but not in the same way. I heard bystanders blaming this person and speculating left and right about the accident, as if it was their accident. People were praying and shouting. I doubt anyone called the police. Ambulances came simply because of the location. Culture is fascinating.