They are called Mourtalla Diop, Mamadou Diop, Cheikh Wele and Thierno Sene; they were born in Senegal and speak Wolof as their first language. None of the four knew each other before meeting at the ports of Vilanova i la Geltrú and Cambrils, where they work. All four share a similar story of overcoming adversity: they come from fishing families in Senegal, a country they had to leave because one day what they knew how to do, fishing, had become a profession with no future. They left the so-called Global South of the African coast to look for a new job, a new life, and they have found it in the Catalan ports. “I like fishing because it’s what I’ve always done,” explains Mamadou one afternoon at the port of Vilanova i la Geltrú. Mamadou shares the same surname as Mourtalla, but they comment that they are not related. “We met working at the port of Vilanova,” they say, adding that the surname Diop is common in Senegal.

Senegal caught the attention of many international media outlets when, a few days ago, its Parliament approved toughening penalties against homosexuality. If it was already punishable by 5 years in prison before, the punishment will now be 10 years and economic fines that can reach up to 15,000 euros – in a country where per capita GDP does not reach 1,800 dollars annually—. The news has allowed a portrayal of the European right and left, who have interpreted it based on usual prejudices. The right has spread this news as a definitive demonstration to reach a pre-cooked conclusion: the prevailing homophobia in Senegalese society forces us to prevent the entry of people from this country, and they forget that one does not need to go to West Africa to find homophobia. The left has shirked responsibility or has blamed the situation on the homophobia legally imposed during the French colonial period in the country. This last argument has a reasonable starting point: it was the colonial powers that, horrified by the pagan customs of many Africans in the sexual field, applied legal codes based on the homophobia of the time, building arguments around Christian morality. Nevertheless, the argument becomes ridiculous precisely because it ignores the desires of a good part of Senegalese society, 66 years after independence: both in the ranks of the current government, of anti-colonialist pan-Africanist ideology, and in the previous government, closer to Paris, the fight against homosexuality has been a constant in the recent history of the country. both in the ranks of the current government, of anti-colonialist pan-Africanist ideology, and in the previous government, closer to Paris, the fight against homosexuality has been a constant in the recent history of the country. If they had wanted to eliminate homophobic laws, they would have already done so. They have never been further from that. Of the 138 deputies who voted to punish homosexuality, 135 voted in favor and 3 abstained. No one voted against it. The Islamic associations that had promoted the proposal in the streets had been campaigning since 2020. The dominant message in Senegal and other countries in the region is that homosexuality is a Western import, and that local cultures must be protected from this foreign contamination. A step forward

The will to protect Senegalese culture contrasts with the travel companions of the movements that have promoted the initiative: according to Reuters, ultraconservatives from the United States have coordinated with the network of Senegalese associations that have promoted the hardening of the law. In the name of protecting Africans from external influences, the deputies of the sovereignist Senegalese government are joining forces with Christian extremists who are testing in Africa what they would like to do one day in the United States. These coincidences should alert us: those of us who believe that democratic laws and individual freedoms are above sacred books are, globally, increasingly in the minority. Senegal faces in 2026 a critical year in which it will have great difficulty paying its debt. The persecution of homosexuals, in this context, is a sovereignist victory sovereignist against Westerners alongside an economic defeat: faced with the impossibility of fulfilling its program, the Senegalese government offers its citizens a scapegoat that will barely offer temporary relief: Senegal will apply extremely harsh austerity measures and most Senegalese will live worse – and Senegalese homosexuals, even worse than the rest.

]]>

Scandal in African football. The Appeals Board of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) ruled today that Senegal is no longer the champion of the last African Nations Cup. Morocco, the team that lost the final, is now the new champion. The Board declared Senegal forfeited the final, which they had won 1-0 in extra time, considering that the team abandoned the match and therefore lost 3-0.

]]>

For the past few months, journalist Núria Vilà Coma and I have been conducting an investigation into how the energy transition is affecting two African countries: Senegal and Guinea. Guinea is the world's leading producer of bauxite and has the largest reserves of this mineral. Bauxite is first transformed into alumina, and then into aluminum, which allows for a significant increase in value: when it is aluminum, a strong and lightweight material, it is worth thirty times more than bauxite. Because the price is so low—a kilo of bauxite cost between 6 and 8 euro cents last year—Guinea increases its revenue by multiplying its production—it now produces ten times more than it did thirty years ago.

]]>

The decisive goal in the men's Africa Cup of Nations could be scored by a boy born in Terrassa: Ismael Saibari. This Sunday night, Senegal and Morocco will play a first-ever final in this competition, which began in 1957 when only three countries were independent. Today, as then, the Africa Cup of Nations serves to illustrate what is happening on the continent.

]]>

"I used to be a ship's captain, now I'm a truck driver." This statement The video of Isa, one of the occupants of the B9 high school in Badalona, ​​on TV3, has gone largely unnoticed amidst the media frenzy following the eviction of 400 people from this Catalan city. The reactions on social media to Isa's video are the usual ones: some argue that we can't possibly address all the world's misery; others, that we need to have compassion and sensitivity towards the vulnerable. Ironically, the progressive position reinforces the far-right narrative: when faced with the proposal to be charitable hosts, more and more people are responding—with increasing vehemence—that they won't. Both positions tend to ignore the root causes of migration. Isa, a former Senegalese fisherman, is the clearest example of a problem that has accelerated on the coasts of West Africa over the last ten years: the processing of fish into fishmeal for export, from which we benefit—and consume.

]]>

In an alley in the Raval district, the Top Manta union prints a sweatshirt with the slogan: "My dream wasn't to be a street vendor, I was a fisherman." "The issue isn't that there's not enough fish; it's that where we used to fish, there are now foreign boats that have signed contracts with our governments," explains Papalaye, a representative of the group. More than 4,000 kilometers away from the workshop, dozens of industrial fishing vessels from Chinese, French, Senegalese, and Spanish capital crowd the port of Dakar. Extractive fishing which makes traditional fishing disappear and which, according to several NGOs, is under suspicion of a series of irregularities.

]]>

"At that time I didn't know where to find most of the countries we went to. These are experiences I will never have. They are unrepeatable. At 15 I had already travelled more than my entire family," admits Eric Vega (Masquefa, 2003). With Barça they travelled all over the world – to Colombia, the United States, Japan and all over Europe – but there is one trip that has remained etched in their memory above all the rest: in Senegal, in the winter of 2017, alongside Alejandro Balde, Marc Casadó, Fermín López and Xavi Simons, another of the talents of La Mas. They were the U19 A team. "It's an unforgettable trip," he adds. He remembers looking up where Senegal was on a map at home, with his parents. "I knew it was an African country, but I had no idea where it was." Vega has just signed for Sabadell B, in the Third Federation, after months without being able to enjoy football due to two injuries to his left knee.

]]>

On the streets of Dakar, the capital of Senegal, it is easy to find these days French supermarket chain Auchan's shop windows broken. It is not only in Dakar, in fact: you can also find it in cities like Mbour, about 80 kilometres south of the capital; or in Thies, 70 kilometers east. And it's not just Auchan supermarkets: it's also mobile phone company Orange's shops, or clothing stores linked to the Zara brand, or television and newspaper buildings close to the government, which were set on fire. These are the scars of the of the unprecedented wave of protests that Senegal experienced in early March, which according to the opposition ended with the death of 13 demonstratos.

]]>

In Saint Louis, a northern Senegalese city and former colonial capital under French rule, a female spirit is said to watch over and protect the town and its inhabitants from death and other evils. She is called Mame Coumba Bang, and is considered the goddess of the ocean - which surrounds the town - and of the Senegal River - which crosses it to meet the sea. Historically, the people of Saint Louis have performed rituals to please the goddess: from throwing a piece of lamb meat into the river when a baby is born to ensure its protection, to reserving an important place in the house to paint her image.

]]>

Good journalism is that which goes to the heart of the matter and tries to explain the causes of complex phenomena such as African immigration to Europe. That is why the ARA has sent two journalists to Senegal, Francesc Milllan and Pere Tordera, to get a closer look at the reasons that lead thousands of people to risk their lives crossing the ocean to reach the Canary Islands, the gateway to their dream of Europe. The first conclusion is that the pandemic has worsened the economic situation of the countries in the region and has exponentially increased the desire of the younger generations to leave the country: "Barça ou barsax", Barcelona or death, is their cry for survival.

]]>

Senegal's main newspapers are displayed outside a roadside shop, pinned up with clothes pegs so that the wind from the Sahel won't blow them away. The vendor, a man with a serious demeanour, points to them and picks one up. “L'Observateur is the most widely read newspaper in the country". A headline on the front page stands out: "The impossible mourning of the families of migrants missing at sea". On page nine is the report, which talks to the families of some of the young Senegalese who drowned in the Atlantic at the end of October, after the engine of the skiff they were using to try to reach Spain exploded and caught fire. An estimated 100 boys lost their lives, and most of the bodies were never recovered. "I will never be able to show my children their father's grave," reads one of the highlights.

]]>