Identity retreat and xenophobia: a danger for Senegal, says Boubacar Sèye
Boubacar Sèye, a researcher-consultant in international migration and President-Founder of Horizon Sans Frontières and the African Observatory Against Xenophobia, highlights the urgent need for an institutional inquiry into the national identity debate and the presence of foreigners in Senegal. He suggests that this debate, fueled by actions and statements from individuals like Papa Tahirou Sarr, risks fostering xenophobia and societal fragmentation, thereby threatening regional stability in West Africa. Sèye emphasizes that Senegal, historically a land of hospitality and cultural exchange, should not become a "laboratory of division." He points out that African nationals from neighboring countries are not "strangers" in a way that would justify their scapegoating, given the deep historical, cultural, and human ties within the ECOWAS region. While acknowledging the need for rigorous migration policies, border control, and combating irregular immigration and transnational crime, Sèye argues that these measures should not lead to stigmatization. He asserts that reducing complex issues like unemployment, purchasing power, insecurity, or irregular emigration to the presence of foreigners is a dangerously simplistic view. Sèye calls for the Senegalese state to investigate whether organized networks, special interests, funding, or strategies are behind campaigns of stigmatization and identity retreat, which could fuel inter-community tensions. He warns against the progressive norma
