Call to Patriots
Why is Senegal
Which had the same level of development as South Korea in 1960, currently ranked 155th in the world in the human development index, at a time when the “Land of the Morning Calm” (including the brands Samsung, LG and other Hyundais make the Senegalese happy) occupies 15th place?
Why does Senegal
A country which, despite the ravages of colonization, emerged from this period with more assets (port, university, railway, urban land registry, etc.) than the other French colonies in West Africa, see itself today supplanted in many areas by its neighbors?
Why is Senegal
Despite its intellectual tradition as old as it is strong, despite having never experienced a military coup, despite having long been pampered by public development aid, despite the fact that it is prides itself on cultivating solid social cohesion and having a correct public administration, why Senegal has not been able to rise, at least, to the same level as Malaysia, a country which, 50 years ago, did not leave on better foundations than us while today it makes us dream?
What is SENEGAL called?
Is this the name of the country of easy money accepted as a social elevator, of easy words to the detriment of concrete action, of appearance to the detriment of being, of nepotism to contempt of competence, of disguised hypocrisy in modesty and elevated to social value?
What is SENEGAL called?
Is it the name of a nation where money is king structures social relations, where money is better than integrity, where politics constitutes a profession like any other, allowing one to enrich oneself while buying a certificate of good social conduct with largesse?
What is SENEGAL called?
Is it synonymous with missed opportunities, wasted hopes, swallowed ambitions, stifled potential, endlessly restarted work, the failure which, inevitably, crowns our unfortunate attempts to achieve something good, something something big, something lasting?
It's time for that to change
Today’s world is ruthless, more so than usual we should say because the world has never been a haven of quiet happiness…
The globalization of the economy
has made the planet a huge playing field where the rules can be summed up in one word: competitiveness. Only the best at the game will have a chance of achieving and maintaining a high standard of living. The others will not disappear but they will be condemned to survive on the periphery, as by-products of the capitalist system.
The globalization of law
has unified the rules of the game; no State can impose its own rules which would a priori be favorable to it.
Globalization is an opportunity
We must therefore put Senegal in a position to win this battle. It is both easy and difficult. Easy, because the path is known, difficult because taking the path and staying there requires enormous effort, willpower and patience. This path can almost be described in two words:
1. Work
let us have the lucidity to recognize that the value of work is not sufficiently rooted in our lifestyles, with rare exceptions.
For too many Senegalese, particularly within this fringe supposed to represent the "elite", work is a suffering from which we seek to escape by cheating, by cheating, by pretending (because, at the same time, we love the job). money that work provides). But when work is elevated to the rank of value, when this value is embodied by quality leaders, work proves to be a source of fulfillment, beyond the material remuneration it provides.
2. Ethics
let us have the courage to recognize that integrity is more of a posture than a conviction for us.
We like to talk about values, about what should be, about morality and religion, but this is limited to rhetoric... However, without these prohibitions that everyone must set for themselves to avoid harming others, never the behavior of the most many will not secrete collective happiness.
We must therefore put Senegal in a position to win this battle. It is both easy and difficult. Easy, because the path is known, difficult because taking the path and staying there requires enormous effort, willpower and patience. This path can almost be described in two words:
Become aware of others, always try to reconcile your own interest with the interest of others, there is a feeling which allows you to achieve this and which everyone must strive to cultivate: it is fraternity.
It is to instill a new social dynamic, based on work and fraternity, that we are proposing a new political offer.
Even if it means playing politics, why create a new party in a country that is already full of them? Because the inflation of parties (there are currently more than two hundred…) is precisely proof that this country is still looking for a credible, sincere political offer capable of carrying the aspirations of the majority of Senegalese.
What does the new political offer claim to be different from the countless ones that preceded it?
It has the difference of being supported by citizens who are united around three principles:
1- the need to “decommodify” politics
money has taken an inconsiderate place in political practice in Senegal, but these citizens have no intention of making money their weapon of war. They do not wish to buy convictions, what they wish is to convince through ideas, through verifiable daily behavior, through a deep love for Senegal and through the intimate conviction that, despite the immensity of the task , it is still possible to restore this country;
2- the need to find new paths to economic and social development
for 50 years, regardless of the governments in place, public policies have followed the same patterns, with the same strong dependence on external aid. These schemes have largely proven their ineffectiveness, even their harmful nature, and it will take political courage to break with them and invent new economic and social governance;
3- the need to redefine the societal contract that binds the Senegalese
for several years, under the effect of the economic and social crisis but also political manipulation, Senegalese society has been slowly but surely falling apart. Communitarianism (religious, brotherhood, ethnic, regionalist, etc.) is increasing, withdrawal is growing and public action is increasingly becoming the reflection of successive dominant influences, instead of translating a national project. unifying, stable, projected towards the future, while being respectful of specific identities.
It is to this new political offer that we propose, not necessarily to adhere, but to lend an attentive ear, to judge for yourselves the women and men who lead it, to hear the diagnosis they make of the ills from which our country suffers as well as the solutions they propose, to evaluate and criticize the quality of their action, to appreciate their sincerity and, at a time of important choices for the future of Senegal, to draw all the consequences by letting yourself be guided by only one thing: the search for the best interest of this country that we have in common.
So this is a call .
From this flame, we want to make a fire that will chase away the darkness of withdrawal, of the plundering of public resources, of cronyism, of mismanagement, of incompetence, in short, of the many evils that plague this country that we refuse to contemplate abandonned.
Yes, we want to deserve the beautiful name of patriots because we have a debt to our country and we intend to pay it. Without any naivety! We are aware of the magnitude of the task and we already hear the sneers of the skeptics: patriotism, this old thing, this outmoded idea, this dusty ideal…
But we are not afraid of appearing old-fashioned because we are too aware of the state of economic, social and moral disrepair in which our country is immersed; we suffer too much from the lies and actions that perpetuate this state; we believe too much in the triumph of the will, when it is ardent and sincere, when it is embodied in this traditional value that some call “PASTËF”. This is why we engage in political action which, for us, means Action in the service of the City.
We invite you, dear Senegalese Patriots who believe in Work and Fraternity. We promise you neither wealth nor comfort but a lot of work and difficulties to overcome, but ultimately with the greatest reward: the feeling of having been useful to your country.