The balance has made Senegal among the most stable of African nations, and one with a distinctly friendly attitude toward the United States. But Senegal's easygoing Islam is under pressure. In urban areas, the Senegalese are busy. Sparks fly at the blacksmith's shop, the markets bustle, the sea is filled with fishermen long before dawn, and every street corner is crowded with shoeshine boys and vendors. But this enterprising spirit has not lifted Senegal's economy.
Economic growth can barely keep up with rising population.
Hard-worked cropland is turning into desert. Even among successful Senegalese, tension between modern and traditional economic life is apparent. The contemporary drive for success is restrained by deeply rooted expectations that any member of a family or neighborhood who has a job is obliged to assist those who do not. Many Senegalese try to skirt this duty by investing their money in concrete blocks. Others channel their ambitions into trying to obtain a travel visa to Europe or the United States.