In Senegal, young people and students dutifully observe fasting during Ramadhan – it is an important pillar of Islam that they must respect. In practice, it is sometimes difficult for young people to cope with such constraints but everyone finds their own way of getting by.
It’s 4pm at the beach in the fishing village of Yoff in Dakar. People are running on the beach against a turbulent sea. Pape Sène, 14 years old, and Ahmadou Mbaye, 13 years old, are stretched out on the sand. They are having a sort of siesta. Normally, Pape Sène would meet with Ahmadou on the football pitch but during Ramadhan, they do with more intellectual activities.
« During Ramadhan, we take lessons in Arabic or French… but it’s a bit hard because Ramadhan lasts thirty days, » explains Pape Sène who prefers the ambience on Fridays, when the mosques are filled with several hundred muslims. This young man enjoys taking the time to pray on this day.
Fasting in the heat
For Ahmadou Mbaye, the most difficult aspect of fasting is to go the whole day without a drink, especially in such heat. « It’s difficult not having the time to take breakfast, lunch and to manage until diner, » said the young boy aged 13, who kills the time by playing scrabble or lido with his friends.
However, a few yards away, a group of students burn off their energy running after a football. They are training from the morning until the evening in preparation for the summer championships in which several neighbourhoods compete against each other. Ramadhan or not, sport and relaxation comes first. « During the holidays, we have a lot of fun, exclaims Mohamed Cissé, aged 20. « We are here from 17:00 to 19:00, » explains the student, who comes to the beach « solely for relaxation. »
Breaking the fast
It is 19:40 in Médina, a popular neighbourhood in Dakar. It is time to break the fast. With a cup of coffee and a date in his hand, Modou Ba, 26 years old, tells me why the fast is so important. For him, ramadhan is a sacred period that he has respected since becoming an adult.
« I’m 26. I have fasted since I was 18. I have never skipped a single month of Ramadhan. For me, the month of Ramadhan is a time when one must watch that they dress soberly and show respect towards others. »
Whether they’re playing board games, taking summer classes, reading, spending time at the beach, during these thirty days young people take a break from their summer jobs to religiously follow the rules of Ramadhan.
Bineta Diagne allafrica
