A teacher by training, Carim Camara is today superintendent in charge of community relations in a mining company located in the Kédougou region. Dealing with the social responsibility of his company, a social and environmental investment fund, the former soldier of the Military Prytanée of Saint-Louis, is an activist for the cause of the region, particularly of Dindéfelo which saw it born.
Very active for his community, the man who was also a journalist at the Senegalese Press Agency (Aps, with training at Deutsche Welle) remains a lover of his land for which he calls on his sons first to take up the challenges to integral development. Overview of the challenges and emergencies in the interview he gave us.
You are from Dindefélo. Can you come back to the area which, beyond the waterfalls, is full of real tourist and economic potential?
The Dindefelo area is, frankly, divine clemency. The natural potential is immense even if it is still little or not exploited. Besides the Dindefelo Waterfall, the most famous and highest in altitude is the only one that flows 12 months out of 12. We have another in Afia2, one in Ségou, that of Inguili in Coucoudié and two others in Kounsi and Kafori in the Fongolembi. Other attractions exist in the Dindefelo area such as the teeth and caves of Dandé, the trunk of Pelle, the source of the Dindefelo Waterfall, the Gambia River… In short, Dindefelo is spoiled by nature. Many sites in the Kédougou region seem unknown to ordinary Senegalese people.
What should be done for better knowledge and use of the region?
These sites are mostly unknown to the general public and deserve to be popularized so that they are known to the Senegalese. There needs to be real promotion of the destination alongside the efforts of tourist guides.
Kédougou is a crossroads of cultures with a mosaic of ethnic groups that coexist harmoniously. The State must support the installation of reception structures worthy of the name and the Senegalese must stop looking at Kédougou as a punishment camp… The area is very accessible with roads and infrastructure visible almost everywhere.
What other challenges and emergencies do you note?
A huge effort has been made in the area of infrastructure, but the Silling-Dindefélo section, the Fongolembi road, still needs to be finished. But also access to the mobile telephone network. Many villages are cut off from the network, which contributes to the insecurity noted here and there. Almost all border villages of Mali and Guinea do not have access to the Senegalese network and use those of border countries.
Agriculture is the main activity in the area which experiences good rainfall. But the populations raise certain complaints about the activity.
How should we proceed, in your opinion, to better take these grievances into account?
Despite the natural assets, agriculture is still practiced in a rudimentary manner on small areas with hoes and plows. People continue to see the farmer as an individual who has nothing else to do, and therefore a demeaning activity. We should resort to intensive agriculture, its mechanization and work to create champions. That we find agripreneurs with a certain social success to brandish to young people
There is certainly gold mining. But the cessation of traditional gold panning seems to be detrimental to some.
How can we ensure that populations can benefit from the area’s wealth?
Artisanal gold mining does not only benefit nationals. Thousands of people of 37 nationalities sometimes live together in conflict.
The closure in itself is not beneficial for most populations who benefit from the practice by working directly there or by carrying out activities around the mine. We need to discuss with local populations and border countries. If Senegal bans up to 500 meters from its shores while on the other side gold miners do it in the river, that is a problem. Let’s return to the specific case of Dindéfelo where many students from the Plateau without middle and high schools suffer martyrdom by climbing and descending it every day.
-What should be done to alleviate their suffering?
Here comes the much-sung about equity in this country. Children aged 12 to 19 leave their homes every morning at 6 a.m. to arrive at high school at 8:15 a.m. This is unacceptable. They walk through mountains, ravines, big trees with all the risk to be able to benefit from an education. We need a college on the plateau where there are four villages, we need a college in Pelel Kindessa where the children travel 7 to 9 km to reach their establishment. The Senegalese school is undoubtedly in very good hands with Moustapha Mamba Guirassy and it will have to be more republican, more democratic and more in line with the Senegal 2050 framework.
Just like Dindefélo, other students from Iwol are going through the same ordeal?
This situation is identical in Iwol and in certain corners of the region. Kédougou must benefit from positive discrimination to fill the gap in this area. Moreover, if nothing is done, abandonments will continue in favor of gold panning and organized crime. The exploitation of the region’s tourist potential is not at its best level.
How can we improve the accessibility of sites, particularly the many waterfalls?
We must open up the areas through good roads, access to the telephone network and the establishment of reception infrastructures worthy of the name with promotion of the destination.
You returned to work in the area after your studies. What attachment do you have with the region?
What binds me to this land is stronger than anything and I could even say that “it’s not the marabouts, it’s God”. You have to know him to love him. I called this part of the country, in my book “Letter to an unknown friend” (published by L’Harmatan in 2016), a piece of the world with worldly taste. I felt bitter when a university professor of geography could not know that the Dindefelo waterfall was in Senegal. I was frustrated to hear my parents say that they are going to Senegal when they want to go to Dakar…
This divine clemency must be valued, popularized and promoted. Senegalese people pay millions to spend a week in Europe or the United States when the beauty and tranquility they seek are on their doorstep. I never loved this part as much as when I was away from it.
What should be the posture of the sons of the land for a flight?
We very often decry the numerous departures of teachers for other regions when we ourselves do not want to serve there. Same for doctors! Why doctors from Kédougou do not want to set an example. If others, due to negative prejudices, do not want to serve in your country, you go back and prove that you have the most beautiful region in the country. Also those who serve must benefit from this legendary “teranga” in Kédougou.
In my first teaching position, in the village of Habibou, I stayed two months without needing my money since they gave me everything…
What do you expect from the Senegalese state regardless of everything that has been done to open up the region?
We expect a lot from the new authorities who have shown good will by erecting the South-East pole around Kédougou. Structural investments will be needed to cultivate a certain attractiveness of the region, further promote tourism, preserve culture, intensify agriculture, provide populations with benefits from the mine, diversify the training offer, create Kédougou mines and empower the children of Kédougou…
