Total population | |
---|---|
50,000 - 150,000 [1] | |
Languages | |
Arabic (Lebanese Arabic) · French · Wolof [1] | |
Religion | |
Sunni · Shia · Maronite · Eastern Orthodox [1] [2] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Lebanese diaspora |
Part of a series of articles on |
Lebanese people |
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There is a significant community of Lebanese people in Senegal. [1]
The first trader from Ottoman Lebanon arrived in French Senegal in the 1860s. However, early migration was slow; by 1900, there were only about one hundred Lebanese living in the country, mostly Shiite Muslims from the vicinity of Tyre. They worked as street vendors in Dakar, Saint-Louis and Rufisque. After World War I, they began to move into the peanut trade. With the establishment of the French Mandate of Lebanon, Lebanese immigration expanded sharply. [3] During the Great Depression and again after World War II, French traders lobbied the government to restrict Lebanese immigration; however, the government generally ignored such lobbying. [4]
During the colonial period, the Lebanese tended to support independence movements. [4] Their social position outside of the colonial relationship, as neither colonist nor colonised, enabled them to maintain good relations with both Senegalese consumers as well as the large French businessmen. [5] After Senegal gained independence in 1960, most French small traders left the country; however, indigenous Senegalese people began to compete increasingly with the Lebanese in the peanut sector, and soon after, the whole peanut marketing sector was nationalised. [4]
Lebanese migrants and their descendants have tended to maintain dual citizenship of both Lebanon and Senegal. [6] Most speak Arabic, Wolof and French, and some have become involved in Senegalese politics. However, they are a fairly endogamous community. [1]
In the early 2000s, the Lebanese began to be displaced from their position as a market-dominant minority by the influx of Chinese traders and the cheap goods they brought from China; as a result, the Lebanese began to shift to a pattern of buying goods from the Chinese and reselling them in remote areas of the country where no Chinese migrants lived. [7]
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa, on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal is bordered by Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal nearly surrounds the Gambia, a country occupying a narrow sliver of land along the banks of the Gambia River, which separates Senegal's southern region of Casamance from the rest of the country. Senegal also shares a maritime border with Cape Verde. Senegal's economic and political capital is Dakar.
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Religion and beliefs occupy an important place in the daily life of the nation of Senegal. Many denominations of the religion of Islam are represented. Christians represents 3.3%. Other belief's are officially practiced by 0.1% of the population, particularly Serer, but members of other religions also often partake in traditional practices.
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There is a small community of French people in Senegal, reflecting Senegal's history under France's rule as a part of French West Africa.
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Mozdahir is an international non-governmental organization based in Dakar, Senegal.
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