toxicity

Abstract

Ibrahim is a tour guide in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. His carefully crafted tour takes you around the city. But it builds steadily to what is clearly, for him, the grand finale. And indeed, what Ibrahim most wants you to see is a marvel: the Monument to the African Renaissance. 160ft high, it is the tallest statue in Africa. It sits at the highest point in the city. Built by North Koreans, it is a Socialist Realist fantasy: a bare chested, muscle bound man lifting a baby in one hand and squeezing a half-naked, diminutive woman with the other. Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade commissioned the monument, and although funded by the Senegalese state, his family takes a third of all proceeds from ticket sales. Even members of Senegal’s parliament call the Monument a $27 million crime, and the results a monstrous waste.