Killing Dakar

The Dakar Rally is a "vulgar display of power and wealth in places where men continue to die from hunger and thirst."

The above excerpt is not from the latest AQ fatwa against the (in)famous rally. Rather, it was from the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. This week, sports pages around the world reported on AQ killing the Dakar Rally.

Dakar Rally's lasting contribution to Africa

As a point of full disclosure, I have been a fan of the Dakar Rally since I was a child. But the race's cancellation led me to stand back and assess the damage the rally has done to the African environment and people.

The 2008 route would have led hundreds of race vehicles, along with thousands of mechanics and journalists in cars, trucks, helicopters, and airplanes, through Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, and Senegal. These nations are the 109th, 132nd, 166th, and 149th richest countries in the world, respectively, when measured by per capita income. Western drivers and teams, often sponsored by oil companies and other multinational conglomerates, zoom through pristine wilderness and underdeveloped villages at breakneck speeds.

Aside from the dozens of participants who have lost their lives, countless locals have also been killed. There is no official figure for the local casualties. Many of their names have not been published. What is known is that, unlike the participants, these people did not voluntarily accept the risks of the race. Some of these victims include:

• Baye Sibi, a 10 year old Malian girl who was killed while crossing the road in 1998;
• a Mauritanian mother and daughter who were killed in 1998 by a film crew's vehicle;
• three passengers who were killed in a stampede in a train which was precipitated by a wildfire started by racers in 1998;
• a 5 year old Senegalese girl who was crushed under the wheels of a service truck in 2005;
• a 10 year old boy who was hit and killed by a Latvian racer in 2006;
• a 12 year old boy who was killed by a support truck in 2006.

Stay clear!

CKY