BY BY MONIKA PRONCZUK
THIAROYE-SUR-MER, Senegal (AP) — The upcoming holiday of Eid al-Adha should have been a joyful occasion for millions of Muslims in Senegal. But skyrocketing prices, record unemployment and growing inequalities have turned Tabaski — as the holiday is locally known — into a source of anguish for many in this West African nation.
Those working in big cities or abroad traditionally return home to celebrate Tabaski. Extended families, dressed in boubous, West African flowy tunics, sewn especially for the occasion from imported fabrics, get together to celebrate. People feast on mutton, sacrificed to commemorate Prophet’s Ibrahim’s obedience to God.
Ibrahima Diouf, a 48-year-old fisherman from Thiaroye-sur-Mer, a village on the outskirts of Senegal’s capital, said he could not eat or sleep properly because he was so worried about the financial burden of the holiday.
“All I think about is Tabaski,” he said. “I can’t even sleep.
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