(13 Oct 2010)
STORYLINE
Senegal's president honoured on Wednesday a promise he made to Haitians following January's catastrophic earthquake.
A private plane sent to the quake stricken Caribbean nation at the weekend has returned to the capital Dakar with 160 young Haitian students on board who have accepted offers to continue their studies in Senegal.
President Abdoulaye Wade was on hand to give them a special welcome.
In January, Wade reacted to news of the tragic Haitian quake by offering free land in Senegal to Haitians hit hard by the disaster.
His spokesman said at the time that Wade considered them the sons and daughters of Africa because their ancestors were taken to the Caribbean as slaves. Both countries are also former French colonies.
Yet while there is no longer talk of free land Wade said in a speech last month at the United Nations, that he was inviting students to continue their studies in local universities.
He has asked local families to host the students and said he plans to begin bring Haitian families here next year.
Senegal's GDP per capita is only marginally higher than Haiti's, and the country is plagued by massive unemployment.
Every year thousands of Senegalese men risk their lives trying to reach Europe in flimsy boats for a chance at a better life.
Wade's project has been met by criticism in a country now facing its worst power cuts in recent memory.
Critics accuse him of undertaking showy projects that are intended to build his prestige rather than addressing the country's grinding poverty.
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