 Mr. President, if you listen to the voices of the young people, the demonstrations will finish. But I beg you, don't let more children die. For The World, I'm Halima Gikandi, Nairobi. Leopold Sedar Senghor is a monumental figure in the history of Senegal and of modern Africa. He was Senegal's first president after independence, as well as an intellectual and a celebrated poet. Senghor was also an avid book collector, and most of his personal library has been in France.