#Thiaroye

[nando161mando]

"Senegal has commemorated the 80th anniversary of a colonial-era massacre of African soldiers who fought for France during World War II and were shot by French soldiers in 1944 for demanding fair treatment and payment on their return.

France’s foreign affairs minister was in attendance at the ceremony in Thiaroye on Sunday as were other African heads of state as Senegal continues to demand answers about the massacre."

[almanach-international]

1er décembre : le 80e anniversaire du massacre de Thiaroye, la fin d’un déni français

Au Sénégal et dans plusieurs pays d’Afrique, on célèbre le 80e anniversaire du terrible massacre de Thiaroye opéré par l’armée française en 1944. Après 80 ans de déni, la France et notamment plusieurs localités comme Morlaix, où ils avaient été cantonnés, commémorent cette journée honteuse du 1er décembre.

Fin novembre 1944, plus de 1 600 soldats africains (officiellement 1 280) issus de différents territoires de l'Afrique-Occidentale française sont regroupés dans le camp de Thiaroye, à une quinzaine de kilomètres du centre de Dakar. On les appelle les « tirailleurs sénégalais » mais ils sont aussi originaires Dahomey (actuel Bénin), du Soudan français (actuel Mali), de la Haute-Volta (actuel Burkina-Faso), de la Côte d'Ivoire, de l'Oubangui-Chari (actuels Tchad et Centrafrique), du Niger, du Gabon et du Togo. Ils ont aidé la France à vaincre l’occupant allemand, leur mission étant terminée, ils ont été rapatriés pour être démobilisés.

Ils n’ont été payés que très partiellement et la plupart refusent de quitter le camp tant que leur solde n’aura pas été versée intégralement en outre il réclame que leur pécule en francs français soit changé en franc de l’AOF au cours officiel de 500 pour 1000 FF au lieu de 250 comme on le leur propose. En réponse à ce mouvement de protestation, le camp est investi par les troupes du général Dagnan au matin du 1er décembre et les Français tirent sur les soldats africains rassemblés. L’armée française a d’abord reconnu 35 morts, puis 70… sans compter les très nombreux blessés. Les historiens parlent de plusieurs centaines de morts, probablement entre 300 et 400. 80 ans après, la majeure partie des archives françaises concernant ce crime de guerre ne sont toujours pas publiques.

Le président Hollande en 2014 est le premier à reconnaître une “répression sanglante”, mais en s’en tenant au bilan  officiel de 1945 : 35 morts, sans les nommer ni révéler le lieu de leur sépulture ni reconnaître la spoliation du rappel de solde et la responsabilité de l’armée. Le 28 novembre 2024, le président Emmanuel Macron reconnaît officiellement le ‘massacre’ de Thiaroye dans une lettre adressée à son homologue sénégalais Bassirou Diomaye Faye, anticipant de trois jours ce 80e anniversaire. À l’assemblée nationale française, on annonce une commission d’enquête… En parallèle, côté sénégalais, un groupe d’historiens, de documentalistes et d’archivistes a été missionné pour tenter de faire la lumière sur les nombreuses zones d’ombre autour de ce massacre qui a profondément marqué les populations d’Afrique de l’Ouest. Son évocation auprès des plus jeunes est une illustration de l’époque terrible de la colonisation française et participe au discrédit de la France dans la région. Est-ce une coïncidence si deux jours avant ce 80e anniversaire le gouvernement sénégalais annonçait que l’armée française était invitée à quitter le Sénégal. Le Tchad venait de faire de même.

Le massacre est aussi commémoré chaque 23 août lors de la Journées des tirailleurs.

À lire Le massacre de Thiaroye - 1er décembre 1944. Histoire d’un mensonge d'État, Armelle Mabon, Le Passager clandestin, novembre 2024, 272 p.

Thiaroye 1944. Histoire et mémoire d’un massacre colonial, Martin Mourre, PUR, mars 2017, 240 p.  

Un article de l'Almanach international des éditions BiblioMonde, 1er décembre 2024

[roseillith]

CAMP DE THIAROYE (1988) dir OUSMANE SEMBENE, THIERNO FATY SOW  

[treethymes]

Camp de Thiaroye (1988, dir. Ousmane Sembène & Thierno Faty Sow)

[nine-frames]

"French Citizenship? No, thank you. I remain African, and I keep my education."

Camp De Thiaroye, 1988.

Dir. & Writ. Ousmane Sembène & Thierno Faty Sow | DOP Smaïl Lakhdar-Hamina

[thoughtportal]

The Thiaroye massacre (French: Massacre de Thiaroye; pronounced [tja.ʁwa]) was a massacre of French West African veterans of the 1940 Battle of France, by French forces on the morning of 1 December 1944. These Tirailleurs Sénégalais units had been recently liberated from prisoner camps and after being repatriated to West Africa, they mutinied against poor conditions and defaulted pay at the Thiaroye military camp, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal. Between 35 and over 300 people were killed.

on youtube

[ladymazzy]

The 1944 Thiaroye Massacre in Senegal, a Shameful Episode of the French Colonial Period in Africa · Global Voices

From the article;

'On December 1, 1944, an unspeakable tragedy took place at the military camp of Thiaroye, a small village in the suburbs of Dakar. Thirty-five Senegalese Tirailleurs (a type of rifleman or sharpshooter) were killed, according to official records, but other testimonies reported more than 300 dead, gunned down by colonial troops after protesting to be paid for their military service. The general public did not learn of this tragedy until 1988, when a film called “Camp de Thiaroye,” by Senegalese cineaste and writer Sembène Ousmane, was released.'

[alberto-alpozzi-fotografo-torino]

Colonialismo. Triulzi: ignora la verità o la tace? - VIDEO

[firebarzzz]

le film « Camp de Thiaroye » sera projeté 36 ans après avoir été interdit en France à sa sortie - Festival de Cannes -

le film « Camp de Thiaroye » sera projeté 36 ans après avoir été interdit en France à sa sortie - Festival de Cannes .

Interdit de diffusion à sa sortie en France, en 1988, Camp de Thiaroye raconte le massacre de tirailleurs sénégalais durant l’année…

[afriblaq]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chaka Zulu 𓋹 (@chakabars)

This the first time you hearing about this! Love to all from Senegal 🇸🇳 The Thiaroye massacre was a massacre of French West African soldiers, committed by the French Army on the morning of 1 December 1944 near Dakar, French Senegal. Those killed were members of the Tirailleurs Sénégalais, and were veterans of the 1940 Battle of France who had been recently liberated from prison camps in Europe. After being repatriated to West Africa, they mutinied against poor conditions and unpaid wages at the Thiaroye military camp. Between 35 and 300 people were killed.

[sissa-arrows]

Let’s talk about an other crime France committed.

In 1944 a group of Senegalese Tirailleurs (despite their names they were West Africans in general) is made prisoner by the Nazis. They eventually get liberated and France put them all in a military camp in Thiaroye in Senegal while wanting for them to be sent back to their respective countries. France has already been liberated so they started the whitewashing process of their troops by sending the Black and Brown soldiers back to Africa to replace them with white soldiers for the victory celebrations.

The men in Thiaroye refuse to leave the camp until they have been paid because previously France didn’t respect its promises so this time they want their money before leaving. France refuses. On November 28 a group of black soldiers decide to just sit there and refuse to move from the camp until they get paid. The military send the colonel Dagnan in the following days. The man still refuses to pay them and is unable to answer to their concerns regarding never getting paid if they do accept to leave. Dagnan leave and he decides that the solution is to “show strength”. On December 1st 1944 Dagnan send soldiers and cops. The black soldiers are awaken by the cops soldiers and the tank they got with them…. they are completely unarmed. No weapon. No violence on their part. They get slaughtered by the French. The lowest estimation says 50 men were killed.

Dagnan then makes a report in which he lies and accuses the Black soldiers of mutiny, trying to held him hostage and threatening his life. The 30 Black soldiers who survived are therefore arrested and condemned to up to 10 years in military jail and lose all rights to the money France owes them. The widows and children of the ones who were killed are not entitled to any compensation not even the money France owed to these men.

In 1947 the French president pardon them but he refuses to admit it’s because Dagnan lied so while they do get out of jail they are still not entitled to any money because of Dagnan’s lie.

To these days the official version in France is Dagnan’s version that the Black soldiers were violent and that they started shooting first that’s why they were killed. So while they didn’t deserve to be killed the wrongs are shared… to these days people think this massacre is up to debate.

[readyforevolution]

African men from across France’s colonial empire on the continent were forcibly conscripted and mandated to fight in France’s wars throughout the 20th century. While these men came from numerous parts of the continent (Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon and elsewhere for example), they became collectively known as “tirailleurs sénégalais “ or Senegalese soldiers.

On this day in 1944 many of these men were in the process of returning home to their respective hometowns by way of Thiaroye, Senegal, the first stop for the soldiers on the African continent. Upon demanding that they receive their pensions and better treatment, they were massacred by French colonial forces.

Despite coming from various parts of West and Central Africa, these men found themselves in the same position and met with the same violence under the French colonial system. They struggled together collectively for better treatment and ultimately they were killed together.

Death to the French Empire !

Forward to the African revolution!

[roseillith]

CAMP DE THIAROYE (1988) dir OUSMANE SEMBENE, THIERNO FATY SOW  

[le-fils-de-lhomme]

The tirailleurs from Senegal and other French African colonies were the ones who liberated France during WWII and they were massacred by the French government for demanding adequate pay and freedom of movement. We don't know these men's names and you cannot get near the spot where the massacre happened. The French disappeared and murdered human beings like Pinochet in Chile. They did the same thing in Algeria in the 50s-60s. Till now, the French have never been made to account for who they murdered or disappeared. They are rightly hated in the African and Arab world.

[blackfilmshowdown]

Sorry to Bother You: 2018, Boots Riley. In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, black telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success – which propels him into a macabre universe. Camp de Thiaroye: 1988, Ousmane Sembene. The film is about the mutiny by and mass killing of French West African troops by French forces on the night of November 30 to December 1, 1944. West African conscripts were protesting poor conditions and revocation of pay at the Thiaroye camp. Moolaadé: 2004, Ousmane Sembene. Addresses the subject of female genital mutilation, a common practice in a number of African countries, from Egypt to Nigeria. Collé, who uses moolaadé (magical protection) to protect her daughter and a group of younger girls. She is opposed by the villagers who believe in the necessity of female genital cutting, which they call "purification".

Daughters of the Dust: 1991, Julie Dash. Set in 1902, it tells the story of three generations of Gullah (also known as Geechee) women in the Peazant family on Saint Helena Island as they prepare to migrate off the island, out of the Southern United States, and into the North.

Films submitted! Thank you very much <3