Senegal Recalls a French Colonial Massacre and Seeks Answers

At a military cemetery in Thiaroye, a fishing village close to Senegal’s capital Dakar, Biram Senghor frequently pays his respects, bowing before a new tombstone each time.

The 86-year-old is unable to identify which cemetery is that of his father, M’Bap Senghor, one of the hundreds of West African riflemen who served in France during World War II but who was probably slain by the French army on December 1, 1944, for refusing to pay him.

All of the graves in this cemetery, where they are purportedly interred, are anonymous, and neither the precise location of the bones nor the number of victims are known. As Senegal marks the 80th anniversary of the massacre on Sunday, the actual scope and circumstances of the murders are still unknown, posing a threat.

Biram Senghor claims, “I have been fighting for answers for over 80 years.” French President Emmanuel Macron must repent; he cannot follow in the footsteps of his predecessors.

The West Africans served in the French Army throughout World Wars as part of the colonial infantry corps known as the “Tirailleurs Sénégalais.” Historians claim that disagreements over unpaid salaries occurred in the days leading up to the massacre and that French forces turned on the unarmed African soldiers and killed them on December 1.