11 - (Re)Writing the Massacre of Thiaroye

Summary

Introduction

Over the past sixty years, West African writers have continuously examined the massacre of Thiaroye, a violent reprisal inflicted by the French army on its African soldiers. While the French cultural discourse remains silent on the event, the meaning of Thiaroye continues to be explored by West African artists. Generally speaking, the present chapter is concerned with the multiple literary (re)writings of a historical event. More specifically, it argues that the various interpretations of Thiaroye are not univocal and that they depend on each author's critical intentions and sociopolitical agenda. In order to provide support for this argument, the content and the form of various works are closely analyzed and related to their historical contexts of production.

At dawn on December 1, 1944, the French army opened fire on West African tirailleurs repatriated in the Thiaroye camp on the outskirts of Dakar. Although figures may vary from source to source, sociology professor Armelle Mabon speaks of twenty-four infantrymen killed, eleven dead as a result of their injuries, thirty-five wounded, and forty-five imprisoned mutineers. Naked force was the only response provided by France to the soldiers’ legitimate demands for pay. For the most part, the contingent of 1,280 men stationed in Thiaroye, according to historian Myron Echenberg, consisted of “ex-prisoners of war … held in German camps from the collapse of France in June 1940, until the Liberation in the summer and fall of 1944.”

As a sign of gratitude for their participation in the conflict, de Gaulle discharged soldiers of African origins before the war ended. Demobilized and sent to transit camps first in France and then in Senegal, the infantrymen logically expected to receive the same treatment as their French comrades, that is, the payment of back pay, war allowances, and demobilization bonuses by the French authorities. In France, under various pretexts, their complaints had been dismissed. French journalist Yves Bénot adds that “They were promised that everything would be done in Senegal. Yet, there, nothing was being done either.” In Thiaroye, they just received an order to go back to their remote African villages. As a result, the infantrymen protested, demonstrated, and “went as far as to capture General Dagnan [the Commanding General of Dakar and the region] and hold him prisoner for a few hours,” until Dagnan promised they would receive the monetary compensation that was due to them.