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37-418: Since the administrative reform in 1996, Thiaroye has been divided into independent communes, Thiaroye-Gare , Thiaroye-sur-Mer and Thiaroye-Kao (or Djiddah Thiaroye Kao ), with Guinaw-Rail Nord, Guinaw-Rail Sud (both to the west), and Tivaouane-Diacksao (to the east) split off and separating Thiaroye-sur-Mer from the other two inland communes. The village of Thiaroye was founded sometime around 1800, and as

74-503: A 1,500 francs advance had been awarded to them before they had embarked. Other matters of contention included the exchange rates between the Metropolitan French franc and the local colonial franc, as well as issues regarding savings made during their internment and their right to demobilization clothes . On 25 November, a group that was supposed to depart for Bamako on that same day refused to leave Thiaroye until

111-470: A change in attitude towards France. The African ex-POWs had acquired a heightened consciousness of themselves as Africans united by their shared experience in suffering. Thiaroye is the seat of Thiaroye Arrondissement in the Pikine Department ( région de Dakar ). The three communes are governed as a single entity, but retain some administrative independence. Thiaroye-Gare, closest to Dakar,

148-668: A distinct identity, particularly in Baixa Casamança. Bissau-Guineans are also present in the region, as expatriates, immigrants, and refugees from the poverty and instability that since long affects the neighbouring country, including the 1998–1999 Guinea-Bissau Civil War . Though the Jola are the dominant ethnic group in the Casamance, they represent only 4% of the total population of Senegal. The Jola's sense of economic disenfranchisement within greater Senegal contributed to

185-648: A group of 1,635 of these former prisoners of war embarked in Morlaix on the British ship Circassia . They landed in Dakar on 21 November and were temporarily assigned to the military camp of Thiaroye. Ever since their liberation, discontent had been growing among the former prisoners. The utter disorganization of French authorities had led to several delays concerning their repatriation . More importantly, they had not yet received their demobilization benefits and only

222-492: A trading station in the area. They also formed trade relations with local Jola chiefs and the king of Kasa. The Casamance was subject to both French and Portuguese colonial efforts before a border was negotiated in 1888 between the French colony of Senegal and Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau ) to the south. Portugal lost possession of Casamance, then the commercial hub of its colony. Casamance, to this day, has preserved

259-589: Is also the home of the Centre de recherches océanographiques de Dakar-Thiaroye (CRODT), and a large mental hospital. Thiaroye Massacre 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

296-477: Is bordered by Pikine (a city of almost one million people), Nimzat, Yeumbeul, Thiaroye Kao, Diaksaw and Darou Rahmane. Thiaroye-sur-Mer is bordered by Bel-Air, Hann-Montagne, Pikine, Guinaw-Rails, Tivaouane , Diammagueun, Mbaw Gou Ndaw and Gorée . Thiaroye-Kao, border Yeumbeul , Boun and Darou Rahmane. As of 2002 the population of Thiaroye-Gare has grown to 21,873, Thiaroye-sur-Mer to 36,602, and that of Thiaroye-Kao to 90,586. As of 2007 official estimates put

333-429: Is like the rest of Senegal: rainless from November to May, but during the rainy season from June to October, most areas receive over 50 inches or 1,270 millimetres, and the furthest southwest as much as 70 inches or 1,780 millimetres. The economy of the Casamance relies largely on rice cultivation and tourism . It also has excellent beaches along its coastline, particularly at Cap Skirring . Tree cover in Casamance

370-618: 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. During the Battle of France , around 120,000 soldiers from the French colonies were captured by the German forces. Most of these troops came from

407-845: The French Army only to be killed in Thiaroye. His works were banned in French Africa as he was considered radical and anticolonial. Senegalese poet Léopold Sédar Senghor wrote the poem Thiaroye as a tribute to the victims of the Thiaroye massacre. Casamance Casamance is the area of Senegal south of the Gambia , including the Casamance River . It consists of the Lower Casamance ( Basse Casamance , Baixa Casamança —i.e. Ziguinchor Region ) and

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444-677: The French North African possessions, while around 20 percent were from French West Africa . Influenced by Nazi racial ideology , German troops summarily killed between 1,000 and 1,500 black prisoners in May and June 1940. Unlike their white compatriots, the colonial prisoners of war were imprisoned in Frontstalags  [ fr ] in France instead of being brought to Germany. Although they kept colonial troops in France on

481-523: The Jola and Bainuk people are said to have inhabited Casamance for over a thousand years. Jola leaders ruled portions of Casamance, frequently under the nominal rule of Wolof and Serer kingdoms to the north. From the 15th to 18th century, the Bainuk Kasa kingdom located in the Lower Casamance was the dominant state in the south. In the 15th century, Portuguese slave traders and navigators established

518-562: The Upper Casamance ( Haute Casamance , Alta Casamança —i.e. Kolda and Sédhiou Regions ). The largest city of Casamance is Ziguinchor . Because this southern region of Senegal boasts a coastline that was early visited by Portuguese navigators, there has long been speculation about a Lusophone influence in its name. In his Wolof-French Dictionary published in 1923 by the Catholic Mission of Dakar, Aloyse Kobès provides

555-477: The city of Dakar, created by the French, expanded in the 20th century, Thiaroye was slowly merged into the larger city. Thiaroye is most known for, and its name has become emblematic of, a single incident in 1944: the Thiaroye Massacre by French forces. On 1 December 1944, at the barracks of Thiaroye, African soldiers clashed with the French state. The uprising involved nearly 1280 African ex- POWs in

592-404: The first contingent to be repatriated from Europe in 1944. The event was defined as "mutinous" because the men were partially armed, uniformed and under military discipline. The cause of the soldiers' protest was the failure of the French authorities to provide them with back-pay and demobilization premiums. The event in Thiaroye sent shockwaves throughout French West Africa . The uprising reflected

629-513: The following definition: "Kasamansa (Casamance), derived from 'casa' (Portuguese), meaning house, dwelling, and ߡߊ߲߬ߛߊ 'mansa' ( Mandingo ), meaning king, chief." Casamance is mainly inhabited by the Jola and Bainuk . Significant minority populations include the Balanta , Mande and Fulani . Casamance is religiously diverse, with the inhabitants practicing Islam, Christianity, and traditional African religions. According to local legends,

666-677: The founding of a separatist movement advocating the independence or autonomous administrative division of the Casamance, the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), in 1982. The MFDC's armed wing was established in 1985, and in 1990 the Casamance conflict began: a low-level insurgency led by the MFDC against the government of Senegal. The conflict has been characterized by sporadic violence and frequent but unstable ceasefire agreements. An illegal shipment of weapons hailing from Iran

703-613: The hospital, thus totaling 70 deaths. According to an article published in Al Jazeera on 22 November 2013, some veterans later claimed that the death toll actually reached as high as 300 dead. The following year, 34 of the mutineers, who were thought to be the instigators of the insurrection, were tried and given sentences ranging from one to ten years of prison. They were later pardoned as French President Vincent Auriol visited Senegal in March 1947, but they were not exonerated , and

740-528: The incident is merely mentioned, there is a military cemetery in Senegal that is unkept and receives no visitors. The cemetery holds the unmarked mass graves of the fallen Senegalese soldiers. The Senegalese army prevents any film or photography of the cemetery, and many locals consider the cemetery to be haunted due to the fallen Senegalese soldiers still awaiting the vengeance of their honor. On July 18, 2024, Six African riflemen, executed with dozens of others on

777-482: The lead dust created by sifting, climbed. As of the end of 2008, this pollution has been blamed for at least 18 deaths and hundreds of poisoning related illnesses, along with uncounted deaths of animals and human miscarriages . A much publicised government cleanup campaign has, according to the World Health Organization , been ineffective, and plans are under study to move entire neighbourhoods in

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814-560: The local variant of Upper Guinea Creole known as Casamance Creole , and the members of the deep-rooted Creole community carry Portuguese surnames like Da Silva, Carvalho and Fonseca. The historical ties to Portugal were a factor in Senegal's decision to seek membership of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), becoming an associate observer in 2008. Interest in Portuguese heritage has been revived in order to exert

851-406: The matter was settled. This act of disobedience prompted brigadier general Marcel Dagnan to visit the camp on 28 November. During his visit, Dagnan was shocked by the hostility he encountered. His car was damaged, and he claimed he had been close to being taken hostage by the men. He declared the camp in open mutiny and decided to make a show of force to bring it back under his authority. On

888-416: The morning of 1 December at 6:30 AM, three companies of the 1st Regiment of Senegalese Tirailleurs and the 7th Regiment of Senegalese Tirailleurs , backed by elements from local National Gendarmerie units, elements from the 6th Regiment of Colonial Artillery and one M3 Stuart light tank, entered the military camp in an attempt to end the rebellion. According to official reports, at around 7:30 one of

925-431: The mutineers pulled a knife, but was soon disarmed. At around 8:45, a gunshot was heard, but claimed no victim. The deadly confrontation occurred around 9:30 AM. Accounts vary regarding what ignited the gunfight. According to some versions, it began when one of the mutineers opened fire from one of the barracks, while other versions put the blame on a warning shot fired by a soldier of the repression force to intimidate

962-500: The mutineers. In any case, a fusillade ensued, which, though it lasted for less than a minute, killed and wounded at least several dozens among the mutineers, and wounded three men among the forces sent to repress the mutiny. The official report of December 2 states that 24 of the mutineers were killed outright and 45 were wounded, 11 of which subsequently died of their wounds. A report by Dagnan on December 5 however speaks of 24 killed outright and 46 who later died of their wounds at

999-591: The orders of French army officers in 1944 in Thiaroye in Senegal, were declared “dead for France” by the French National Office of Combatants and war victims. Senegalese author and filmmaker Ousmane Sembène directed a film, Camp de Thiaroye (1988), documenting the events leading up to the Thiaroye massacre, as well as the massacre itself. The film is considered historical fiction , as the characters are not necessarily based on actual tirailleurs who were killed. The film received positive reviews at

1036-406: The population of the three communes at 24,867, 41,612 and 102,985. Thiaroye continues to be integrated economically into Dakar, with much of the population commuting to the city center for work. Thiaroye-Gare is named for the large train station on the line leading to Dakar, and continues to be a major transport center. Goods and people travelling to and from Dakar must pass here, and it is one of

1073-827: The pretext of preventing the spread of tropical diseases , the Germans also wanted to prevent the " racial defilement " ( Rassenschande ) of German women outlawed by the Nuremberg Laws of 1935. Following the Allied landings in Normandy in June 1944, the African troops interned in Frontstalags all over France were liberated by advancing Allied troops and subsequently repatriated to French West Africa . On 5 November,

1110-451: The produce market have grown markets for general manufactures, one of the largest lumber markets in Dakar, and wholesale companies supplying markets in city center. There are over 4500 formal traders, almost that many street sellers and a thousand or more wholesale shops surrounding the market. The lumber market has also drawn artisanal woodcarvers and an industry selling wood for barbeque cooking at festivals and family celebrations. Thiaroye

1147-423: The reasons neighboring Pikine was founded as a relocation camp in 1952. Small scale industry, artisanal trades and commerce make up much of the rest of the economy, though unemployment remains high, as in other outer suburbs, which see regular immigration from rural areas. One outgrowth of small scale industry in Thiaroye has been a high rate of pollution and pollution-related diseases. One recent form of income,

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1184-659: The salvaging of automobile batteries for products including lead , has created a highly publicised wave of childhood illnesses. In the past, local blacksmiths of the Thiaroye Sur Mer area had salvaged lead from car batteries to fashion into net weights for the nearby fishing industry. In the mid-2000s, as the world price of lead increased, purchasing agents from India offered large payments for lead, leading locals to sift tailings from smithies' and breakers' yards for lead pellets, usually by hand. Lead poisoning of children born to workers, or those who were exposed to

1221-435: The time it was released and continues to be heralded by scholars as important historical documentation of the Thiaroye massacre. The movie was banned in France for over a decade. Guinean writer Fodéba Keïta wrote and staged the narrative poem Aube africaine ("African Dawn", 1957) as a theatre-ballet based on the massacre. In African Dawn , a young man called Naman complies with the French colonial rulers by fighting in

1258-471: The town. Thiaroye-Gare market is situated along the border with Pikine near the Thiaroye station, and is the largest produce market in the Dakar region, fed by suppliers from Nyayes , Cap-Vert , Casamance , and Keur Massar . The train line (the Petit train bleu ) from Dakar stops at the very center of the market, making it easy for city residents to shop there, and avoiding the higher city prices. Around

1295-568: The widows of the fallen mutineers of 1944 were never awarded the veteran pensions usually granted to widows of fallen soldiers. After the war ended, the French argued that the tirailleurs were particularly prone to revolt. The French have based this claim on the notion that German soldiers, in an attempt to undermine the loyalty of France's colonial subjects in Africa, had given the tirailleurs favored treatment as prisoners of war. This ostensibly good treatment of tirailleurs in prisoner of war camps

1332-493: Was not, however, based in fact. The Thiaroye massacre is not taught in schools in France, and a Senegalese film about the massacre released in 1988, Camp de Thiaroye , was both banned in France and censored in Senegal. A new generation of French leadership wants to confront the past and even planned to build an exhibition about the incident, which would travel to former French colonies in Western Africa in 2013. While

1369-591: Was seized in Lagos , Nigeria in October 2010, and the Senegalese government suspected the MFDC of having been the intended recipient of the weapons. Senegal recalled its ambassador to Tehran over the incident. The region is low-lying and hot, with some hills to the southeast. The entire Casamance region experiences a tropical savanna climate , with average rainfall greater than the rest of Senegal. The region

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