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.
The massacre is symptomatic of the French colonial power’s contempt for the African soldiers who had fought for its liberation during World War II. The film, which was produced by Senegal and Algeria, was banned in France for 17 years before being becoming available on DVD in 2005.
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