“It is a heritage and historical disaster.“The regional environmental adviser Karfa Diallo does not hide a form of emotion. The national necropolis of the municipality of La Teste-de-Buch is surrounded by flames, very close to the Dune du Pilat and the pine forest ravaged by flames.
In what state will we find this place of memory, the national necropolis of La Teste-de-Buch where the bodies of 956 Senegalese riflemen rest?Karfa Diallo, regional environmental adviser for New Aquitaine.
“The firefighters had installed their firefighting PC next to the necropolis. They evacuated the area in the face of the progress of the flames. I hope to go there on Thursday if the situation is stabilized. The necropolis is in the middle of the forest on path 214, the path of the Senegalese. In what state will we find this place of memory?worries the regional councilor.
SENEGALESE TIRILLEURS CEMETERY
Surprised that no one is talking about this immeasurable heritage disaster. On this map, “the Senegalese path”, on forest road 214, seems to be ravaged by flames pic.twitter.com/0HXpT37FtC— Karfa Sira DIALLO (@KarfaDIALLO) July 17, 2022
Of the five campsites near the Dune du Pilat (Gironde) in the same town of La Teste-de-Buch, evacuated almost a week ago, there is nothing left. They were ravaged by flames on Monday July 18. The national cemetery is located in the middle of the forest just 1.5 kilometers from the Pilat forest campsite, which has gone up in smoke. The national necropolis was closed by the prefecture. On the other side of the road, the zoo animals were evacuated.
956 Senegalese riflemen died between April 1916 and August 1917 in the nearby Courneau camp, also located in the town of La Teste-de-Buch. They were at the time”in winter” before being sent to the front.
These soldiers succumbed to various epidemics such as the Spanish flu or tuberculosis, diseases greatly aggravated by the unsanitary conditions of their accommodation. A memorial was belatedly erected in 1928 to pay tribute to their sacrifice, before being restored in 1967.
It hosts the remains of the Senegalese riflemen, in fact soldiers from Senegal but also from a large part of West Africa under French colonial domination. The ossuary neighbors with Russian and American tombs.
The situation is not fixed.Prefecture of the Gironde.
The regional councilor wrote to the prefect of Gironde, Fabienne Buccio to emphasize the importance of this place of memory.
“The Gironde firefighters, supported by reinforcements from neighboring and national departments, have been working since Tuesday July 12 on two fires which have burned nearly 19,300 hectares of forest in Gironde at this time. Despite the significant land and air resources committed, the situation is still not fixed”, underlines the prefecture of the Gironde this July 19 at 3:00 p.m. For the moment, the prefecture has still not communicated on the situation of the national cemetery.
#FiresGironde
Very difficult night.
This morning in total:
– 6500 ha burned at #LaTestedeBuch. The Ehpad of #Pilat was evacuated as a precaution.
-12800 ha to #Landiras. No additional evacuation during the night.
– 70 ha burned at #Vensac. More than 500 people evacuated. pic.twitter.com/rWaEpuLi7F– Prefect of New Aquitaine and Gironde (@PrefAquitaine33) July 19, 2022
Is another place of memory threatened by the progression of the fires? “My fear is also to see the fires progress towards the town of Saint-Paul (Gironde) where there is a former prison camp for soldiers from Africa detained by the Nazis”, says Karfa Diallo. The town lies beyond the Garonne estuary and seems far from threatened by the fires for now. No evacuation order from the city has been issued.