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Senegal commemorates this Monday, September 26 the 20th anniversary of the sinking of the Joola, one of the greatest disasters in civil navigation. However, 20 years later, the memorial-museum has still not opened its doors in Ziguinchor.
From our special correspondent in Ziguinchor,
Wedged between a noisy street and the peaceful Casamance River, the Ziguinchor memorial-museum, which began to be erected in 2020, should be finished next December. Despite the delays, Elie Diatta, brother of a shipwrecked man and member of the national association of the families of the victims, is still satisfied that this huge building is starting to come out of the ground.
« It will allow the new generation who does not know the Joola to know that there was a disaster worse than the Titanic here in Senegal too. And in the history of Senegal, there is a black bridge called the Joola. If Joola was taught in schools, universities, everywhere, the present generation could take hold of this story, and this is not the case. », Regrets Elie Diatta.
For the moment, nothing concrete has been decided regarding the content. According to the Ministry of Culture, a scientific and technical committee works from documents to ” build a coherent scenographic discourse “. A work that does not sufficiently include the families of victims or the survivors, who are nevertheless the first concerned, claims Elie Diatta.
« The memorial must be able to contain the relics of the Joola, the bailout must be done. It can be the bar, it can be the bell. There are important elements in the Joola, the propellers from the wreckage that we can take out of the wreckage and bring here “, evokes Elie Diatta.
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This memorial is also a way of fighting against the oblivion feared by Kadidiatou Diop, daughter of a victim. In her hands, she tenderly holds a photo of her mother, Fatou Tinor Diedhiou. “ Every time we talk about the Joola boat, I feel like I need to see this photo, to remind myself of the person I lost in the boat. That’s why I think they should put the photos next to the names of the victims. You will go to the memorial, there will be the names, there will be the photoss,” she says.
Boubacar Ba, president of the national association of families of victims and survivors, also insists that a memorial and place of meditation be erected in Dakar, the capital: ” It is necessary for everyone, for the foreigners who arrive in Dakar, that they can have something to show that on September 26, 2002, there was a terrible and unforgettable event for humanity. To come to Dakar and have no monument that represents the tragedy is to dishonor the families and the country, the image of the country. »
On the Place du Souvenir in Dakar, a wreath of flowers will be laid during the day to commemorate the 20th anniversary of this tragedy.