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On September 26, 2002, the sinking of this overloaded ferry killed 1,863 people, more than 2,000 according to victim associations, and caused unprecedented trauma in Senegal. An official ceremony took place this Monday morning at the port of Ziguinchor.
With our special correspondent in Ziguinchor, Charlotte Idrac
The ceremony took place in the presence of several ministers: that of the Armed Forces, Sidiki Kaba; Air Transport, Doudou Ka; of Culture, Aliou Sow; and the one in charge of Microfinance, Victorine Ndeye. The head of state, Macky Sall, however, was absent, as was the mayor of Ziguinchor, Ousmane Sonko, who was represented.
« The Joola does not have a human size. It is gigantic in its consequences. It’s an incurable skill failure said Boubacar Ba, president of the National Association of Families of Victims and Survivors of the Joola (ANFVR). He recalled the apocalyptic unfolding of events: the wait for help for hours, the screams, the despair. He nevertheless underlined some progress in this matter in recent years, and in particular the construction ofa memorial-museum in Ziguinchorby the river, which could open in December.
Victims’ associations recall their demands
Victims’ associations are once again calling for better care for orphans and that justice is finally done, knowing that the procedures in Senegal and France are closed. They insist above all on the bailout of the Joola to be able to mourn. “ To answer the outstretched hands of the victims at the bottom of the ocean ”, said Boubacar Ba.
► Read also : Twenty years after the sinking of the “Joola”, the victims’ still many expectations
As for him, the Minister of the Armed Forces expressed in his speech “ his infinite emotion ». « We must always do our introspection “, he declared, calling for compliance with the rules in terms of security and prevention so that such a tragedy cannot be repeated.
The ceremony marking this twentieth anniversary was ultimately no different from the previous ones. No specific announcement was made. Many victims were also disappointed not to be able to travel to Ziguinchor from Dakar due to a lack of funding from the state, according to them.
► To listen also: Grand Reportage – Twenty years later, the memory of Joola