Buried on Tuesday, 9 June, at Houston, Texas, George Floyd has not finished to be talked about. His death continues to cause a shock wave in the world and, in Africa, several rallies were held in recent days to make him a vibrant tribute. In Senegal, they were not very numerous this Tuesday night, Covid-19 forces, but the symbol was there. Knee on the sand for 8 minutes 46secondes facing the Atlantic ocean, the small committee from the civil society has symbolically chosen the shores of the Atlantic and the memorial Gorée-Almadies who is waiting for his monument to the memory of the victims of the slave trade. From the Fifteenth century to the middle of the Nineteenth century, thousands of african slaves passed through this tiny island located just five km from Dakar, before embarking on a terrible journey to the Americas. "We have come to kneel to the memory of George Floyd on the site of the memorial of Goree. "This symbolism is very strong because you are the face of America," said one of the organizers, Ibrahima Diagne. "The time continues to be very long for the Blacks of America ", he added after a long moment of silence.
Fists raised, protesters in Senegal knelt in defiance of police brutality and to remember George Floyd pic.twitter.com/IY4qOo9iwd
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 10, 2020
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Solidarity with the Afro-Americans
That will remain in Africa for this global movement of outrage that has sparked the murder of George Floyd ? Alioune Tine, former director of Amnesty International for West Africa has launched a call for " a new breath for the rebuilding of humanity." "The cold-blooded murder of a citizen of a black african-american by a white policeman euraméricain, committed in broad daylight, in a street of the capital city of Minnesota, is a story that reminds us, tragically, the practice of lynching of a past slave-holding and segregationist America is condemned by history," says the founder of the think tank Afrikajom Center and co-organizer of this mobilization. For the activist the senegalese, the act of the police in the us is a denial of dignity and humanity which was not only addressed to Floyd. "Everyone knows why George Floyd died under the knee criminal in the White. (...) It was done because, in the tragic past of slavery, the people could take with impunity a negro, the lynching, the killing without justice. People have been revolted by this image, torture, inhuman treatment, degrading treatment ", he launched.
At the beginning of the week, Senegal was already shown in the vast movement of protest against racism with the implementation of the online "declaration of Dakar in tribute to George Floyd," published Monday. "Africa cannot remain passive or silent in the face of the suffering of its diaspora" can we read in this text signed by all the artists, activists, or civil society actors. All condemn " the racist violence experienced by the sixth region of Africa ".
words that echo those of the ex-head of State of benin, Nicéphore Soglo. In his quality of vice-president of the Forum of former heads of State and government of Africa, he urged, a few days after the tragedy, the african leaders to "protest strongly" against the murder. "What cruelty do you need to achieve so that the world finally wakes up and manifests his indignation ? Who would dare to so, face to face, to deal with the kind of these days a European, an Arab, an Israeli, an Indian, a Chinese, a Japanese, an Argentinean or a Chilean ? Too, is too ! "
While welcoming the position of "courageous" by the president of the Commission of the african Union (AU), Moussa Faki Mahamat, and the president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, the collective was surprised, for example, that the head of State of senegal, Macky Sall, has still not spoken publicly about the death of George Floyd while he had not hesitated to go to Paris at the time of the attack against Charlie Hebdo, was surprised Alioune Tine. "We were uncomfortable to see the whole world stand up and say no to injustice so that virtually no african head of State had not spoken, as opposed to 2015, where they were all "Charlie" "
Exactly, in the same day, the lines have somewhat moved since the majority of the president Macky Sall has issued a message of condemnation to death of George Floyd. The coalition led by the formation of the head of the State has condemned, " with the last energy the assassination of George Floyd and all the other victims of african-american fallen recently under the bullets fired at close range, or after acts of torture and deadly police violence have incredible ".
The presidential majority, called in this report the Senegalese " to express in a peaceful way and worthy of their solidarity to our brothers and sisters of the afro-descendants ". It calls on african countries to coordinate through the african Union international action "large-scale" to condemn the racist violence around the world. She said that she will send a delegation to the us authorities in Dakar for their "deliver a message of protest" and " urge him to take urgent measures and reforms necessary in order to protect their populations, afro-descendants ".
Of such expressions of official, and, more generally, public demonstrations are still rare on the continent, despite the wave of protests sparked in the United States and in the world by the death of George Floyd.
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The hope of a turning point against racism
Not far away, in Ghana, the government organized on Friday a memorial ceremony in honor of George Floyd with the objective of supporting all of the Blacks around the world and to fight against racism. This ceremony took place on the historic site of the centre of historical memory, W. E. B. Du Bois for the culture of pan-african, under the aegis of the ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. "We wish to use this opportunity to draw attention to the injustice that continue to face our brothers and sisters in the world ", said the minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi.
The situation in the United States is so severe that it is not limited to Afro-Americans, but also affects the Africans, whether they are immigrants or tourists. "Racism in America remains a deadly pandemic, to which our brothers and sisters in the United States want to find a cure for over four hundred years," she said. The minister expressed his hope that the death of George Floyd, but also Ahmaud Arbery, Breona Taylor and many other victims before them, will not be in vain, but that they lead to a genuine recognition of the sense of belonging to a community of fate.
Monday, in South Africa, many supporters of the radical left, led by the fighters for economic freedom, EFF, gathered in front of the U.s. embassy in Pretoria to protest against racism, police violence and the president Trump. This is the largest mobilization in the country since the death of the African-American 46-year-old. "Down with racism ", " down with imperialism ", " down with Donald Trump ", shouted in front of the protesters, led by Julius Malema.
supporters of The EFF have paid tribute to the victim by keeping a knee on the ground, 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence, the time of the asset that resulted in his death. "There are enough of the police brutality on our black bodies," quipped Mr Malema to the crowd, flanked by the wife of a man recently killed by the south african army in charge of enforcing the containment against the Covid-19.
The political leader has also étrillé Donald Trump, called " white supremacist ", and the president of south africa Cyril Ramaphosa, accused of having reduced the confinement against the coronavirus to meet the "economy white" of the country. "There's no need to listen to the president ", he launched. The movement has spread to the Maghreb in different ways. In Tunisia, where sub-saharan migrants are often targets of violence, about 200 people called for justice and to be able to "breathe" in the face of racism, Friday, in Tunis.
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