To mark his hundredth day in captivity and demand the release of Olivier Dubois, nearly 70 people gathered this Saturday, July 18, in Bamako for a sports walk. A discipline exercised by the independent journalist. Installed in Mali since 2015, he is the only French hostage known in the world since his abduction in Gao on April 8 by the Support Group for Islam and Muslims, a branch of the terrorist group al-Qaeda.
as reported from Bamako, Kaourou Magassa
Gathered on the banks of the Niger River, friends, colleagues as well as ordinary Bamakois wanted to sing together their unique slogan:“Freedom for Olivier Dubois”. A mobilization on the initiative of a support collective that Célia d’Almeida, journalist and longtime friend, is a spokesperson for.
“I am torn between the sadness that he is not there and the joy of seeing that everyone is present. This positive energy that we share with Olivier as we go, we will revive it by hoping that these waves reach him and that they can carry him in what he is going through now, explains t -it.
Located east of Bamako, the route was chosen because it was the last that Olivier Dubois went with his family before his captivity. A distance of 5 km swallows through fields in a good mood and music by the participants dressed in white t-shirts that bear the image of the French journalist or carry the slogan “#FreeOlivierDubois”. .
“It is our duty, my duty, to make sure that everyone knows that today there is a French citizen, a journalist who wanted to do his job and who was kidnapped, because he wanted to inform us,” launchesDeborah Al Hawi Al Marsi, mother of two children of Olivier Dubois.
The demonstration ended after two hours with hugs and words of encouragement. Everyone in Bamako wants the French journalist released quickly so they can walk next to him again.
.
