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Calm has returned to Senegal, but the crisis born of the March 3 arrest of opponent Ousmane Sonko has not yet been resolved. The tax is heavy: 10 dead according to a government source, 13 according to the opposition. One of the phenomena that marked the spirits these days with unprecedented demonstrations and riots is #FreeSenegal, a channel that allowed young people to express their anger, a real amplifier of protest.
With our special correspondent in Dakar, Carine Frank
With his small glasses of clever intellectual, Pope Demba Dione is aware that his hashtag has provided an incredible echo to the mobilization of youth. However, he initiated it in a completely spontaneous way, assuring him: “It came naturally to me because everyone shouted at me by saying: Pope, you should try to start a hashtag. To update the Senegalese people. But afterwards I tell myself that the Senegalese have also allowed themselves to vent their anger, to condemn everything that is currently happening in Senegal. ”
Launched on March 3, the day of the arrest by Ousmane Sonko, success is instantaneous. Nearly 3 million messages on Twitter used Pope Demba Dione’s hashtag. “I would not say that I am proud of myself. I would rather say that I am proud of the Senegalese people. And there it no longer belongs to me. Because at the moment, hashtags are all about. Everyone sees it. ”
In the process, a 48-hour Freesenegal.com website was also set up by other young Senegalese, such as Mohammad (23), a digital shift specialist: “We have set up a platform that centralizes all information about events. And it is true that there was undoubtedly a real need for information at that time, and suddenly the platform contributed to mobilization. ”
Last week, Pope Demba Dione and his friends launched a fundraiser aimed specifically at the many wounded. 10 million CFA francs (15,000 euros) have already been collected in a few days.
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