Senegal: "The populations do not use the colonial names of the streets"

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The House of Slaves on Gorée Island, Dakar, Senegal. RFI / Paulina Zidi

By: Charlotte Idrac Follow

In Senegal, on the island of Gorée, off Dakar, the "place of Europe" now becomes "the place of Liberty and Human Dignity". A decision taken by the municipal council of this site symbolic of the memory of slavery and the slave trade. For his part, the mayor of the commune of Plateau, in the city center of Dakar, recently proposed to launch a reflection on the names of the streets inherited from colonization. Michel Ben Arrous is a geographer and researcher. He co-wrote last year with Liora Bigon a study by IFAN, the fundamental institute of black Africa, "Street names in Dakar. (Pre) colonial heritages and present times ”.

  • Senegal
  • Society