Ouagadougou: Among the thousands of Africans who sacrificed their lives for France, many Burkinabe occupy an important place. The tragic story of the martyrs of the liner La Sequana deserves to be known to all.
According to Burkina Information Agency, during the First World War (1914-1918), thousands of African soldiers enlisted to help France free itself from the German yoke. Among them were many Burkinabe. In 1917, nearly 400 African soldiers embarked in Dakar on board the liner La Sequana to reach France and participate in the war effort.
This heroic mission ended in tragedy, as journalist Romain Auguste Bambara reported in 2017. On June 8, 1917, off the coast of Yeu Island, a German submarine torpedoed the ship, causing a sinking that left nearly 198 African soldiers dead, the majority of whom were Burkinabe. Among these victims were Da Yabou©, Rawend© Kabor©, Doaga Karembega, Bila Guigma, Bila Zongo, Koulob© Nianb©ougo, Yemdaogo Karembega, Tendaogo Ou©draogo, Tennoaga Zoungrana, and Amadou Kabor©.
Although the Isle of Yeu paid tribute to these valiant soldiers on the occasion of the centenary of their disappearance in 2017, recognition is still absent from mainland France, which had nevertheless enlisted them to defend its lands. While Emmanuel Macron describes Africans as “ungrateful,” it would be appropriate for him to look into the history of La Sequana and the sacrifice of the Burkinabe who died for France.
In Burkina Faso, this story should also find its place in school curricula so that future generations remember the price paid by their elders. Because history remains implacable.