Paper short abstract:

This communication focuses to practices and imaginaries of Thiaroye camp in Senegal generated by the arrival of migrant-soldiers between 1910 and 1960. This memory among some of populations of the nearby village of Thiaroye-sur-mer explains in part the construction of a discourse on allochthony

Paper long abstract:

The name of Thiaroye resonates today as a symbol of colonial oppression. Because the military camp was the scene of a bloody crackdown of "Tirailleurs Sénégalais" on December 1, 1944, this name was registered as a site of memory in Senegal and in various areas in West Africa and the diaspora, through cultural works or memorial policies. However, the military camp was established in 1910 and still in operation today, was a place of life throughout the colonial period involving militaries of all Africa under French domination. Thiaroye camp was the largest camp of colonial soldiers in the French Empire, he gathered "Tirailleurs" for military service or because they were in transit, outbound or return to other metropolitan areas and Colonial, especially those in war. This space has allowed for more than fifty years of encounters between soldiers-migrants from various circles of the sub-region with the inhabitants of the villages on the coast of Dakar region, especially of Thiaroye-sur-mer. These interactions have generated various social practices - some were considered as stigmatisanes like the consomation of alcohol and prostitution. This paper will question the construction of a discourse on allochthony in urban context since the early 20th century in the memory what have people of Thiaroye-sur-mer having known these African migrants military, as well as a work in the colonial archives.