#Dk4Garissa – Dakar rallies against terrorism

#Dk4Garissa (Dakar for Garissa) is the name of a collective launched by several Senegalese civil society organisations and cultural figures to “express their solidarity with Garissa University in Kenya”. It is organising a large gathering this Friday, 17 April, at the Place du Souvenir Africain et de la Diaspora in Dakar.

Participants will be invited to sign 147 condolence books, symbolising the number of victims. This first act will be followed by a silent march to Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD), about a 15-minute walk away. A performance by graffiti artists is planned there (two Senegalese, one American, one European and one Kenyan, all in Dakar for Festigraff), along with readings of texts paying tribute to the students of Garissa and calling for peace.

In a statement, the organisers said that, through Garissa, they wished to express their solidarity with all victims of terrorism across the continent. “We have not forgotten Chibok, Bardo or La Terrasse; of course, we will remember these events. We are marching for Garissa because it is in the news, but in fact we are marching for all victims of terrorism,” one of them said in an interview. UCAD was chosen to host most of the event because the bloody massacre in Garissa took place at a university.

Further forms of mobilisation will follow, but the organisers declined to elaborate. “Information will be provided in due course,” they said in the same interview.

As a reminder, on 2 April, al-Shabaab militants stormed the university in Garissa and killed 147 students. A 148th victim died of their injuries a few days later.

The event will be streamed live and live-tweeted using the hashtag #DK4Garissa.