I met Ibrahim, like most of my other participants, while walking towards the market. Ibrahim drove by on a bike and stopped next to me, offering to bring me to my destination. I politely refused, saying that I didn’t have money, to which Ibrahim replied that he never brought up money and would just drop me off at the market for free. We exchanged some small talk with me saying how I did research but did not go into the specifics. After dropping me off at the market, Ibrahim asked me when I would visit him at his house. Letting the curiosity get the better of me, I exchanged phone numbers and we arranged a meeting. 

When I arrived at Ibrahim’s house, I was greeted by his family and Ibrahim and I sat down in his courtyard. I was curious about this man, more than my other candidates for the research at that point in time due to the fact that Ibrahim approached me in such a way at first. My first question for Ibrahim was, “why did you stop for me?”. Ibrahim thought that was a funny question, saying how he saw me walking by myself through a working-class neighbourhood while wearing the football jersey of Senegal’s national team, saying

According to him, he felt like he had to stop and see what my story was, saying that he used to be a journalist so that he could detect when someone has a story. 

Ibrahim agreed to be part of the research and I started by asking him questions about the Casamance’s position in the rest of Senegal according to him, especially in regards to the conflict. Normally, I would be more discreet with asking these questions but given Ibrahim’s interest and background, I immediately got to the point. 

Ibrahim started talking about the history of the history of the region and how the conflict originates from the early 20th century, when Portugal and France divided the region and laid the roots for what would become a civil war, according to Ibrahim. Although Ibrahim wanted to talk about the current state of the conflict, he said that it was important to know where this all came from. He added to this that he was a full Diola from his mother’s and father’s side, having done the ceremony to pass into adulthood in the sacred forest. He returned to the history of the conflict, saying that the Casamance and especially Ziguinchor were supposed to be meeting place of different cultures, those from the south in current Guinea-Bissau, and those from the North of the Senegambia region, saying that it belonged to everyone. 

When talking about the current state of the conflict, Ibrahim said that going north of Bignona will give an entirely different perspective on the conflict because the MFDC is almost non-existent on the southern bank of the Casamance. He said that over there, the villages are still filled with former or active rebels. According to Ibrahim, these rebels still hold soldiers in captivity, and in return, Senegalese soldiers hold rebels in captivity to ensure that nothing happens to their own men who are captured. 

I asked what his personal opinions on the conflict were. Ibrahim said that he supported an independent Casamance. In his opinion, the Casamance gives more to Senegal than it gets in return from the country, creating large inequalities between the people in the region and the rest of Senegal. He referred back to the colonial era and that this has been a deliberate decision by the French to ensure that the Casamance would not properly develop. Referring back to my question, he said that even though he supported an independent Casamance, he did not support the MFDC. His reasoning behind this was that the MFDC is fighting a lost cause,

When asked what a potential solution was, Ibrahim said that everyone who lives in the Casamance, regardless of origin, should sit down and discuss together on how to bring the conflict to an end. The most important aspect to these types of discussions would be to include traditional and local values as well, as to avoid only looking at solving the problems of the future but also to satisfy the conservatives and supporters of the MFDC in keeping a regional identity and to solve the issues of the past as well.

According to Ibrahim, Ousmane Sonko is an ideal candidate in order to attempt to bring an end to the Casamance conflict due to his background in the region. If Sonko would get a high position within the Senegalese government, it could function as a bridge for dialogue between the government and the Casamance, as Sonko would represent parts of both parties. Additionally, it would be the first time someone from the Casamance would have such high-ranking post within the government. Ibrahim finished this point about Sonko by mentioning that Sonko in this  way, carries on with the ideas of Aline Sitoé Diatta, a woman who resisted the colonial forces during the Second World War, and Emile Badiane, the founder of the original MFDC.

“European tourists would never do that, and you don’t look like you work for an NGO”

“Les touristes européens ne feraient jamais ça, et tu n'as pas l'air de travailler pour une ONG”

“they have been fighting since ‘83, others were fighting at least a century before them. They will never achieve anything this way”

“Ils se battent depuis 83. Avant eux d'autres se battaient au moins un siècle avant. Ils n'obtiendront rien de cette manière”

Next: Arfang about arrival and acceptance