PARIS – When Diary Sow was crowned the best student of Senegal, after entering national high school competitions first in 2018 and 2019, a large part of the country fell in love with the young woman, a brilliant pupil with a modest background with an exemplary work ethic that excelled in science and literature.
Sow was awarded a Merit Scholarship by Senegalese authorities, enrolled at one of France’s most prestigious schools in Paris and even published her own novel. Believers in Senegal regard her as destined for greatness.
Then Mrs. So, now 20, missing this month, there was a major avalanche in Senegal and France, where prosecutors launched an investigation. The Senegalese diaspora in France also took action in hopes of finding her.
“She symbolizes hope,” said Fatou Bintou Sanoho, a board member at the Federation of Senegalese Students and Interns in France.
“For an emerging country, the training of young girls is very important,” she said. Sanoho said, adding that Ms. Such was a standard wearer for all Senegalese girls. “She was perfectly suited for the role.”
Me. Sow is studying at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in the Latin Quarter of Paris in a grueling curriculum that prepares students for exams that are highly competitive, opening the doors to France’s best business, science and engineering. Last year, there were almost 12,000 Senegalese students in France.
She seems to be thriving. Emile Bakhoum, an official in charge of the Senegalese student services in France, said Ms. Sow has never reported specific issues with his department.
In August, me. Sow a photo on Facebook shared of a book by President Macky Sall of Senegal – for her signed by the president himself. “To Diary Sow, a rising star who is the pride of an entire nation,” he said. Sall written.
But on January 4, after the end of the winter holidays, Ms. Sow does not appear in class. A few days later she was still missing.
Her school warned Senegalese authorities in Paris on Thursday, who submitted a report to police. According to the Senegalese consulate, Sow was last reported to a student residence in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, where she had a small studio apartment, although it was not clear if anyone had actually seen her or if her badge had been used there. .
Senegalese authorities said there was no sign of a criminal act and that no hospitals reported that she had allowed Sow, but they also warned that the investigation had just begun.
Sow is originally from Mbour, a city about 35 kilometers south of Dakar, where a steady stream of local and foreign journalists visited her family on Tuesday in a quiet and tense atmosphere.
Family members declined most of the interviews, but one uncle, who did not want to give his name to preserve the family’s privacy, said they last met on January 2. Sow talked.
Sow was admitted to a selective high school in Diourbel, in western Senegal, and she won a science award in 2017. In 2018 and 2019, she is named the best student of Senegal after coming first in the Concours général, a nationwide competition, with scientific and literary challenges.
A photo of me. Sow, who poses with her novel, now appears prominently on the Senegalese consulate’s website. “The diary is thin, 172 cm long and has dark brown eyes,” reads the notice. ‘Help us find her by sharing. We are counting on you! ”
About 200 members of the Senegalese community handed out kites in the streets of Paris over the weekend, chanting, “Together, let’s go look for Diary Sow!” Others pasted posters with her picture on the walls of her school.
A campaign to spread the word about Sow’s disappearance is also underway on social media, with the hashtag #RetrouvonsDiarySow, or Let’s find diary boring.
In Senegal, the disappearance caught the country’s attention and made newspaper headlines. Mandione Laye Kebe, a photographer who widely followed Twitter account in Senegal, was one of the many who mobilized online with the #RetrouvonsDiarySow hat brand.
“I can not imagine the family’s grief,” he said. “They live very far away. They have no idea what’s going on, and they do not know what to do or who to talk to. This is very difficult. ”
Aida Alami reported from Dakar, Senegal and Mady Camara of Mbour, Senegal.