"The monument to the dead Demba and Dupont is a monument of the French sculptor Paul Ducuing , located in Dakar ( Senegal ).
History and symbolism
The statue is unveiled as In Glory to the Black Troops and Fallen Creators of French West Africa on December 30, 1923near the National Assembly, in the Dakar-Plateau district of Dakar. This work by the French sculptor Paul Ducuing (1867-1949) combines a Senegalese tirailleur and a French soldier resting on a pedestal on which appear the effigies of five figures of the AOF: Louis Faidherbe (Senegal), Marie-Théophile Griffon du Bellay (Guinea French), William Merlaud-Ponty (French Sudan), François Joseph Clozel (Ivory Coast) and Joost Van Vollenhoven. The choice of the two carved names is induced by the fact that they are widespread in Africa as in France and are considered as archetypes.
The fact that the two soldiers are looking in the same direction, also indicated by the olive branch raised by the French soldier, suggests the common destiny of the two brothers in arms, but the hand resting on the Tirailleur's shoulder could be perceived as a paternalistic gesture and reminiscent of colonialism, the statue was moved on the night of 13 toAugust 14, 1983 from the surroundings of the National Assembly to theBel-Air cemetery . But on the occasion of the launch ofTirailleur Day, theAugust 23, 2004, the President of the Republic of Senegal Abdoulaye Wade had it reinstalled in front of Dakar station in a place renamed Place du Tirailleur . In 2008, Abdoulaye Wade justifies this choice to reposition the statue: “She had been relegated to a cemetery. When I came to power, I asked that we go get her because, for me, she represents a part of our history. We must assume the story, whatever it is. »
A commemorative monument located in the immediate vicinity is now engraved: "To our dead, honor and eternal recognition of the Nation". The date ofAugust 23 is a reference to the day of the liberation of Toulon by the colonial troops landed on August 15, 1944. The new location chosen, located opposite the Dakar-Niger station and opposite theGorée, is symbolic in the memory of the Veterans because the square was the crossing point for the soldiers who were leaving to join the front in Europe.
In September 2007 , the Senegalese Tirailleur square, the Demba and Dupont monument and the Square du Souvenir were classified as historical monuments by the Senegalese Ministry of Culture."
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Despite these names, they are generalist names and fictitious characters.
There it stands, on the traffic circle in front of the train station and before the Port of Dakar.