Matam, Dec 17 (APS) – The village of Belli Diallo, in the Matam region (north), like all the localities affected by the flooding of the Senegal River, is a symbol of resilience. Its inhabitants, relocated to a resettlement site, are trying to return to normal life, with the hope of soon returning to their homes invaded by water.
Located about three kilometers from the town of Matam, Belli Diallo still resembles a ghost village. And for good reason, last October, the flooding of the Senegal River forced its inhabitants to leave their habitats gained by the rising waters of the Senegal River.
Three months later, the decor has not yet changed. Remains of houses destroyed by the fury of the waters welcome the visitor. Some gutted, others devoid of roofs, others completely razed.
Their former occupants now live on the other side of the village, on the road leading to the Walo fields, on land reserved for recession cultivation. Here, twenty-four families live in precarious conditions, in huts that do not protect against dust, wind or cold.
»Since the waters invaded our village, we have lived here, in this space, with our families. This is where we do everything. Our homes did not resist,” confides Mamadou Sy, a lumberjack who is trying as best he can to return to a normal life.
Not far from what he now calls home, he has timidly started his work again. “It’s nothing like our mud house, where I spent almost my entire life,” says Mamadou, multiplying the blows of the ax leaning against large branches of dead wood. His three-year-old son, only aware of his age, is busy playing next to the hut. A shelter made of odds and ends: straw, wood, pieces of fabric, canvas and mats.
Mamadou Sy now lives here with his little family. While waiting for the waters to recede and the reconstruction of his old house, this is a lesser evil.
During the first days of the river’s flood, the houses were literally invaded by water and were completely emptied of their occupants who became homeless in the space of a few hours.
The family of Mamadou Sy and twenty-three others from the village of Belli Diallo were forced to set up makeshift huts. Posted in front of his makeshift hut, he symbolizes all the resilience of the inhabitants of Belli Diallo. Most continue to go about their business as if nothing had happened, waiting for a better tomorrow.
A village life is being created. Next to each hut, kitchen utensils are placed on the ground or hung up. Motorcycles and carts, bags of cement covered by tarpaulins add an ordinary charm to this family picture.
Promises and a semblance of normal life
At this time when almost all the women from this resettlement site have gone to sell fish at the Matam market, a lady comes out of her hut. Despite her small size, she has to bend over to get outside. Dressed in a multi-colored boubou, her face marked by the cold that has been raging for several days, Aminata Diallo despairs of seeing the precarious situation in which the inhabitants of her village live continue.
»All the promises that were made to us are still not fulfilled. For two months we have been living here with all our families,” she says. The mayor of Ogo, a neighboring commune, had promised to rebuild the entire village of Belli Diallo, but for the moment, nothing of the sort has materialized, adds Aminata Diallo, in whose eyes the most important thing is the reconstruction of the old dwellings.
Mamadou Abdoulaye Camara, the village chief, agrees. “The reconstruction of Belli Diallo has become urgent,” given the precarious situation in which its inhabitants find themselves, he says.
For now, the twenty-four families living on the resettlement site are trying to get back to their habits in a new setting marked by scenes of ordinary life. The adults continue their daily activities mainly focused on fishing, trade and recession agriculture.
Groups of children, in their carelessness, continue to run around and jump around, uttering screams that can be heard several meters away. The atmosphere is joyful, a sign that all is not lost despite the difficulties.