Eviction in Guédiawaye: 3000 workers from the filaos (market gardeners, livestock farmers and artisans) make an urgent appeal to President Diomaye Faye

On the coastal fringe of Guédiawaye, where the casuarina trees offer their benevolent shade to a hardworking community, an inky silence has descended. It is not the calm of serenity, but the muffled murmur of anguish. Market gardeners, livestock farmers, and auto mechanics, the backbone of a grassroots, subsistence economy, now face the Damoclean sword of imminent eviction. The administrative notices they have received set a merciless deadline: October 22, 2026.

The heartfelt cry of a working-class suburb

Behind the cold severity of the eviction notices lies a social drama of immense proportions. More than 1,027 head of cattle graze on these 127 hectares of coastal greenery; more than 3,000 souls, fathers and mothers of families, whose destiny is intimately linked to the land and the workshops of the zone.

Khadidiatou Tambédou, a figure worthy of this peaceful resistance, raises aloud the painful question of republican equity: "There are the cities of the magistrates, those of the Domains, but where are those of the poor?" It is the expression of a feeling of abandonment in the face of an urban development perceived as exclusive, where these citizens only demand the right to earn an honest living, with no other compass than the sweat of their brow.

Through their spokesperson, Pape Samba Sarr, the stakeholders at the site sought to dispel any misunderstandings during a formal press conference. Their approach is neither partisan nor rebellious. They are not opposed to progress, beautification, or the reorganization of the coastline by the State. They simply refuse to be unceremoniously erased from the landscape, swept aside like mere variables in the equation. What they demand is to be heard, to have their dignity respected, and to be provided with viable resettlement solutions to prevent thousands of households from falling into utter destitution.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye's urgent appeal for arbitration

Faced with the imminent deadline and the ominous threat of a departure with no future, all eyes are now on the Presidential Palace. The group is issuing a fervent and solemn appeal to the Head of State, President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye.

Mr. President, you who have placed your presidency under the banner of social justice, inclusion, and the protection of the most vulnerable, your intervention is now hoped for as the last bulwark against hardship. An intervention from your high authority would allow us to suspend the October 22nd deadline and open an inclusive dialogue with the relevant ministries.

By prioritizing dialogue over a clean slate, the Republic will demonstrate its ability to reconcile the imperatives of modern development with the sacred duty to protect its most vulnerable citizens. The people of the Filao Valley await this outstretched hand so that the right to subsistence may finally be synonymous with civic empowerment.

Mr. President, your arbitration is now requested.

We urge you to give immediate attention to our letter submitted on October 13th to the President's mailroom, which includes all the evidence we possess, and to intervene with the relevant authorities to obtain a written suspension of operations and a postponement. This timeframe will allow us to verify the documents and find a solution that safeguards the livelihoods of families while respecting the regulations applicable to coastal areas.

We request a consultation bringing together the Governor of Dakar, the Prefect of Guédiawaye, the Urban Planning Department, the Land Registry, the Cadastre, the DGSCOS (General Directorate of Social Cohesion and Construction), and representatives of the occupants. The possibilities for maintaining or regularizing the situation must be examined on a plot-by-plot basis. If relocation remains necessary, we request that the resettlement and the conditions for the continuity of activities be discussed and prepared before it is carried out.

The Prefect of Guédiawaye received our delegation and indicated that our request would be reviewed. We thank him for listening. We are now awaiting a decision on the requested postponement. With only a few days left before the deadline, a written response would allow families to know where they stand.

An appeal to the media and to national and international public opinion

We call on the media, civil society, agricultural organizations, and livelihood advocates to amplify our appeal. We invite them to review our documents, meet with the occupants, and question the relevant authorities. We hope that the plight of these families will be heard in Senegal and beyond, and that dialogue will begin before any irreparable losses occur.

Mr. President, we request the possibility of continuing to earn a living while our case is being examined. We ask for your leniency and intervention to prevent an emergency eviction. Before October 22nd, a suspension order could still allow time for dialogue to lead to a solution.