The Conquest of Silence: How Senegal Crossed the Digital Freedom Red Line
On this day, February 7, 2024, Senegal finds itself at a historic and concerning turning point in its democratic evolution. After imposing a 48-hour cutoff of mobile internet access, the Senegalese government has lifted this restriction, a maneuver orchestrated to forcibly pass a contested constitutional amendment. This bold move sharply reveals how the power, along with certain fake-news broadcasters, engage in a fierce battle to capture the population’s attention, manipulating our hopes and fears for political ends.
In 2024, the internet has become a powerful vector, directly influencing our motivations, decisions, moods, movements, and much more. Recent events in Senegal perfectly illustrate the prevalence of this influence. We are now faced with a dark and alarming reality: our country has crossed a red line, eroding access to free and essential information for our safety and that of our loved ones. Deprived once again of this fundamental freedom, are we doomed to abandon all hope of resistance against a regime that seems to have given up on the principles of democracy?
Yesterday, along the coastal axis from Diamalaye to Malika, a poignant scene unfolded: a beach teeming with young people and adults, seeking respite in exercise or the sea breeze, seemed to resign themselves to this new reality. Deprived of mobile internet, and thereby any possibility of mobilization or information, they have given up, not without bitterness or indifference, on defending the democratic achievements built at the cost of long struggles.
This grim tableau is living proof of a glory-less victory for the ruling power, which, without bloodshed or direct confrontation, has managed to stifle any notion of contestation. Should we really commend this ability to pacify, through deprivation and repression, a people who only wish to see truth, dignity, and honor prevail?
As the digital economy catches its breath, electronic transactions and online medical consultations normalize, one observation remains: the Senegal we knew is no more. This break, marked by a 48-hour #internetBlackout, underscores a profound and irreversible transformation of our society.
Faced with this realization, the question remains: will we passively accept this reality, or will we find a way to make our voices heard, despite obstacles and intimidation? The battle for the preservation of our fundamental rights and freedoms is far from over.
#FreeSenegal #kebetu
