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Some of the last survivors left in France from the colonial infantry, which recruited tens of thousands of African soldiers to fight in the French Wars around the world, were granted the rights to their pensions by the French government. turn it on.
The decision to make claiming pensions easier was confirmed on Wednesday (4 January).
It follows a long-running campaign representing the “Tiraille Senegalese” recruited to fight from Senegal and other former French rulers in sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the government’s Solidarity Ministry, the pension decision concerns only 22 ex-combatants who collect 950 euros (US$1,000) a month.
The ministry added that people would no longer have to spend six months a year in France to be eligible and would continue to receive pension payments even if they left permanently.
The decision to apply the “principle of tolerance” to veterans will be formalized in an upcoming government letter.
last battle
Tens of thousands of African recruits served in the Tirailleur regiment, the colonial wars, both world wars, and the French wars in Vietnam and Algeria, before disbanding in the early 1960s.
“After many years of fighting, we are finally victorious,” tweeted Aisata Sek, who is campaigning for them. will be.”
Her grandfather was also a “Tirailleu”.
Founded in 1857 and disbanded a century later, veterans of the infantry had to spend at least six months of the year in France to be eligible for a French pension.
The rule has separated aging ex-combatants from their families in Africa, and some have died lonely, separated from their loved ones, says Aïssata Seck, who is campaigning for them. Her grandfather was also a “Tirailleu”.
“It’s been very hard for the family and for us,” Sek said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday (Jan. 4). We live in a very different environment.”
A total of 37 former Tirailleur soldiers, conscripted from Senegal, Mali, Mauritania and Guinea, are known to live in France, Seck said.
The youngest is 90 and about ten people live in separate rooms in a house in the Parisian suburb of Bondy, where Seck is an elected official. They served as tirailleurs during the wars of independence in Vietnam and Algeria, she said.
overdue decision
In Senegal, the head of the National Office for Veterans and War Victims said the decision was delayed.
“For a long time, veterans have asked to return home with their pensions, but to no avail. This decision puts them at ease. I live in a very difficult situation.” Ngor Sar.
Searle, 85, moved to France in 1993 and received a pension after fighting for the French army in Algeria and Mauritania. He said he lost it when he returned to Senegal 20 years later.
Others said the decision was made too late.
Mamadou Lamine Thiam said, “Many soldiers died. Despite the role they played in liberating France, they did not get this opportunity. His father also fought in Algeria and He died in 2015 at the age of 85.
The announcement coincides with the cinema release in France of the film, which focuses on the sacrifices made by African soldiers on the bloody French battlefields of World War I. [Editor’s note: Father and Son in English] It features actor Omar Sy, star of the “Jurassic World” franchise.
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