Eight days after the “disappearance” on January 4 of a Senegalese student in Paris, Diary Sow, all avenues are still being considered, including that of a fugue of this young woman known in Senegal as the embodiment of excellence and school success.
An investigation has been opened in France for “worrying disappearance” since Diary Sow, 20, did not resume classes after the Christmas holidays at the prestigious Parisian high school Louis-Le-Grand, where she studies in preparatory class.
According to an association of Senegalese students in Toulouse, the young woman spent the end of year holidays in this city in southwestern France with her best friend, a medical student. She was due to leave on January 1st. Her trace is lost at this time, and she did not go back to school on January 4 in Paris.
Twelve days after his disappearance, the Senegalese representatives in France wanted to be reassuring: “It is not a criminal track which is favored by the investigators”, assured Monday on Senegalese sites and televisions the Consul in Paris, Amadou Diallo.
“The news is reassuring. We cannot say everything. Fortunately, all the feedbacks indicate that there has not yet been any danger to his life, ”he added, adding that a report had been made in the Schengen area.
“We are reassured, even if it is not 100% because we have not yet found it,” said Senegal’s ambassador to France, Maguette Sèye.
“Best student in Senegal”
The disappearance of Diary Sow was reported on January 7 by the Senegalese consul, and Senegalese student circles then set in motion on social networks and in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, where the young woman lives in a university residence. Posters with his photo were put up in the neighborhood.
On the consulate’s website, a disappearance notice with the photo of the young woman and a phone number was published.
His disappearance is causing a stir in Senegal, where Diary Sow, “Miss Sciences” in 2017, won the all-around competition in 2018 and 2019 and was named “best student” in the country. She had been received by President Macky Sall, who “gave instructions” to find her, according to the ambassador.
“Diary Sow is a symbol for Senegal, proof of the efforts of the Government of Senegal to support science and girls in school. We have a lot of hopes for it, ”Maguette Sèye underlined.
Of Fulani origin, Diary Sow lived with his parents in Malicounda, near Mbour, 80 km from Dakar. She went to the prestigious Lycée d’Excellence Scientifique in Diourbel (center), which she joined by competitive examination.
“I am in scientific series, but that does not prevent me from having a strong interest in literary subjects”, she said in 2018 after winning her first all-around competition.
After her baccalaureate the following year, she obtained an excellence scholarship which allowed her to integrate the preparation of Louis-Le-Grand, where she studied physics, chemistry and engineering.
Diary Sow also wrote a novel, “In the Face of an Angel,” and, according to a Senegalese student in Paris, she was writing her second book.