Yoro Diao, 94, is one of the few surviving Senegalese tirailleurs – African colonial riflemen who fought in the French army during the country's biggest 20th century conflicts. But once the wars were over they began a new battle against the French administration to get better pension rights. Despite the difficulties, Diao’s loyalty to France remains unshakeable.
After 22 years shuttling between Senegal and France – where he lives in a migrant hostel in Bondy, north of Paris – Diao is preparing to return for good to his native village of Dagana in Saint-Louis.
The French government recently announced that he and 38 other surviving tirailleurs would no longer have to spend six months in France each year to claim their monthly state pension of 950 euros.
"It’s come a bit late, but better late than never,” says Diao.
“We have a sense of satisfaction in being able to go home in a dignified way to be near our grandchildren. It’s comforting, and perhaps it will help us live that bit longer.”
He knows time is running out.
"There used to be 27 of us in the hostel, now we're 12. The others have died."
Several of his comrades at the hostel shuffle into his modest room. The eldest, 95-year-old Mor Diop, perches on Diao's impeccably made bed.
"He's very ill; he's had almost every disease," Diao says.
M'Bodji Guorgui, 87, who like Diao is a veteran of the wars in Indochina and Algeria, sits up straight in a smart grey suit but struggles to take part in the conversation.
"His hearing was badly damaged during the explosions," Diao explains.
Despite his advanced years, Diao seems to have weathered the war years well. He's sprightly and his memories of serving his colonial master France are as vivid as ever.
Listen to a conversation with Yoro Diao in the Spotlight on France podcast
Career soldier
He was born in 1928 in Saint-Louis, a French colonial settlement in the 17th century and the capital of Senegal from 1872 to 1957.
During WWI in particular, many tirailleurs were rounded up – as told in the newly released movie Les Tirailleurs (Father and Soldier) starring Omar Sy.
But Diao chose to follow family tradition, enrolling in the army aged 23.
“My uncle served in the Great War. His face was disfigured," Diao says. "My grandfather was recruited by Faidherbe, the governor of Senegal, and my father fought in the Niger campaign.
"All my cousins were in the army. I’d have been a laughing stock if I hadn’t joined.”
Diao's medical training made him highly useful, and he was quickly sent to Indochina where he worked as a nurse and stretcher-bearer as part of the 24th infantry regiment of the Senegalese Tirailleurs.
“It was a mixed regiment along with Europeans, Moroccans and Algerians," he says. "There was no discrimination; we worked together on security operations.”
Diao took part in the battle of Tonkin, marching with the infantrymen, taking care of the injured and picking up the dead.
Remembering the dead 'kept me going'
He takes out some fading black and white photos from a brown envelope – portraits of him as a young man alongside his brothers-in-arms of all nationalities.
He takes great pride in showing Frenchman Lucien Fernand.
“He died at my feet In Indochina in 1954, in the north of Vietnam," Diao says. "We were the same age and were always together. When he was shot he said: ‘Diao I’m dying, please let my parents know how it happened’.
"When I got back I tried to find them, but I couldn’t.”
In 1955 Diao returned to Senegal, and the following year was sent to fight in Algeria. He saved some friends and lost others.
"Remembering all these comrades who died, just thinking about them, is what kept me going in the army,” Diao says, his voice breaking slightly.
New battles
When Senegal gained independence from France in 1960 Diao had to choose between French and Senegalese nationality.
He felt his place was in Senegal, training the country’s new independent army.
Despite the tirailleurs' loyalty and bravery, France turned its back on them shortly before independence and froze their pensions.
Many were condemned to live and die in poverty.
Diao and others began their new battle to win recognition by the French state and equal pension rights.
In the early 2000s he began returning to France to campaign with veterans’ rights groups to have their pensions unfrozen.
They succeeded in 2006.
In 2017 Diao was one of 28 tirailleurs granted French nationality under then-president François Hollande.
It allowed them to claim a monthly state pension of 950 euros, providing they spent at least six months a year in France.
While it was a victory, growing old in a migrant workers hostel far from their families had taken its toll.
“I spent three years trying to get an apartment so that my wife could come and join me,” says M’bodji. "It was impossible, every time the authorities rejected my file.”
Diao nods in agreement at the injustice of it all.
“Luckily we have each other. It would be much worse if we were separated. Being brothers-in-arms gives us moral support. You can die of low morale you know."
Family of comrades
Diao touches the dozen or so medals pinned to his breast pocket – an array of war crosses that earned him France and Senegal's highest decorations – the Legion of Honour and the National Order of the Lion.
“I’m proud of the medals and what I did,” he says. “They've helped me socially, to feel French no matter where I am."
He believes young people should be prepared to take up arms and defend France if the country was threatened.
"The best family is the army, your comrades," Diao says.
"I would do it all over again. I would take my blankets and bedsheets, and I'd be first in line to join up."
