So where has Diary Sow gone?
Why is this brilliant 20-year-old Senegalese student, a student at the Parisian high school Louis-le-Grand, not giving any more news?
These questions are on everyone's lips, in Senegal but also in France.
Read also: Diary Sow case: what do we know about the disappearance of this Senegalese student?
The eldest daughter of six children, a practicing Muslim, Diary Sow spent her childhood in Senegal, with her grandmother whose Fulani roots inspired her a lot.
Passionate about science, reading, writing and even painting, the young woman is a “
model
” for Senegalese youth.
Especially since she obtained the title of "
best student of Senegal
" in 2018 and 2019. "
She spends all her time doing exercises and homework.
She is a great source of pride for us, she is an exemplary child
, ”said her mother Binta, in a 2019 report broadcast on Senegalese television.
In several online interviews, Diary Sow proclaims his “
love of studies
” and his “
desire to succeed
”.
“
When we really want to achieve our goals, there is the possibility,
” she explains in a passionate voice.
This brilliant career, with obtaining her scientific baccalaureate mention "
very good
" in 2019, led her to the prestigious Parisian high school student Louis-le-Grand, where she is currently in the second year of preparatory physics-chemistry class.
Every day, the young woman used to make the trip between her university residence located on Boulevard Port-Royal - not far from the Luxembourg Gardens - and her high school, about fifteen minutes on foot.
In her establishment, the young woman is discreet.
According to
Le Point
, Diary Sow ate lunch most of the time alone in the canteen and her comrades describe her as "
rather lonely
".
"
She was quite reserved, but always very smiling,
" says Thaïs, who shared her class in the first year.
The student, who is targeting major engineering schools, had expressed her desire to return to the country after her studies.
"
My ambition is to serve Senegal in all possible ways
", she explained in an interview for the association "
Les Élites Sénégalaises
", of which she is the vice-president.
“
She is a very open person, very available and who shares her ideas.
She loves her country very much.
She often said: 'my country has given me everything'
”, explains
Mohamed Massal Gueye, the president of the association
, to
Figaro
.
"Silent feelings, hidden emotions"
Very open?
Quite reserved?
Who is Diary Sow really?
Obviously, in view of the context of his disappearance, his latest novel "
Under the face of an angel
", published in January 2020, intrigues.
Diary Sow tells the story of Aline, a young woman about her age.
“
Aline is very withdrawn, very mysterious, not very talkative.
I had to explain the internal pain she was hiding inside her, the silent feelings, the hidden emotions.
Aline was a little fed up with her life, fed up with never knowing love, fed up with never being the object of recognition and pride,
”explained Diary Sow in August 2020 about the heroine of his novel.
"
The heroine is not what she appears to be, she is not really what she gives to the world
", continued the young woman.
A self-portrait?
“
Basically it's not my life at all.
It's a fictional story and not autobiographical, but people who know me can recognize fragments of my life,
”explained Diary Sow, in a radio show, almost enigmatic.
Enigmatic, his disappearance is too.
In an exclusive testimony to France 24, a student in art history recounts having carpooled with Diary Sow on January 2 from Toulouse, where the young Senegalese had visited her best friend, to Paris.
The young woman, who says even to have taken the subway with her, would be the last person to have seen Diary Sow since his disappearance.
The Senegalese consulate general in Paris told
Le Figaro
on Monday
that Diary Sow had "badged" in his university residence for the last time on Monday January 4.
Since then, nothing.
On Thursday, January 7, an investigation for worrying disappearance was entrusted to the brigade for the repression of delinquency in persons (BRDP).
According to the Senegalese Consulate General in Paris, investigators do not believe in the criminal trail.
They evoke a "
worrying absence
", rather than a "
worrying disappearance
".
While waiting to learn more, those close to Diary Sow hold their breath.