PARIS – When Diary Sow was crowned the best student in Senegal, after reaching first place in national high school competitions in 2018 and 2019, much of the country fell in love with the young woman, a brilliant student of modest origin with a work ethic example that stood out in science and literature.
Mrs. Sow received a merit scholarship from the Senegalese authorities, enrolled in one of France’s most prestigious schools in Paris, and even published her own novel. Senegalese supporters saw it as destined for greatness.
So when Sow, now 20, went missing this month, there was a wave of concern in Senegal and France, where prosecutors opened an investigation. The Senegalese diaspora in France also took action in the hope of finding it.
“It symbolizes hope,” said Fatou Bintou Sanoho, a member of the board of Senegal’s Federation of Students and Interns in France.
“For an emerging country, schooling for girls is very important,” said Sanoho, adding that Sow was a flagship for all Senegalese girls. “She was perfectly suited for that role.”
Mrs. Sow was studying at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in the Latin Quarter of Paris on an exhaustive curriculum that prepares students for highly competitive exams that open the door to the best business, science and engineering schools in France. Last year, there were about 12,000 Senegalese students in France.
She seemed to be thriving. Emile Bakhoum, an authority dealing with Senegalese student services in France, said that Sow never reported any specific problems with his department.
In August, Ms. Sow shared a photo on Facebook of a book by President Macky Sall of Senegal – autographed, for her, by the president himself. “For Diary Sow, a rising star that is the pride of an entire nation,” wrote Sall.
But on January 4, after the winter break ended, Sow did not show up for class. Several days later, she was still missing.
On Thursday, his school alerted Senegalese authorities in Paris, who filed a report with the police. Ms. Sow was last reported in a student residence in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, where she had a small apartment, according to the Senegalese Consulate, although it was unclear whether anyone had actually seen her or whether her badge had been used there.
Senegalese officials said there were no signs of a criminal act and that no hospital had reported Sow’s hospitalization, but they also warned that the investigation had just begun.
Sow is from Mbour, a town about 35 miles south of Dakar, where a steady stream of local and foreign journalists visited his family on Tuesday in a peaceful and tense environment.
Family members declined most of the press interviews, but an uncle, who refused to give his name to preserve the family’s privacy, said they last spoke to Sow on January 2.
Ms. Sow was admitted to a selective secondary school in Diourbel, in western Senegal, and won a science award in 2017. In 2018 and 2019 she was declared Senegal’s “best student” after arriving first in the Concours général, a national competition with scientific and literary challenges.
A photo of Mrs. Sow, posing with her novel, now appears prominently on the Senegalese consulate’s website. “The diary is thin, is 172 cm tall and has dark brown eyes,” says the notice. “Help us find it by sharing. We are counting on you! “
Over the weekend, some 200 members of the Senegalese community distributed pamphlets on the streets of Paris and shouted “Together, let’s look for the Sowing Diary!” Others pasted posters with their photo on the walls of the school.
A campaign to publicize Sow’s disappearance is also underway on social media, with the hashtag #RetrouvonsDiarySow, or Let’s Find the Sow Diary.
In Senegal, the disappearance caught the country’s attention and made headlines. Mandione Laye Kebe, photographer who directs a widely followed Twitter account in Senegal, he was one of many who mobilized online with the hashtag #RetrouvonsDiarySow.
“I can’t imagine the sadness of her family,” he said. “They live far away. They have no idea what’s going on and they don’t know what to do or who to talk to. Is very difficult.”
Aida Alami contributed reports from Dakar, Senegal and Mady Camara from Mbour, Senegal.