Photos credit: Isseu Diouf Campbell
Members of the Senegalese diaspora gathered across from the Permanent Mission of Senegal to the United Nations on 44th Street in Manhattan, singing and dancing as they waited for President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s cortege to arrive from JFK Airport.
Surrounded by the Secret Service, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye emerged around 3 p.m. from a grey Ford. He acknowledged the crowd and shook a few hands before being swiftly escorted inside the building.
Undeterred, the crowd remained in high spirits, continuing to sing and dance in the hope that they too might get a chance to shake the president’s hand or even take a picture.
President Diomaye Faye exited the Permanent Mission under heavy escort 50 minutes later but re-entered a neighboring building. Still hopeful, the crowd continued to wait. About 10 minutes later, President Diomaye Faye reappeared, acknowledged the crowd once again, and quickly entered the grey Ford, which then drove off, followed by a convoy of black cars.
Despite not being able to approach him, many in the crowd were content just to catch a glimpse of the man who has brought back peace and hope to the hearts of so many Senegalese citizens.
President Diomaye Faye, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Yacine Fall, Minister of Communication, Telecommunications, and Digital Alioune Sall, former Prime Minister Aminata Touré, and others, is scheduled to deliver his speech at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
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