Diawara Soumaila

Soumaila Diawara was born in Bamako (Mali), where he graduated in Legal Sciences with a specialization in International Private Law. During his university years he began his political experience by actively participating in student movements alongside civil society. After completing his studies, he fully entered politics, joining the opposition party Solidarité Africaine pour la Démocratie et l’Indépendance (SADI), where he soon became a leader of the youth movement.

Through his political activity he had the opportunity to travel across several countries in Africa, Latin America, Europe and Canada, advocating for the liberation of his country from Western imperialism. He later became head of communication for his party, collaborating with the Malian Left and the Organization of the African Left (ALNEF).

In 2012 he was forced to leave Mali after being unjustly accused, together with others, of an attack against the President of the Legislative Assembly. Following these accusations, many of his companions were killed, while a few survivors fled the country. Diawara himself was forced to follow the migration routes, leaving Libya on an inflatable boat. After being rescued by an Italian Navy ship, he arrived in Italy in 2014, where he obtained international protection and still lives today as a political refugee.

Among the most well-known works by Soumaila Diawara:

• Sogni di un uomo (2018) – a collection of poems and reflections on African identity, exile and the struggle for rights.
• Le cicatrici del porto sicuro. Diario di un sopravvissuto (2021) – an autobiographical testimony of the migration journey from Mali to Libya and then to Italy, including accounts of detention and violence suffered by migrants.
• La nostra civiltà – a work dedicated to African cultural identity, society and values.
• L’Africa martoriata. Colonizzazione e decolonizzazione (2025) – a historical-political essay on European colonialism in Africa and its contemporary consequences.