Over the past ten years, students at Adam Barka University, located in the city of Abéché (Ouaddaï) in eastern Chad, have repeatedly protested against the government’s austerity measures, despite the authorities’ violent repression. Jean, a former law student, took to the streets in 2016 and was roughed up by the police. The letter he wrote at the time recounting his experience was widely shared.
It was April 2016 when Jean (the author of the letter below, is writing under a pseudonym. Their identity is known to the editorial staff) and his classmates had had enough. Their monthly stipend of 30,000 XAF (approximately 46 euros) had not been paid for the second consecutive month. For many students, this stipend makes the difference between continuing their studies and having to work, especially for young people from rural and economically vulnerable areas.
The frustration is exacerbated by the political situation. That same month, the presidential elections ended in disappointment for many Chadians: incumbent President Idriss Déby Itno was re-elected, to the detriment of popular opposition leader Saleh Kebzabo. It was one term too many for the Chadians. In a country already in economic crisis, discontent and mistrust toward the government continue to grow.
Police Violence
“In 2016, I was a student at the Faculty of Law and Legal Sciences. At first, we were protesting mainly for scholarships, but Déby’s reelection gave the protest a whole new dimension,” Jean recounts.
“In the morning, we gathered inside the university with banners reading ‘We want our scholarships.’ Then we went out onto the main road in front of the university to block it by setting a tire on fire and singing the national anthem,” he continues.
Shortly afterward, the police arrived. Using tear gas, the police dispersed Jean and the others. The students retaliated by throwing stones at the officers. The clashes lasted about an hour. After desperately trying to keep the police at bay, the protesters gave up.
“I decided to wait at the university until things calmed down; then I went out to head home. When I arrived at my residence, about 1 km from the university, the police were standing in front of my house and arrested me.”
Jean was taken to the police station and, according to his own account, severely mistreated. Back home, he wrote a letter to come to terms with the event.
“When I wrote that letter, I didn’t know it would be useful ten years later, as it is today. I wrote it with pain and a lot of bitterness. I described the reality of what I had experienced, and at the time I really wanted everything to change all at once. I wrote it with rage.”
Iyna Citizens’ Movement
Police violence and repression were hallmarks of the regime of the late President Idriss Déby and were widely employed as the situation in Chad became increasingly turbulent in 2016. Here’s why: in 2015, an economic crisis erupted in Chad. The price of oil, on which the Chadian economy largely depends, plummeted while spending rose. This increase was due in particular to higher defense spending caused by the deteriorating security situation, the reception of more than 450,900 refugees from the region, and widespread tax evasion and corruption.
In the years following 2015, the government introduced new taxes on foodstuffs and implemented drastic budget cuts, particularly in education and health care. At the same time, it cut civil servants’ salaries and stopped publishing new job openings in the public sector—the main employer of young graduates in Chad.
In 2016, following the example of other protest movements in Senegal (Y’en a Marre), Burkina Faso (Balai citoyen), and the DRC (La Lucha), the Iyna movement (which means “We are tired” in the local Arabic dialect) emerged in Chad: a space where journalists, artists, students, and socially engaged young people could express their dissatisfaction with the regime. Just as during the Arab Spring, social media became a means for the movement to spread its message. Combined with traditional media such as radio, the group was thus able to reach a wide audience.
“I wrote this letter in 2016, when access to social media was not yet what it is nowadays. Our means of publicizing our activities or conveying our messages relied on community radio and written correspondence, which reached our target audiences, young people and students in universities and neighborhoods, directly.”
For most of 2016, from the presidential elections through the end of the year, the government restricted access to social media and messaging services such as Facebook and WhatsApp. Security services maintain a list of dangerous websites that they have blocked. Online activist Tjadine Mahamat Babouri, known as Mahadine, was arrested in September 2016 after posting videos in which he criticized the government and expressed concerns about the economic crisis (Amnesty 2017).
Polarization Between the North and the South
Jean recounts that, during his interrogation, he was repeatedly accused of being an insurgent from the South. According to the police, the demonstration was allegedly funded by the party of opposition leader Saleh Kebzabo, who himself hails from southern Chad.
This accusation comes amid broader tensions within the country. In Chad, power has been held for decades by politicians from the north, the vast majority of whom are Muslim.
“Our opponents thought we could get money to disrupt the ruling regime, even though we were just ordinary students with no affiliation to a political party. The police chief asked: Who is telling you to protest?”
To secure Jean’s release, his classmates organized protests in front of the university. They held up A4 sheets with his photo and the text “Free Jean” written below. After a day and a half, Jean was released. He assumes it was thanks to the protests and his family’s connections.
Following the protest against the non-payment of scholarships, Jean and the other students received another three months of financial aid. In August 2016, the Chadian government officially decided to eliminate monthly financial aid for all students, with the exception of medical students, students in specialized vocational training programs, and students studying abroad (Amnesty 2018).
Student protests in Chad are overshadowed in the international news. However, in 2025, protests still took place in Abéché, where medical students protested because they had not received government scholarships for years (Tchadinfos 2025).
The Letter
Dear fellow students at universities and colleges in Chad,
It is with great anguish and bitterness that I write this note to you.
These brutal and rude police officers have once again crossed the line. I was the victim of their cruelty yesterday morning, around 10:48 a.m.
In fact, we, the students of Adam Barka University in Abéché, specifically the law department, held a peaceful demonstration yesterday at 8:00 a.m. at the university’s main entrance to demand our scholarships. For more than six months, the government has failed to honor its commitment to disburse these funds.
We then called on students to come out and make their voices heard.
Alerted to the situation, these police officers came to disperse us using tear gas and hippopotamus-skin whips, usually intended to punish serious criminals.
After the demonstration ended, we dispersed. For my part, I stayed until 10:25 a.m. before returning home. At the entrance to my neighborhood, they ambushed me, with the help of a few traitorous students. They captured me and forcibly took me to the central police station.
Upon my arrival, one of them kicked me in the ankles, causing me to fall to the ground.
The chief of police approached and asked me:
“Why did you break the bumper of my vehicle?”
I replied:
“I didn’t break anything, and I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He retorted:
“You know very well—I saw you throwing rocks.”
I replied:
“When? Your men arrested me in front of my house. When could I have done that?”
Then he ordered them to bring him the whip:
“Give me the whip…”
The commissioner began beating me violently, drawing blood, trying in vain to extract a confession from me:
“If you admit it, I’ll let you go… Who’s behind this? Do you want to cooperate or suffer?”
I remained silent, despite the intense pain, the blood, and the sweat on my wounds.
With difficulty, I finally said, with tears in my eyes:
“If you want to kill me, kill me.”
He struck me again, mercilessly, until one of his colleagues intervened:
“That’s enough, Commissioner.”
They then stripped me of my papers and the money I had, then locked me in a cell with thieves and bandits—I, who had done nothing but demand my rights through a peaceful demonstration.
I found myself in a horrible environment.
Dear comrades,
I write to you with great sorrow.
This barbarity cannot continue.
They dared—we will have to respond when the time comes.
Stay mobilized.
The struggle must not stop.
Be vigilant.
Spread the word.
Please acknowledge receipt.
