Greetings all, the below write up was written earlier on today, before
I saw all of the responses to this thread.  However, I'm sending my
thoguths anyway, to add to what has already been so eloquently stated
by others.

I am reading through Samsudeen Sarr's article on the genesis of
tribalism in Gambian politics.  I've currently gotten through the
first part of the article, and I'm wondering, when he talks about how
Jawara was a Mandinka, so his "rule was more tolerable", and yet
Jammeh is a Jola so people are dissatisfied with him, is He, Mr. Sarr,
not engaging in tribal swipes himself?  It seems that by those
statements, he is stating that since Jammeh is a member of a minority
ethnic group in The Gambia, that that goes a good way in explaining
why people don't like his rule.  So are we say then, that if Jammeh
happened to be a Mandinka that his ruling style would be any less
repugnant to Gambians?  I really hope not!  I'd like to think that no
matter what ethnicity or tribe Jammeh belogns to, that right-thinking
people would still speak out against him, as the need arises, no
matter what he is, or hwere he comes from!  I think to make any kind
of a suggestion that Jammeh's tribe has something to do with why so
many speak out against him is pretty shallow, IMHO.

Mr. Sarr then goes on to talk about how life was in Serekunda,
painting a quite nice picture, actually, except when he refers to how
some girls would use the term "solima", which I find not to be so much
"tribalisitc" but rather how some kids would tease others whowear
glasses, or talk funny, or have a disability.  Kids, no matter where
they come from, have a tendency to tease other kids for a variety of
reasons, be it size, someone's name, gender, etc., it's just something
that happens.  And in the Gambian context, it's possible that girls of
certain ethnic groups would tease or make fun of girls from other
ethnic groups for various reasons.  I'm not saying that "tribalism"
doesn't exist, however, if you say that your neighborhood is
homogeneous, and say that everyone gets along, and that you never knew
tribalism, then I don't seem any other way to explain this concept,
unless, of course, you're trying to say two things at the same time,
that tribalism exists, but doesn't exist?  So then what is the
article, thus far, trying to say?  Except to coble a bunch of points
togheter, that so far, don't clearly illustrate your argument.

As I proceeded through the article,

"However, it was not until the PPP in their quest for independence
from the British started spreading the inaccurate political message
that the Wollofs had stolen their country, Gambia, and kept them under
suppression for centuries that I began to realize the filth behind
tribalism. As far as some of them were concerned, colonialism with all
its degradation had nothing to do with the "Toubabs" in charge for
over three hundred years but everything to do with Wollof hegemony.
And to the majority of Mandinkas whose votes were needed to put the
political scam artists in power, the trick worked perfectly."

I find this interesting.  So then, are we saying that most Mandinkas
belive that they've been dominated/oppressed by the Wolofs?  What is
the proof for this statement?  Can anyone point to any PP speeches
where comments like this were made?  If Mandinkas supposedly feelt
oppressed by the Wolofs, how did they feel about the British
colonizers?

"It was anyway clear that when they got the victory they needed they
had to work and live by what the British put in place including the
usage of the English/ colonial language as the official language."

OK, so are we saying that if they couldhave, they would have made
Mandinka the official language of The Gambia?

 "To progressively maintain such kind of administration, one had to be
real and understand that it needed more than being only a Wollof,
Mandinka, Jola or Fula to forge the ideal team of workers."

Again, is Mr. Sarr saying that the PPP/Jawara's intent was to only
employ/use Mandinkas in thier administration?  I find this hard to
bellieve, as evenif Mandinkas are the majority ethnic group in The
Gambia, they do not make up a statistical majority, I think the last
time I checked the stats regarding this, mandinkas made up something
like 40% of the population?  So, the PPP, it seems, would have had to
forge some sort of an alliance, they could not have perpetuated the
tribal rhetoric that Mr. Sarr alludes to, and still be a successful
viable party, because the other 60% of Gambians, making up various
ethnic groups, could have united against that sort of thing.  I just
don't see how Jawara could have gotten away with the "mandinka/tribal
rhetoric" and still had a successful party, with different ethnic
groups represented.

"So Jawara had no choice after independence but to soften up the
initial ethnic rhetoric and build a government that was more
pluralistic than the one envisaged by most of the pioneers."

What kidn of government did the so-called "pioneers" envisage?

Reading furhter along in the initial article, Sarr does not
demonstrate to me, anyway, any "genesis of tribalism in The Gambia",
instead he claims that some Gambians did not actually have the degrees
conferred upon them that they claimed to have had, alludes to an
encounter where someone didn't give him the time of day because he
didn't speak the right language, and otherwise seems to try to use a
broad brush to paint a whole group of people as being tribalist, by
using vagueries, inuendo, and slander to do so!

It's just another way of calling people tribalist, without really
giving proof that they are so!  I'm not saying that they are, or are
not, one way or th eother.  I'm just saying that the first article, in
the series on The Gambia Echo, does not convince me!  Perhaps his
rejoinder will be written better!  IMHO, if anyone's coming across as
haivng a chip on their shoulder and having "tribal" issues, it's Mr.
Sarr and not the people he names in his articles, who, incidentally,
have not, to my knowledge, been given any chance to defend themselves!
 And Sarr almost borders on glorifying Jammeh's coming to power,
seeming to insinuate that he is saving The Gambia from the clutches of
the Mandinka cabal or something.  And yet, doesn't even talk about
Jammeh's supposed tendencies toward "tribalism".  This article seems
to be nothing more than a petulant person, who has an ax to grind with
a few individuals who happen to belong to a specific ethnic group.
and I still don't know how the "genesis" of tribalism in The Gambia
began.

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