Friends, 
I wrote this many days ago, but could not decide to post it.

After reading todays The Daily Observer, which has a comment on  rumour
given on Gambia L about a  18 months leave for the President, I felt that I
could still send my comment on the issue, because I think there is a point
in Musa Jengs concerns on the Gambia-L.

I have got the privilege of participating this "bantaba" for   more than two
years, and it has been a great source of information, different opinions -
and  debates on different topics, which I would never have been without
(culture, religion, infrastructure, history, politics etc..)
If someone has got the impression over the past two years that the list is
anti-Jammeh, I can understand that. Not that the list itself is  anti-Jammeh
because a bantaba is by nature "neutral", but those who speak up also set
the agenda, form the impression of how the bantaba looks like from an
outside viewpoint.

And when it comes to politics, specially gambian politic, most of the people
who step forward have comments which reflect that they believe things could
have been better back home, that the sitting president and government could
do better. But at the same time very many of the Bantaba - members are not
saying anything for one reason or another.

Many topics concerning our dear Gambia has something to do how the country
is run by the present president and his government. And very many of us has
something to criticize. We have over the years put plus- and minus- lists ,
top ten lists after paying visits to the homeland.
It´s because we are concerned about how things are running, that we come up
with critics, even we know that there are also progresses which we just take
for granted without notice because that is what we expect.

When Jammeh came to powers I did not like the way he did it. Even the
tourist companies here in scandinavia and our foreign ministry  recommend us
not to go, I went those days and got the chance to see the trials, the
headlines in the daily news on how we now should make up the accounts on the
former administration and ministers, how corrupt they were and how they have
mislead the country. Many of my gambian friends and their families were
happy, felt that a new period has started. I like the gambians noticed the
airport, the many schools, the educational program at Gambia College, the
university-program now started, the infra structure buildings, a gambian TV
running, and many other things.
And I were glad for every progress, even I could also see the lack of
medicine, equipment, school materials, and the living standards among the
ordinary gambian was not becoming better. I tried to get information if the
government wanted to start labour-heavy projects, I asked how they would
attract foreign investors, and I even tried to find out, had there been any
contacts to f.in. danish companies in the horticultural sector ( we have
international companies functioning in South Africa, Far East and South
America) to come and invest for the benefit of the gambians, and as a result
of the vision 2020 and plan of action in the gambian industrial ministry.
But when I payed visit to the Gambia the last 3 years I could  with my own
eyes see that my friends families got it more and more difficult to pay tax,
school-fees, and all the other costs. Just to put the daily food on the
table was not easy.
But still I was dreaming that it was only a question of time before The
Gambia should start to become "the gateway to west Africa". Export-import,
food-production, computer-tech etc., I expected that could be done in The
Gambia, because I could see the potential, I knew so many educated young
people. In some way I still believed in the government.
But then I got the examples of violation on human rights, the different
attempt to silent the free press, the attacks on political opponents, the
more often changes in the administration and government, many signs that
corruption was still  running, the more and more road- stops, and now the
passing two years where the government has not done anything for the
poorest, the groundnut farmers, who are now left without anything for the
second year in row, which I fear will lead to human disaster up country,
etc. More and more signs of suppression. Things I felt this government could
do better.
-I don´t see why the country needed so many military, paramilitary, police,
special forces and NIA just to have traffic-, civil- and boarder-control
-I can not understand why the government can not spend some of the foreign
loans on buying the crops, the groundnuts and get the mill to run again,
like electricity and water supply all over the country
-I can not understand why spending so many efforts in building schools and
educate more teachers at the college, and not give education free. At the
end you will sit with buildings and teachers, but no pupils, because the
parents can not pay the school-fees and the materials
-I can not understand why it´s not possible to combine private and public
sectors and founds so that the government attract foreign investors but the
same time create labour-intensive companies and factories.
And so on.

But at the same time I recognize that the government has done something,
started but for some reason not continued the development. I have with great
respect seen the airport, the road constructions, the schools build, and I
was proud as any Gambian when I heard that now we have started in small
scale our own university-program, and they work with limited resources at
Gambia College to educate and train more and more teachers.

But in the long run I´m very critical how the human rights - principles are
carried out in the country - the right to speak freely also critics,
assemble, form unions and organizations, and the effect to find the truth in
some crimes.

I see too many road stops, insults etc. and if a country see this as a
common behavior from top in the society, the youth growing up will find it
OK to use oppression, violence, harassment as "legal" or accepted behavior,
because the police or paramilitary practice it.

At the same time I try to understand that Gambia is not Denmark, where I´m
born, where I  have all my knowledge from. Africa and Gambia has it´s own
rules, history, traditions, culture etc., so I can not just expect
everything to be carried out like here. That is the angle I have tried to
give most of the times when saying something on this bantaba.

I respect that Jammeh is the president of the Gambia (even some of you could
say he constitutional is not), and I respect that you have a parliament and
local leaders, elected. I respect that there are laws, regulations to follow
in The Gambia. And I respect that if we can blame the President, any elected
leaders crimes according to legislation in The Gambia you got to take legal
action. What I want is that even bad leaders will be treated after the
current laws, no matter how they are. Or forced to give up (like in east
germany 10 years ago) because the pressure from the people is too much. The
cry for new elections, new rules, new leaders, new principles, is too loud
and can not be silenced.

But back to the lists many hats. In the present situation in the Gambia the
topics to be debated in the bantaba would certainly have been the same in a
real bantaba in the gambia. The incidents of april, the justice, the human
rights, the juridical system of the country, the sufferings from daily life
etc. And it´s not that the bantaba = gambia L itself want to become an
ANTI-JAMMEH bantaba, but it turns out like that for the moment.

But I also feel that it is still a Bantaba where you can exchange views of
all kind, but right now there are not so important ones like the running
debate on the present and future situation in our dear Gambia.

Comment from Asbjørn Nordam





on 10/05/00 4:44, Musa Jeng at [log in to unmask] wrote:

> Is Gambia-L trying to wear too many hats?
> 
> Gambia-l has become one of the most popular lexicons in most Gambians
> households both in the Diaspora and at home. My cousin, residing in
> Banjul will call me in the middle of the night asking me to help him get
> subscribe to the –L, everybody at home believes it is the only place
> that the real truth can be heard especially during the April 10 massacre
> of students. Every Gambian yearned to have access to the truth, and
> Gambia-l is seen as a source of the truth that is not under the wimps of
> any controlling authority. The winds of change is blowing rapidly and
> the G-L is beginning to have quite a few tentacles; also unconsciously
> forces and opinions are trying very hard to cloth the G-L with a wrapper
> of their own making. Fact, the G-L is popular because any force does not
> manipulate it and every opinion can be heard, especially if civility and
> reciprocal respect can be buttressed in our dialogue. One of the major
> criticisms so far leveled against the G-L is seen as an anti-Jammeh
> forum, whether that characterization is completely accurate is
> debatable. Clearly, most of the opinions aired by individuals on the G-L
> are against Jammeh, but are equally against the former Jawara regime and
> I can see them to be also critical of our future leaders. Instead of
> complaining, we should be celebrating for our embracing of democracy
> where the power of opinions can be a source for governance and policy
> making.
> 
> But is it also accurate to point out whether the G-L is getting carried
> away? Is the role of the G-L clearly defined for everyone to understand
> its function? Has the Gambia-l adopted a cult like mentality, and anyone
> perceived to have opinions outside of this cult is attacked and to be
> silenced? Personally, I am confident that there is no conspiracy of any
> sort within the G-L, but clearly having an opinion that is not seem to
> be main stream does receive an unwarranted and unfair treatment by some
> members of the –L. It is fundamental to differentiate opinions of
> individuals on the G-L, and the defined role of the G-L. the Gambia-L
> has recently adopted a role that I believe operated outside of its
> perceived function. Not to impose my own definition of the role of the
> G-L, I think of the G-l as a Gambian forum where ideas and issues
> relevant to our country is debated and argued upon, and hopefully can
> have an impact on governance and to our socio-economic challenges. The
> name Bantaba from the old country gives one of the important elements of
> participation, family-like dialogue and civility. Clearly, the G-L
> cannot be monolithic as indicated by some of the contributors, or even
> be seen as driven by an ideology or spinemaster who are only interested
> in promoting their political candidate or will for that matter. The
> above can be done through the medium of the G-L, but it is important to
> differentiate them from the opinion of the G-L. In fact the G-L should
> not have an opinion. In America, the media is usually attacked by
> conservative as being a liberal media, but yet still every shades of
> opinions are to be heard whether as an advocate or from a credible
> journalist. The G-l is being attacked as an anti-Jammeh forum, and of
> course we all know that is not by designed, but when Jammeh supporters
> are not allowed to be heard with civility and respect, it only
> reinforces that argument and fairly so.
> 
> Also, there have been letters written to Jammeh and other organizations
> coming from the G-L and I am not sure how prudent such a move is.
> Certain opinions of the G-L base on their political proclivities (to
> borrow one of Hamjatta’s favorite) can put forward such letters and try
> to impact policy, but the G-L should not be seen as taking a position in
> terms of promoting an ideology or a political force. The G-L is a forum
> for all opinions and will not be effective in this endeavor if it takes
> position base on opinions of some of the contributors.
> 
> Personally, the G-L is the closest thing Gambia has ever gotten closer
> to democracy, and where opinions of every individual can be heard if it
> is done in civility and respect for the forum itself. The forum will
> continue to effectively function in this role if it differentiate the
> G-L medium from the opinion of individuals, groups or any popular
> political leanings. The G-L is the source of truth where every Gambian
> can be heard, and if you disagree, you have every right to be equally
> heard. Yet still I will like to extend congratulations to the pioneers
> of this brilliant forum, and together we can take it to another level
> worthy of emulation at home.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Musa Jeng
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
> Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
> 
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