Prince Coker,

My silence on Gambia-l was not a sign of endorsing the shooting of school children because I was once a student and have relatives who are students. In fact I was very quick on calling for the immediate apprehension and prosecution of the firemen, and a thorough investigation of the rape case.  These are events that transcend partisanship. The record shows that some of the demonstrators were non students who took advantage of the situation.  By the way, I do enjoy your postings.

Mafy


Prince Coker wrote:

Hi Mafy,

It is nice to have you back and your piece has proved the insensibility of a true Jammeh supporter. You want to inform us of what Malian women are doing to themselves but you ignore the fact that a Gambian woman, who deputised for your idol, had ordered her troops to shoot and kill innocent children. As far as Gambians are concerned that woman, who also bleaches her skin, is more cancerous than all Malian skin bleachers. Never before in the history of Africa, and the world for that matter, has a woman leader been so heartless and unmotherly to her helpless citizens.
As a staunch Jammeh supporter, one expects you to come up with some explanations as to why defenceless kids were cold-bloodedly gunned down by a regime you so tirelessly defend. Once more it is nice to have you back in the fold and try to be a little sensitive to what has happened in the Gambia.

Prince Coker

P.S.
Skin bleaching can wait.
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Malafy Jarju
  To: [log in to unmask]
  Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2000 11:54 PM
  Subject: Skin bleach, do our men really prefer pale women?


  From the BBC

  Malian women have been warned to avoid the skin lighteners

  By Joan Baxter

  The use of bleaching creams to lighten complexions seems to have reached epidemic proportions in Mali, despite widespread education campaigns.

  Women who refuse to bleach often find themselves regarded as second class citizens.

  A woman who did not bleach her skin said she is often not offered a chair at baptisms, and is asked to make herself scarce when group photographs are taken at marriages.

  A quick survey shows there are more than 100 bleaching products available on the market in the capital, Bamako.

  Sold under brand names such as Marie-Claire or Diana, the products come from Morocco, Nigeria, the United States or Saudi Arabia.

  Pain

  Dermatologists estimate that more than half the women in Mali are now using these creams to lighten their skin. These products are costly and often cause pain and blemishes.

  So why are so many women in Mali using them? The answer is simple, according to one Malian woman singer: The creams make her white, and impart a certain charm.

  But Malian physician Dr Ali Gindo finds bleached skin anything but charming.

  "They are just burning themselves," he says. "It's painful and it's awful."

  Dr Gindo says bleaching can cause skin cancer and the poorest people are the most at risk, because the cheaper the product, the more dangerous it is.

  But he says it is not just poor women are bleaching their skin.

  Role models

  "We have also people who are well educated like lawyers, writers or professors, or people on the TV - and this is a real problem because if people who are leaders of opinion bleach themselves, you can imagine how deep the problem is."

  Many of the women who use these products told me they do so because Malian men prefer women with bleached skin.

  But male musician Al Hassan Soumali disagrees.

  "I don't think Malian men like bleached women," he says. "It's better for Malian women to change their minds."






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