Dear all,

Greetings!  From The Gambia, to be precise.  It's been a relatively long time since Gambia-L heard from me.  But you can rest assured that I haven't forgotten you; I've just been pretty tied-up with "Mbiri jamanoyi!"

In case you haven't heard, I safely arrived home in The Gambia in early February, after an absence of over 11 years!  As you can imagine, it's been a very interesting settling-down experience I've been (and still am) going through.  But, as the saying goes, "it's all good", and I've been learning a lot.  This is indeed as expected, because once I decided to come back home, I decided that I was going to come home with an open-mind, a keen eye, and a hungry mind.  So I'm glad I'm learning a lot, and people are tolerant of all my silly Johnny Just Come questions.

I'm writing this to provide you an update on where and how I've been.  After all these years of my participation in Gambia-L debates, and mostly not in support of the AFPRC and APRC governments, I think I owe you all some account of my perspective on life since I've been home.

Frankly, I thought on my way home that upon my arrival in The Gambia, I was either going to go straight to jail, or home.  Either way, I was ready.  As it turned out, I had far more problems with Ghana Airways (incredible flight delays; their noisy, kerosene-smelling, rickety, DC-10), than the Gambian authorities.  Matter of fact, I did not have any problems at the airport.  I joined the line, and had my stuff checked out both customs and security guys, and got cleared without much ado.

The above experience was the first of many of the pleasant surprises that I've found, and lessons I've learned since I came back home.  Please don't construe this as my being an apologist for the present government.  I'm not.  I'm just trying to inform you what I've experienced since I returned home.

After being away for so many years, you can imagine how much change I've found in the country.  On the whole, the changes have been positive, and very encouraging.  The fact of the matter is that irrespective what opinion one holds of the present government, and the ones since the 1994 military coup, I think it is fair to say that the Gambian people have to be applauded for the single-minded way in which they go about the daily business of fending for themselves, their families, and bettering their lives.  More than anything else, it is the sum total of these individual efforts by the unsung heroes of this country that's brought us to where we are.

Again, I will hasten to add that we should not discount the contributions of the some actions and policies that have been taken by the government, and our development partners.  The new roads, the TV station, the new airport terminal, and similar ventures were certainly not built with proceeds from the sale of bread and "akara", but because of deliberate decisions by the government.  For that they have to be given credit, and commended.

But does that mean that The Gambia is now a land of milk and honey, whose streets are paved with gold? No.  This place is no nirvana, and probably never will be.  But it's on the move, and very encouragingly, in what I think is the right direction.  Again, I give a lot of credit to the Gambian character, spirit, and energy.  Let's hope that we, as a nation, continue to make steady progress in our efforts to make this country the best it can be.

And where do I now fit in all of this?  Truth is, I'm sitting on the sidelines.  I'm still settling down, and for now, engaged in a short-term consultancy conducting an impact assessment study of The Gambia's Internet initiative.  It's a very interesting experience, and I'm learning a lot.  In the next few weeks hopefully, I will have my report out, and will either publish on this list, and/or provide you a Web link where you can find it.  After this study, I have a number of ideas and projects I'm working on/thinking about.  For now, there's not much to talk about, but again, you can rest assured that I'll keep you posted.

I'd like to take this opportunity to mention that I am definitely NOT the Katim Touray that won a council seat in the recently-held local government elections.  I haven't read Gambia-L postings in a long time, but was told when Miniratou Loum (of Madison) wrote to ask if it was me that won the elections.  Again, it wasn't me.

I should also mention that I've had people asking me if I am the Katim Touray that writes on the Internet (that's how vaguely people ask the question!).  It's really funny when people ask me the question.  I tell them that there are many ("Karr") Katim Touray's out there, and that I'm just one of them.  Many people usually specify that they mean the Katim that writes on Gambia-L, and then I plead guilty!  I make them go through all this to make sure they really are talking about me, and not some other Katim Touray I don't know about.

And with regards my postings on Gambia-L, I have on occasion told people that I haven't said anything on Gambia-L that I would not standby.  I have never insulted anyone on the list, lied-to or lied about anyone.  I have also said everything I've said in good faith, and what I consider the best interest of our country.  Further, Gambia-L postings are all archived, publicly-accessible, and even searchable!  So I've nothing to hide or apologize for about the record of my position on events in The Gambia.

Having said that, I would like to say that I encourage all Gambians in the diaspora to consider returning home.  I am especially appealing to those who are debating whether or not to come home.  I know there always will be those who are not considering the possibility of coming home now.  I've been in that position before, and for this reason, I respect the stand by people presently in that position.

But for people in a position to choose to come home, I encourage and urge you them to do so.  The fact of the matter is that this place will never be perfect; we will never have a government we all agree with.  But the country will always be ours, and we will always be responsible for making it the envy of our peers.  Furthermore, there are a lot of opportunities and a great need for people with skills, and the will to work hard for the betterment of the lives of our people.  I don't think it is an imperative that one has to work for the government and/or be in cahoots with the ruling party to make a meaningful contribution to the development of our country.  For that reason, I think we all should base decisions about whether or not to return home on what we have to offer, and not necessarily on whether or not we agree with whatever government is in power.  So again, please think about coming home, if you are in a position to do so.

In closing, I'd like to say how wonderful it's been to meet a lot of people I've exchanged e-mail with, and read their Gambia-L postings in person.  In particular, Koto Sidi Sanneh, Dr. Abdoulie Saine, and Sheikh Tijan Nyang are all people I only met in person following my return home.  It's been wonderful talking with people like them, as well as their friends, and families.

I guess I'll stop here for now, until some other time.  Someone I met a few weeks ago told me, when I confirmed to him that I'm the Katim Touray that writes on Gambia-L, that I should "wanyi" ("tallaa" in Mandika) my "pen" (or "kallaa" in Mandika).  So I'll "tallaa" this "kallaa" here, and as always, wish you all, all the very best in your endeavors.

Katim

ps: To all of my friends who haven't heard directly from me, I say please pardon me.  I will certainly write to you individually as time goes on, and time permits me.