Folks, some days back I had informed the readership about the miserable
condition Jalang was in the last time I saw him in Gambia in 2000.  Below is
a very sad recap of how the man brought us joy as a nation and took the
Gambia far, only to be neglected by our government, GWA, and worst of all,
used and dejected by the two Don Kings in the brothers of Georgy and Aziz
Riad.  The paper left the part that duo contributed to the servitude that
Jalang lived.  They were his so-called handlers/promoters and they gambled
on his labor, negotiated behind the scenes and sucked every penny leaving
him trinkets.  After his victories, they gave him some alcohol, with a
little money which does not last the night because of the many friends and
family around.  While we pay tribute to this man, we better also talk about
the injustice levied while he lived.  May his soul rest in peace and may
others learn from his tragedy.  Please read on.



Tribute to Jalang, the Great Wrestler Icon of the Gambia


The Independent (Banjul)

September 20, 2004
Posted to the web September 20, 2004

Lamin M Fatty
Banjul

The Sanneh family last Sunday paid tribute to Jalang the Senegambian
wrestling icon of the 1980s. Jalang was a wrestling icon who took the name
of The Gambia to higher heights.

Jalang started his wrestling career in 1981 and was invited and recruited by
The Gambia Wrestling Association. In 1982, he was selected among other
wrestlers to contest in Guinea Conakry for the annual Amilcar Cabral
Wrestling Competition. This competition was a regional activity with
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Togo and other African
countries participating.

Due to his outstanding performances, Jalang won the trophy and was cheered
upon arrival at the Banjul International Airport. In Conakry, he was given
the opportunity to meet with former Guinean President Ahmed Sekou Toure.

Again in 1988, The Gambia's wrestling icon, Jalang led another wrestling
team to Tunisia for an All-African Championship. This delegation headed for
Rome-Italy where they spent three weeks in a training camp. The king of the
arena again won a gold medal with his team. In the same year, he represented
the entire African continent at the Seoul Olympic Games for Greek-Roma
wrestling style. He won trophies and medals. These are some of the main
achievements of this great wrestler.

However, his one-year anniversary was observed on the 12th September at his
family compound. The family paid tribute to the icon of The Gambia wrestling
legendary.

According to his brother Tumani Sanneh the man died a lonely man leaving
nothing in terms of wealth or even friends. Family members will always
remember his legendary as he was one of the best and most famous man of our
family. Jalang was betrayed by the country he tirelessly promoted
internationally. "He won lot of trophies and medals for The Gambia but he
was woefully betrayed by the country" Tumani pointed out. Tumani also cited
one of Jalang's trips during which he won a trophy but was never allowed to
shed eye on the trophy, emphasising that his brother a fervent patriotic was
never allowed to meet the then President Mr. Jawara.

According to Tumani, Jalang once said to him after one his trips before
dying: "My championship was fruitless and this trip marks the beginning of
hardship for me. I am a lame man whom even beggars on the streets are better
than. Both the Wresting Federation and the GNOC neglected me. I was left in
a horrible state of thinking and illness and just counting my days. My
younger brother, please forgive me for whatever I have done to you. I hand
over my family to you. Forgive me for whatever I have done to you. Please
look after my children and take care of their education and I pray to God to
guide you and my offspring and the family at large."

Tumani told The Independent that Jalang died a broken heart. The Sanneh
family will continue to weep for him not just because he departed but also
because he was a man who did something great for his country.

Relevant Links

West Africa
Gambia



Jalang Sanneh is survived by six children, a wife and five brothers.

MAY GOD THE ALMIGHTY REWARD HIM WITH HIS BOUNTY AND MAY HIS SOUL REST IN
PERFECT PEACE. AMEN.

_________________________________________________________________
Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfeeŽ
Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~