Hi Mboge & Abdoulie!
Thanks for your comments. Glad you enjoyed the post. Have a good 
night.
Buharry.

----Original Message----
From: [log in to unmask]
Date: 2009-03-13 19:37 
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subj: Re: Of Militants, Cowards and Fence-sitters: 
Disaporan Gambians and the Political Situation in Gambia

Amen brother Buharry. The message, messenger or the conduit must have  
been faulty after all these years of singing the same song.  
Introspective diagnosis is well overdue. Thanks for a fabulous  
reminder as always.

-Abdoulie
  Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 13, 2009, at 21:12, Momodou Buharry Gassama  
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Of Militants, Cowards and Fence-sitters: Disaporan Gambians and the
> Political Situation in Gambia
>
> In all enterprises, introspection and retrospection are necessary
> tools in quantitative and qualitative analyses to determine success
> or
> failure. As stakeholders in the future of The Gambia, Diaspora
> Gambians have, since the seizure of power by the A(F)PRC, taken
> various
> stances ranging from outright support to outright opposition. Such
> stances have found outlets ranging from discussions at social
> functions
> to online fora and mailing lists. The proponents, active or passive,
> of
> such stances have taken various forms and personalities, some timid,
> some nonchalant and some militant. Whilst most Gambians have some 
form
> of opinion, it is not all who have the ability or courage to make 
such
> opinions known especially on fora such as Gambia-l or Gambia Post, 
due
> among other things, to limitations in the usage of the English  
> language
> and fear of personal attacks. As such, only those who have the 
courage
> and/or ability to partake of discussions on those fora appear to have
> carried the mantle for the identification and proposal of solutions 
to
> the problems facing Gambia. Does this however mean that the silent
> majority have no opinion? Does this mean that they accept as panacea
> the solutions thrown around or pertinent the problems identified as
> affecting
> Gambia? In trying to deal with such issues, some questions need to be
> asked and such questions include:
> - Who speaks on behalf of Gambians?
> - Are the opinions of outspoken people on the internet to be taken as
> representing the opinions of online and offline Diaspora Gambians?
> - Are the aspirations and opinions of Gambians abroad and those at
> home
> similar?
> - Is the failure of people to participate in the discussion of 
Gambian
> issues online tantamount to sitting on the fence?
> - Is the failure of people to engage in the discussion of Gambian
> issues online tantamount to cowardice or a passport to ensuring their
> ability to visit Gambia without fear of harassment by the 
authorities?
> - Are the hard-line, militant stances taken by people online
> realistic?
> Do such stances correctly and objectively identify the problems
> affecting Gambia and are the solutions put forward workable ones?
> - Do the militant stances stifle discussion of the issues that are
> pertinent to all of us?
> - Do Gambians have a right to freely choose the party of their choice
> to support and be able to propagate and defend their views without
> fear?
> The questions are many and in trying to deal with the topic at hand,
> these and other issues will be dealt to see whether Diaspora Gambians
> who, for one reason or other, fail to participate in discussions are
> indeed fence-sitters or cowards or those who take hard-line positions
> are justified in taking such positions and whether the solutions they
> propose are indeed practicable ones.
> Since the prosperity or failure of Gambia as a state affects all
> Gambians and non-Gambians who have interests in the country, it can 
be
> taken as a given that all Gambians have an inherent stake in its
> affairs. As such, it can be expected that they have a duty to
> participate in all aspects of its governance. This means being  
> expected
> to take stances on issues that affect the country. However, as
> proponents and supposed proponents of democratic values, it should be
> expected that those who push for democratic change in Gambia?s
> governance should respect and protect the rights of fellow Gambians 
to
> either take stances or not. This brings to the fore the question of  
> who
> speaks on behalf of Gambians. Since Gambian communities abroad are
> microcosms of Gambians at home, they can be expected to comprise of
> opinions and political leanings as diverse as those found in 
Gambia.  
> As
> microcosms, the same problems and issues lamented as debilitating the
> social, moral, religious and political fabric of Gambian society back
> home are a reality within our own Diaspora societies. The values and
> opinions are equally diverse. This by natural extension results in
> contrariety of opinion with regard to the identification and proposal
> of solutions to the problems affecting the country. As such, it can 
be
> concluded that none has the mandate to speak for and on behalf of
> Diaspora Gambians. What is to be expected and accepted is a diversity
> of opinions with regard to both identification of problems and  
> proposal
> of solutions. What should be avoided is obfuscation of issues and the
> imposition of what one regards as the way things should be. People 
are
> more passionate about some issues than others. In situations where
> people disagree, one should provide proof or other material or 
facts  
> to
> convince others of the superiority of one?s ideas and positions. 
Since
> different tactics are required during different debates or phases of 
a
> debate, one can be expected to assume various postures and
> personalities depending on the characteristic of the debate. However,
> when all is said and done, the ultimate aim should be the 
convincing  
> of
> the adversary of the superiority of one?s ideas. Failing that, one
> should agree to disagree. The simple reason is that every Gambian  
> has a
> right to his / her opinion no matter how disagreeable and should 
not  
> be
> cowed into silence. No one online, be it my very self or anyone else,
> has a mandate to speak on behalf of Gambians no matter how deluded we
> might be in our assumptions of responsibility.
> The second issue is whether the opinions of the most outspoken people
> online should be taken as being representative of the majority of
> Gambians. As alluded to earlier, many people are discouraged from
> partaking of the discussions online due to various reasons including
> limitations in the usage of the English language. Some do not have 
the
> time to engage in the back and forth that characterizes many
> discussions, the name-calling, the labeling etc., some are 
discouraged
> by relatives back home and some are plain scared. Does that mean that
> they do not have opinions? Does that mean that they do not express
> their opinions in platforms different from the internet? The answer
> cannot be in the affirmative in all cases. There are many people who
> just read and do not participate in the discussions and do not make
> their opinions known regarding the situation back home but might be
> contributing in other ways. Since writing online exposes one to
> unpredictable and sometimes unpleasant responses, many choose to keep
> quiet. However, their silence should not be misconstrued as being in
> acceptance of the positions of the most vocal. Their silence should  
> not
> be misconstrued as abnegating their opinions and positions. As 
such,  
> it
> should be accepted that anyone who expresses an opinion online speaks
> on his / her own behalf or those who opine with him / her and is not 
a
> representative of the sum total of Diaspora Gambians.
> The next issue is whether the opinions and aspirations of Diaspora
> Gambians and Gambians at home are the same. Some of us, including
> myself, sound like broken records regurgitating the same rhetoric for
> many years without the most miniscule of changes having been effected
> with regard to the status quo in Gambia. This means that we are 
either
> not effective in delivering our message or that we are out of sync  
> with
> the opinions and aspirations of those we claim to be fighting for. It
> is very easy to blame the Gambians on the ground be they political
> leaders, religious leaders or the ordinary Samba or Demba. This takes
> away the responsibility of introspection from us. The same things we
> accuse Gambians back home of are dividing and tearing our Diaspora
> societies apart. Tribalism, indifference to or even gloating about 
the
> suffering of fellow Gambians, lack of support for each other, self-
> interest at the expense of community etc. are equally prevalent in 
our
> societies abroad as they are in Gambia. Whilst we are pointing the
> finger of blame at Gambians on the ground, we should be doing more
> introspection to correct ourselves. If we are as we want Gambians on
> the ground to be, the issue of showing solidarity to people being
> victimized would not arise. However, if we close our eyes to our
> inadequacies and pontificate to Gambians at home, the gap in our
> opinions and aspirations will widen. One mentions a gap in opinion 
and
> aspirations because that is the reality. Some of us have become so
> fixated with what we deem to be the problems affecting Gambia and 
what
> we believe are the solutions that we have become intolerant of
> differing opinions. This is a liability because in many an 
instance,  
> we
> have been away from the country for a long time and the ideals and
> opinions we hold dear are no longer the same as those of the average
> Samba and Demba in Gambia. If I can remember correctly, Yusupha Jow
> tried to educate us about this disconnect between our ideals and
> opinions when he came back from his visit to Gambia some years back  
> but
> people got on him. I cannot remember the exact exchanges but what I  
> got
> from those exchanges was that he was somehow being painted as a  
> sellout
> because what he saw made him present opinions contrary to the  
> prevalent
> view. I saw the same disconnect when I visited Gambia. During the 
Yaya
> AIDS cure period, many online said all kinds of things and some even
> wanted to change citizenship because of embarrassment but many, many
> people in Gambia actually believed that Yaya could indeed cure AIDS. 
I
> was in the country at the time and even educated people believed it.
> People, even educated people, believe that Yaya has magical powers.
> Many believe that Yaya ?dafa yaa bopa?. People sitting in Bakau would
> be afraid of talking about Yaya because they believe he can hear them
> whilst sitting in Kanilai. This might sound ridiculous to many but
> people actually believe it. That is the reality of things in Gambia.
> Why would people impose curfews on themselves during the time it was
> said Yaya?s spirits escaped? They did so because they actually  
> believed
> it. In order to be effective conduits of progressive change, we 
should
> realign our thought patterns and think on the level of the average
> Gambian and learn to identify the issues that Gambians hold dear and
> not the issues we expect them to hold dear. Whilst democracy, human
> rights etc. are basic necessities in any decent and civilized 
society,
> we accord them positions of necessity discordant with those accorded
> them by the average Samba or Demba preoccupied with how to find the
> next meal for his / her family. This does not absolve the Samba or
> Demba of his / her responsibility to demand his / her God-given  
> rights.
> It just shows that expediency takes precedence over principle. Maybe
> ignorance of one?s rights is the reason. Can he / she be faulted? 
Most
> if not all of us who come online do so on a full stomach with roofs
> over our heads. Many in Gambia do not have this privilege. How 
would  
> we
> behave in their positions?
> Is the failure of people to participate in the discussion of Gambian
> issues online tantamount to sitting on the fence? The participation 
in
> discussions online is a voluntary endeavour. As such, the time and
> importance accorded to individual topics and issues are governed by  
> the
> time an individual has, interest in the topic, willingness to engage
> etc. An individual might fail to participate in a topic because he /
> she simply does not have time due to work, health and domestic
> priorities. He / she might fail to participate because he / she is 
not
> interested, is not willing to expose himself / herself to back and
> forth arguments. As years come and go, people?s participation has
> varied. Some have been vocal or active for a few years, silent for a
> few only to reemerge to restart the cycle. Failure to participate in 
a
> given topic, no matter how important to those discussing it, should  
> not
> be misconstrued as representing fence-sitting. Even if it represents
> fence-sitting, people might sit on the fence because they have no
> opinion about a certain issue or their opinions are not strong enough
> to warrant engagement. Should they have this privilege?
>
> TO BE CONTINUED.
>
> Buharry.
>
> ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 
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