Sanusi,conteh, and all those who genuinely
contributed to defend the UDP and myself in this
debate,i say thank you.It was a minor misunderstanding
due to last minute rush but in politics these type of
situations cannot be rule out but only be minimize.
Mr Gomez and Brother Latjor count on my support and we
look forward for the next ALD.
I couldn't come back immediately on this issue because
of some engagements and couple with Mr Ousainou
Darboe,Ebou Manneh and Femmi Peters visit to New York
this week end.
There is going to be a BIG UDP rally this Sunday June
3rd 2001 starting from 3pm prompt to 9pm at the Gambia
Hall 1230 Jerome Avenue between 176 street and 175
street in the Bronx.Mr Darboe will give an account of
events happening back home.For more information
contact the UDP New York branch secretary Manding on
718-294 8135 . All are invited.
On the ALD issue:
I do not want to talk much about the misunderstanding
that accured at the symposium.After consultation with
my colleagues,it has been established that no
notification was sent to the ALD organizing committee
but just an assumption that it wouldn't be a problem
for me to present Ousainou's speech which was fax to
me at 09:08am the very day of the symposium.
I feel Mr Gomez is neither an enemy to the UDP nor to
myself.Mr gomez indeed gave me the respect i deserve
because he gave me a package of documents pertaining
an NGO-international foundation for elections system
for the UDP and his business card.
The party had some problems initial+ly in
participating at the conference because,it coincided
with the beginning of the registration
exercise.Secondly most of the party officials like the
deputy party leader-Yaya Jallow,Propaganda
secretary-Lamin Waa Juwara,Finance secretary-Amadou
Taal and youth President-Momodou Single Nyassi are
denied obtaining a Gambian passport for no reason.So
there is no way these four people can't travel abroad.
It was nice meeting ML Conteh,Joe Sambou,Saul
Khan,Jallow Bojang and many other friends.My friend
Karamba took me to many many great places.
Saihou
--- Joe Sambou <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
<HR>
<html><DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>Thanks to all the organizers of the ALD
Conference for a job well done. You created the
atmosphere for a fruitful discussion and all the
parties except the UDP showed up. Many questions
have been raised and among them: why the AFPRC was
invited? How the conference was set-up for failure;
That it was a two-man show, etc., etc. Well,
it's always easy to sit up high and analyze what
should and could have, rather than look at oneself as
part of the problem. In my opinion the questions
should be, of the hundreds that converged in the
nation's capital, how many attended the
Conference? Of those who attended, how many
where there at the stroke of 12:00 noon, the agreed
upon starting time (room was reserved for 5 hours -
12:noon to 5pm and that was more than enough)?
How many attended the parties and barbeque, but not
the conference? How may of us on the L who
reside in the US attended? These are the real
questions we should answer in my opinion if we are
truly honest about our conviction to liberate
ourselves as a people. Remember the Wolof
proverb, in situations like the aftermath of the ALD
gathering, whenever you point a finger to some
party as the blamed, four of your very own
fingers point to you as an
accomplice. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>We asked the parties to come
and discuss with us their intension for seeking
to lead us and they came. They spent
their meager resources to come and hear from us,
and what did we do in return? We (not the
organizers, but we the audience) were three hours late
at best, and less than a 100 people in
attendance. For those who reside in the US and
did not attend, I respect your reasons for not
attending, however, I equally do not expect
criticisms, negative or positive from your
corner, if you do not want to address your part
of the problem - 100 people attending. We
all want our situation in the Gambia to change
for the better, but us not attending important
meetings that would help us attain that goal is a
big setback. Frankly, some of us are beginning
to sound like a broken record. This "arm chair
philosophizing" need to stop if we want the change we
are seeking. Folks, this job could only be done
by getting up and tying our boot straps. When we
sit and talk and talk and do nothing, we accomplish
nothing. If we are just here to act as a
"foreman", just to tell the laborers what to do and
how lazy they are, then I suggest we hold our peace
and leave the laborers do their job, for at best we
are a nuisance and a distraction, qualities that does
not help them in their plight. If we cannot pat
the doers (organizers) on their backs, we need to just
continue sitting back and do what we do best -
observe. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thanks to the opposition parties that
attended, we owe you guys big time. Keep
fighting and stay focused on the prize. To
the organizers, keep your heads high and be proud, for
you brought the horse to the water but cannot force it
to drink. So, stand tall and be proud. To
all those who attended (better late than never),
thanks for forgoing your other commitments to attend
to the national interest. For those of us that
did not attend for whatever reason, we respect your
reasons and hope that next time you'll be first to
attend. However, if you want to address what
went down, please be honest and address yourself
first. It is only by doing that, that people can
take you seriously. My statements are not meant
for anyone in particular, but like Bob said "who the
cap fits.........".</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Chi Jaama</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Joe Sambou</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV><br
clear=all><hr>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer
at <a
href="http://explorer.msn.com">http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></p></html>
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