Sister Jabou,

Thanks for that reinvigorating gush of much needed uncommon wisdom. Let me just say in passing that I am one of those who gratefully recall the limitless generosity of your parents.

Your this piece in response to Gassa reminds me of Breyten Breytenbach's Letter To America forwarded here about a month back by our own Dr. Ebrima Sall active now at the Scandinavian Institute of African studies. (I should cease this moment to wave a "Welcome-Back-Salute" to Sall). We, the so called educated ones, have enormous difficulties inventing strategies decoupled from class-room knowledge. Even where our problems are homegrown and local the solutions that are breathed down our throats and those which appear to be the only morsel of sense that it would be foolish to spit out are those Western gurus and institutions tell us are magic wands. Not even the meltdown in Argentina and the impending collapse of Brazil's economy are menacing enough to inject a sense of dejá-vu - that we cannot build our future on borrowed money!

Lest we forget Breytenbach's last paragraph, I am recasting it below:

"...And Africa? As a part-time South African (the other parts are French and Spanish and Senegalese and New Yorker), I've always wondered whether Thabo Mbeki would be America's thin globalizing wedge (at the time of Clinton and Gore it certainly seemed so) or whether he was ultimately going to be the leader who can strategically lead Africa against America. But the question is hypothetical. Thabo Mbeki is no alternative to the world economic system squeezing the poor for the sustainable enrichment of the rich; as in countries like Indonesia and your own (see the role of the oil companies), he too has opted for crony capitalism. Africa's leading establishments are rotten to the core. Mbeki is no different. His elocution is more suave and his prancing more Western, that's all. 

What do we do, then? As we move into the chronicle of a war foretold (against Iraq), it is going to be difficult to stay cool. Certainly, we must continue fighting globalization as it exists now, reject the article of faith that postulates a limitless and lawless progress and expansion of greed, subvert the acceptance of might is right, spike the murderous folly of One God. And do so cautiously and patiently, counting our steps. It is going to be a long dance".



Momodou S Sidibeh

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jabou Joh" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 02, 2002 6:47 PM
Subject: Re: : Senegal responsible for ferry/Jabou


> Gassa,
> 
> Since the days of your incognito operation days on the L, it is obviosue to
> anyone with a brain that your job is to try to paint anyone who dares to
> point out the ugly side of this regime as full of hate and refusing to
> acknowledge any good that they do.
> 
> I repeat that people cannot eat the infrasatructure and they cannot afford to
> have their rights abrogated just because someone is improving the
> infrastructure. Priorities are being directed to areas that will not impact
> the condition of the majority of our countrymen and women. Most of them do
> not own vehicles that they can drive on the new roads and most of them cannot
> even afford telephones. This does not mean that accomplishments in these
> areas are not good, but they are certainly not urgent and first priority.
> Addressing the suffering of the people and implementing programs to alleviate
> this suffering takes precedence for any government that says their priority
> is the people.
> By the way, this si not advocating a welfare state as you said in your
> response to me. We are talking about giving the people a means to work and
> improve their circumstance.
> 
> Gassa, I am the daughter of a man who made a living for over 50 years buying
> groundnuts from Gambians farmers. As  child in Jangjangbureh, I watched daily
> as farmers would bring in their groundnut crops to my dads' premises to sell
> and as they
> also stocked up on all the food and supplies they would need for the year
> from the proceeds of the sale of their crops. Even as a very young child, i
> could see the happiness and relief and sense of satisfaction  and
> accomplishment on their faces
> because they were able to provide for their families for the coming year.
> 
> I watched this for years not only in Jangjangbureh, but in Kuntaur whare my
> grandmothers' husband Pa Omar Jallow also engaged in the same business as my
> dad, as well as in Bansang where the husbands of two older sisters of mine
> did the same. There were buyers of groundnuts all over the country, and
> Gambian farmers could sell their crops and feed their families, and live in
> dignity.
> 
> I remember how lively Jangjangburah used to be and the market business that
> would continue  into the night at Kuntaur because framers were able to sell
> their crops and buy the goods they needed to see them through to the next
> harvest season.
> The house I was born in still stands on the banks of the river in Georgetown
> and is now a tourist attraction because it was a house that was connected to
> the slave trade, something we never knew as kids.
> 
> At any rate, I also watched farmers in kombo South bring groundnuts and palm
> kernel nuts to sell to my dad and purchase their supplies for the year in the
> same manner.
> Gassa, you told me the other day that there was no poverty in The Gambia
> although the exchange between us was triggered by an article you forwarded
> where the government had solicited for funds for the alleviation of poverty.
> Yet you say there was no poverty.
> Gassa, i am telling you the above to show you that I am not just a spectator
> when it comes to knowing our country and and how the majority of our people
> earn their livelihood.
> 
> The majority of Gambians are not civil servants or priviledged wealthy
> businessmen. Thay are not people who have funds to take advantage of
> investment opportunities that may come up. The majority of our people are
> farmers, groundnut farmers up and down the river Gambia and into the Kombos,
> this is how the majority of Gambians have fed their families and maintained
> their dignity over the years.
> 
> Unless someone has substituted that for more lucrative ways for these people
> to earn a living, all they have is their groundnut farms and their crops. If
> these people do not sell their crops, they are deprived of the means to feed
> and clothe their families for yet another year, and how many years has it
> been since there was a decent groundnut season where these people could sell
> their crops and feed their families?
> 
> Yes, these people are suffering and the progress in the areas that you come
> here to peddle will not put food on their tables or clothes on their backs.
> If any government whose majority constituents are comprised of people like
> these does not see that situation as priority, and instead concentrates on
> improving the infrastructure to entice outside investors, this is worth
> talking about.It does not make us less patriotic, but rahter more so because
> it is our job to demand that those who come forward to lead us do what is
> required since we are the reson they are there and not the other way round.
> Do not worry, i am not trying ot undo anything to curry favour with anyone. i
> leave that to those who have no worries except their own welfare.
> 
> Outside investors are good only if what they bring will impact the entire
> population. These improvements and the resultant investments in and around
> the greater Banjul area will not  do a thing for farmers in the interior of
> the country, and it will not do anything for Gambians who have no money to
> invest or even have partnerships with these foreign investors.
> At best, more of our people will migrate to the city to look for
> opportunities just like they did during the Jawara era, and most of them
> spent the majority of their time sitting around waiting for opportunities
> that never materialized.
> I remember people sitting around the ports authority infrontt of our former
> home on Wellington street in the early 1980's when I came home. My heart sank
> each morning i  walked outside to go to work, and saw all these people just
> sitting there. My mother used to call some of these people in discretly and
> give them left-overs to eat because most of them would spend the day right
> there with not a penny in their pockets.
> What has happened in our country is that since most of our young men and
> women cannot find opportunities at home, they have left the country to find
> jobs elsewhere. These people have proven to be the lifeblood of their
> families back home because they send money for the farmer who has not been
> able to sell his crops, or the parent or relative who cannot find work or
> opportunity or funding to get into business.
> 
> The mark by which to measure the accomplishments of  any government is how
> they respond to the urgent needs of the people, ow they utilize the resources
> albeit meager that we have for the benefit of the people, and where their
> first priorities lie.
> 
> Attracting foreign investment  by concentrating on cosmetic improvements and
> other premium services that the majority of the population cannot afford to
> partake in, instead of implementing programs to empower Gambians to be the
> majority of investors in our country is creating a situation where our people
> will become just a cheap labour pool for foreign investors who are able to
> take advantage of opportunities that should go to Gambians simply because
> they have the funds and our people do not.
> 
> Our government is busy enticing foreign investors by concentrating on these
> improvements that few can enjoy due to their limited means, so it is easy to
> see where the priorities of this government lies. The few priviledged and
> their supporters are gearing up to position themselves so they can benefit
> from the foreign investments while the majority will just be spectators and
> if they are lucky, maybe they can join the cheap labour pool.
> 
> As for my commentary on the speech by Ambassador MacDonald, my comment is
> that the U.S government was once partners with Osama Bin laden and they gave
> biological warfare materials to the Iraqis. One of their valuable allies now
> is  the president of Usbekistan, who  is killing  and arresing people  for
> simply going to the mosque 5 times a day. He has even  given himself the
> divine power of  telling the people the number of times they are allowed to
> go to the mosque.
> Today, Usama is enemy number one.
> 
> If The Gambia was to become a non-strategic location for the U.S, ambassador
> Macdonald will probably be outlining all the human rights abuses that the
> Gambian people are suffering at the hands of the Jammeh regime and telling
> the World that these are some of the reasons that Jammeh is such a bad guy.
> In the meantime, we Gambians know  this and have been shouting about it all
> over the place. The U.S is not oblivious of our situation under teh regime of
> Yaya Jammeh, the ysimply shoose to ignore that aspect of things for the sake
> of expediency and self interest.
> 
> To take the comments of the U.S representative in our country as proof that
> all is bliss in our country is only for those who are novices in this game of
> modern day diplomacy which is more like a game of " you scratch my back, and
> i will scratch yours"
> The urgent matter we have  is a majority population that is not making ends
> meet, and anyone who is sincere in helping us move forward will not stand up
> to say that all is well without addressing the pressing human rights issues
> in our country and the poverty that investments that do nothing for suffering
> majority will bring.
> We can celebrate all the accomplishement only when the urgent needs are given
> priority and when all issues are addressed, not just those that serve only
> the interest of a few, but are nevertheless being peddled as useful
> accomplishments for all.
> 
> You have a good day Gassa, but I will urge you to sear your conscience
> always.
> 
> Jabou Joh
> 
> In a message dated 10/2/2002 3:28:23 PM , [log in to unmask] writes:
> >
> > Jabou,
> >
> > Let's just say, you can't unring the bell. Both you and I know that
> > progress is being made in all the areas that you consider as prerequisites
> > for development. You just wouldn't admit it.
> >
> > By the way, why are you mute on Ambassador McDonald Jackson speech when he
> > opened the Business Forum at The Kairaba Beach hotel last week. Take your
> > cue from that speech and accept that slowly but surely we are getting
> > there.
> >
> > Have a good day, Gassa
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
> at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
> 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
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

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