Friends,
a long comment on the situation.
I´m very glad to see that the protests world wide is running the right
direction. I think that the idea of putting all the Gambia-L´s names on a
petition and protest is a good idea. (Those who don´t want their names on
the list must give notice)
But I´m also looking further than that to see how you will "unite" in
actions for a new future or a change in political leadership in the country.
Will your reaction now be the "glue" that keeps you together in future
actions, or will you step by step "divide" when it comes to means of action,
visions for the future. I´m asking, because I believe that the students who
gave their life deserve the best we can give them. Over the years (from ´79)
I by coincident has been friend to some gambians, who has tried to change
politics, so I have also seen things happen before and repeat.
I think you can pick on Mr. Saidy as much as you like, but as you are all
aware and stressing you see him as a representative of the sitting
government and President and as "part of the establishment", and no matter
what he brings or not, we will again and again question the information. And
we have to do. Every stone must be turned. But we are also "depending" on
such "official information". If we force him to stop giving information the
more we will have to do our own investigations. Even you all have relatives
and friends inside, and we have access to many information-sources, we also
need the official ones to look upon the situation from that official point
of view. My observation in his "update" was, that he went exactly as long as
you can expect the authorities in the Gambia can go, when he admitted that
there were "failures" on both sides. I see it as the closest you can come to
admit that the military and police went out of control, handled the
situation wrongly, without saying it openly and directly. The Presidents
address follows the same track, and the "sightseeing tour" for the foreign
diplomats is the same.
As I said yesterday, I expected such an tragic incident could happen
sooner or later, simply because I have seen something like this before. When
I paid visit to The Gambia in December, and compared my personal
observations with the situation two years earlier combined with the
information given f.in. on Gambia -L, I could see something I have seen
before. Some years back I twice visited Romania under Ceaucescu . In
Bucharest like in Banjul/Serekunda/Baku/Brikama there were soldiers on
every street-corner. People were stopped, searched, even harassed, though
they were just walking the streets. I found the same thing happen in The
Gambia. Plenty of road-stops for what reason ? Some of my friends and other
people without any reason stopped and provoked in the streets, without doing
anything that could invite police or military to stop them. Cars were
stopped all the time, papers controlled while one-two military asked
aggressively not politely (my observation), pointing guns. Two times I felt
threatened, and I were just a friendly tourist visiting my gambian friends,
like I some years earlier were a tourist in Romania. It´s a "strange
feeling" when you travel in a country and become nervous every time you pass
an uniform or a road-stop, even you have done nothing to fear from! I
thought this was a result of a kind of presidential paranoia or a way of
keeping ordinary people in control by fear. Or was it just "small" people in
uniform, who hidden behind the uniform tried to oppress, provoke and harass
neighbors. History showed us what happened in Romania (or East-Germany),
when you build your powers on oppression and control. The day people has
got enough, they overcome their fear, and you can remember the TV-pictures,
when people dragged the parliament-members out into the streets of Bucharest
and just killed them with their bare hands and left them lying there. No
government can built a nation on oppression and fear. It will lead to
hatred. That is what I meant when I was saying that the "anger/hatred" among
the youth has now come to the surface in the Gambia.
Some of my friends are young and have expressed their anger and
disappointment the past 2-3 years. When Mr. Tombong Saidy refer to the
Presidents "disappointment with the youth", I think it´s because when he
(Jammeh) came into power, many youth in him saw a new era, a new start, new
possibilities. I still keep letters from my young gambian friends , in which
they express their expectations for a new era when president Jammeh took
power. And its also from them, I over the past 2-3 years can read their
disappointment with the leadership. So according to some of my friends the
President has lost his "youth-bastion" among the students (if he has ever
had one). Now his army and police are "hunting" the youth, the young
students - WHY ? Is it because education and knowledge is the most powerful
instrument you have ? The more you come to learn, the more you put two and
two together, the more you understand, you come to understand political
leadership (or lack of it), social injustice and so on. And then you start
questioning. The President should know that when he set up an educational
program, he also invite to and must accept it leads to more awareness and
with that critics. And critics can not just be put aside, but has to be met
positive and wisely.
I´m glad that Foroya again tells not only the leaders but at the same time
the people what are their constitutional and legal rights. That is also a
"weapon" and not only rhetoric. We all saluted the results from the
Senegalese presidential election by saying that now the Senegalese people
has shown to the world that things can be changed in an African state by
ballot. Some of you even hoped for the same could happen in The Gambia. If
we want support from "outside", if we want to show up a new standard for
leadership, it´s important that we again and again can demonstrate, that we
did exactly according to the laws and constitution, we fought with legal
means of action, but the government/President/authorities failed to do the
same. If we want to be taken serious, we have to act "cool" and strict, even
our hearts and sentiments tell us, that we want to meet the dictatorship
with it´s own means. The young and innocent students and children and their
families, like many suffering families in The Gambia deserve action, and
maybe the tyrants can only be fought with weapons, but we still need to
react civilized, then you will gain respect and start a new "culture of
political leadership". But we got to remember that there is a difference to
sit outside and live inside. Like in Romania there is also a limit, a line
in the sand drawn by the people itself, when the burdens, the sufferings,
the oppression is too much to carry on.
If you say that we have done it before without results, we have demonstrated
before, we have seen the government make the same cover up action before, we
have no confidence that things should go another direction this time,
because things/history is just repeating itself, then you have lost the
case. We are all impatient, we want action now, the cry from the killed is
"enough is enough", but at the same time you must show control.
My first thought after I learned that two of my friends, who are students at
GTTI, were still alive, was : How will the President and his party overcome
this action and try to stay in power ? How will The President maybe try to
avoid elections now ? From my corner of Europe and with my experience from
"normal political behavior", I think that he maybe will tie the robes more
and find an "excuse" to postpone elections. Maybe it´s not fair of me to
think so, but our politicians do the same. When they fear for the voters,
they do all they can to avoid elections. It´s a political behavior, I´m
sorry to say, it´s within their "culture". When in power they forget that
they are there to serve, as a privilege. Which will the arguments be to
postpone regional elections, parliamentary and presidential elections as
they are already announced ? If there is civilian disobedience, violent
actions, burning of public property or anything like that - will that be the
reasons ? What if he will become international isolated from the "good
company". Maybe he is already, then that is no threat.
I see only one way, the democratic. The people will have to say "NO", and
"enough is enough". Who of you are ready to step in, take the leadership,
stay together beyond tribe, religion, work together based on "trust",
without becoming corrupt and make yourself rich, be ready to suffer for the
great vision of the country. I as an outsider will surely keep an eye on all
of your steps. I come to know many of you on the Gambia-L, as I over the
years come to know many gambians here and in The Gambia, and I will look
forward for all your actions the coming months. And be sure I´m also here to
support, because The Gambia hopefully will become my country within the
near-coming future. And I want it to be a peaceful, progressive country
where people can earn a living, take care of each other, become a nation
they are all proud of, with leaders to look up to. The potential is so big,
but there is no time to waist.
Comment from a friend of The Gambia, Asbjørn Nordam
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