Good Morning Mr Jeng,
    Thanx for sharing your experience of the political situation back home with
us, or like others will say the "facts on the ground."
I read it and I was filled with sadness, sadness, not because you had such a
good time in the Gambia, but sadness for the fact that not
a single person from those countless people you argued and spoke with fail to
see the significance of the violation of their fundamental human rights.

Their notion that their economic survival outweighs their concern for their
human rights, (as they alluded to you) is rather very sad.
I cannot also help but notice that none of these countless folks you chatted
with, mentioned the cold-blooded murder of their brother/sons/cousins/nephews
at the hands of Jammeh, and yet no one has been reprimanded for that.
If this portrayal is really true of the situation back home (and i do not doubt
you for a second), then  I think we all ought to put our hands on our heads and
scream (like us Mandingos will say), i seriously mean that, for the day the
sanctity of human life becomes insignificant in comparison to the building of
schools and roads, then surely society has got it seriously wrong.

True hospitals have been built ( but i do wonder if they are truly of 1st class
standards why Jammeh had to send his missus half way around the globe to have
their baby born, or why a certain SOS will have to pack his brother to a
hospital in London to be treated for burns).
I wonder why some schools still run shifts, i.e morning  and afternoon shifts
when all these schools have been built.
Roads have been built you wrote they argued, but the funding for some of those
roads have been in the pipeline long before Jammeh ever dreamt of becoming a
president, and perhaps you should have drummed it into their heads that it's
they(or their kids and grand kids) who are gonna be paying for it in the long
run, for the money used to built the roads and hospitals were not gifts but
loans (or perhaps am wrong and they are indeed gifts, so if that's the case,
then I retract that statement forthwith).

The two most saddening points in the whole experience you recounted here, is
the fact that,
1: - people,  (and you alluded that these are educated people;
whatever "educated" is supposed to mean in this context), fail to realise the
importance of the respect for their human rights, and the

2:- the failure of the less educated ones in realising that it's their own money
(or money borrowed in their names) Jammeh is dishing out to them as if they are
charity cases, and yet they mistake that for his generosity.  This is all in
all a very sad picture of the situation back home. The yard stick they are
using to measure Jammeh's developments is quite inconsequential when compared
to the daily tramplings on of their human rights.

I could sit here and write a hundred words, a thousand words, or perhaps a
million words, but yet the sadness that has overcome me by reading your recital
of the situation back home would not be abated one bit, so I'll just stop here
and pray to god for salvation, for me and our people, for we need it pretty bad
and pretty urgently.

NB:- I am not a bitter loser, as Tunkara one wrote, for i do not even support a
single political party back home. I am a PDOIS sympathiser, for
they are the only party with policies i agree with, but for one to be a party
supporter, one has to be an active member, so in that regard i think i can
safely say that am a sympathiser rather than a supporter.

The one single problem that outweighs the countless others i have with Jammeh
and his government is the murder in cold blood of kids demonstrating.
(this being the backbone of their fundamental human rights). Unless and until
someone answers or pays for that, i (for all i  am worth, which can be argued
is not worth much anyway),won't be swayed one bit, even if the streets of The
Gambia are paved with diamonds!!!

Once again thanx for taking the time to share your experiences with us.
Manneh

Quoting Musa Jeng <[log in to unmask]>:

> Gambia-L
>
> I tried to paint a picture depicting certain aspect of the political
> reality on the ground. Like most of you, I was disappointed in the
> Presidential elections and was curious to know all the issues
> surrounding the Jammeh victory. Clearly, it is a given that the
> political playing field was not level and Jammeh had all the advantage,
> and had unfairly used it to win the election and will continue to use it
> to retain the status quo, but we already know that, and you don’t need
> me to tell you that. At no point was my intention to embellish President
> Jammeh’s contributions, waive a campaign of Jammeh’s project, or become
> a praise singer to President Jammeh. But, as a Saloum Saloum, I will
> always call it as I see it with truthfulness and honesty. There is
> definitely a Jammeh phenomenon, and it would be naive for us to believe
> that there is nothing to it.
> Everything I stated in my piece I got form Gambians through discussions,
> debates and arguments. I have traveled all the way to Kaur and have
> spoken to Gambians of different shades, and all I did was narrate their
> argument as they made it to me. Personally, I still believe Gambia is
> better off under a different leadership that is why I suggested a
> President Jawara’s governance and rule of law in combination to Jammeh’s
> commitment to infrastructure development. To downplay his contribution
> in this area would be a clear indication of dishonesty because these
> investments are going to have lasting effect to the future development
> of our Gambia. As Dampha indicated, maybe most Gambians are not in
> anyway better off with all these projects, furthermore there is still
> abject poverty, but to suggest that these investments are not going to
> be economic pillars for future development is dead wrong. I will like to
> revisit some of the specific development initiatives in order to answer
> some of the issues raised by Mr.Dampha’s rebuttal.
>
> Investment in university Education/Medical School:
> It is a reality that investment in a medical school will lead to
> hundreds of Gambian Doctors in the next seven years. Forget about
> whether it is a Jammeh initiative or not, but look at the investment
> itself. I will still agree with you that this does not justify the
> horrendous and despotic acts of the Jammeh regime.
>
> Road network:
> The coastal highway that can take you to Sukuta, Burfut, and Tanji
> within minutes will have a major impact to the economy of this area. The
> Westfied Suma highway is under construction and I have seen it and
> traveled on it all the way to Bambatenda. Also,a contract has already
> being signed for the Farafene/Laminkotto highway and the work will soon
> begin. The Barra-Kerewan highway and the bridge at Kerewan have made
> traveling through the North bank much easier. Mr.Dampha, you asked the
> questions, and I am trying to answer then as honestly and trustfully as
> I can, and in the process I am beginning to be conscious as if I am
> legitimizing the Jammeh government.
>
> Hospitals:
> When I saw the hospital in Bwiam and Farafene, I was impressed. I am not
> talking about how many Doctors or can people eventually received first
> class health services, but the effort put into these works are real
> investments and I honestly believed that Gambia will benefit form these
> initiatives. Also, another Hospital project was signed to be built at
> Kanifing. I am not in anyway suggesting that the level of healthcare
> today in the Gambia is higher, but with investments like these the
> country’ healthcare stands to improve a great deal.
>
> Energy:
> According to people I spoke with on the ground, and these are not
> necessarily APRC supporters, that the generating capacity to end the
> energy crisis is available and that they are working on the networks.
> And you know what, this is one area that I believe that the Jammeh
> regime will do anything to put an end to the energy crisis.
>
> Dampha, like you I believed that unless we have serious people at the
> helm and governance and the rule of law touted as important
> developmental initiatives, the Gambia would continue to be confronted
> with development challenges. Yus, I am not in anyway suggesting that
> governance, rule of law are not important, in fact they are the
> foundation to any serious country that is really interested in nation
> building. The other argument you guys are putting forward that, whether
> is sound economic policy to take big time loans to pursue projects like
> these. And to that I will say if that is what it takes to invest in
> hospitals, put up a university medical school, road construction
> throughout the country, and bring an end to the energy crisis, then that
> is one loan I will not hesitate to take.
> In conclusion, the economic lives of Gambians has not change much from
> my own personal observation, and anytime I posed the question to even
> APRC supporters, how their lives have changed economically, and all I
> get is a stare. But, frankly Jammeh is also committed to the areas
> mentioned above, and that is the whole truth.
>
> Musa Jeng
>
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