Ngorr,
Mr. Ebrima Ismaila Chongan is not my hero. I will not deify him. The trials
and tribulations he experienced have been, and will be undergone by others.
Even worse! He is not the first to go thru' trouble and suffering. He will
not be the last victim. This, however, does not mean i condone the
atrocities inflicted on him. This is also no personal vendetta against
Chongan, but my two cents on a narration that could have been great if
presented in a balanced way.
I have always doubted the veracity of profiles and biographies due to the
mass of uncritical acclaims that is their hallmark!
But before going any further let me seize the occasion to point out one of
the most important, if not the most important phrase in your presentation.
You wrote and i quote:
"It was his understanding of his duties as an employee of the State which
propelled him to interpret and execute his duties as he had sworn to do so
when he joined the Services decades ago."
Well, well Mr. Ciise, Ebrima Ismaila Chongan might have been a fine standing
soldier but fact remains HE WAS AN INSTRUMENT OF THE STATE during The First
Republic! And the glaring truth is: The State is a machine of suppression!
Whether in North America, Singapore, Cuba, Botswana, China, The Fjords(to
borrow Ron's word) or on the Himalayas, anywhere in this planet of ours
called Earth, The State is always an institution of antagonistic class
society. To keep the citizens in check, every state consists not merely of
armed men & women, but also of material adjuncts, prisons & institutions of
coercion of all kinds. The First Republic was no execption. Infact The State
under Jawara (with the instruments of power at his disposal) raised itself
above and stood against Gambian tax-payers. The State under The PPP
inflicted not only armed coercion, but physical and psychological repression
on the voices of dissent!
Ebrima Chongan might have been an astute soldier but he never called for a
lift on the ban on Moja-G, or amnesty for a good number of its top cadres in
exile. A political movement that was seen as a greater threat to the then
regime.
He might have granted The PDOIS permits to hold public meetings, but he
never raised his voice when the late Dixon Colley was arrested, charged and
tried for libel and the printing/publishing of sedious material.
And of course Ebrima Chogan never turned in his badge when Messrs Junkungda
Daffeh and Sanna Manneh were charged and given hell by The State, his
employer then! The list goes on...Simply put Chongan was not serving under a
state that was providing honey and milk for its citizenry!
If i have to say something personal on Ebrima Ismaila Chongan, i will say he
is one sociable man. Very jovial, very Gambian! Chongan is not a vindictive
man. He has moved on. He earned my respect when he forgave all those who
inflicted ill-deeds on his person, both somatic and psychological! Chongan
is not the guy anticipating Yaya Jammeh's head on a brick. From what i have
learnt his dream is becoming a human-rights' attorney, reporting every
morning at the high court in Banjul to defend the Lalo Samatehs and the Dumo
Sarhos. Brother Chongan if you are to read this piece, i am urging you to go
for your dream! You have become wiser, and a better human-being! This
experience i believe is a blessing in disguise.
Ding Ding Manso, You are no angel, you are human,
Sanyang.
>From: Ngorr Ciise <[log in to unmask]>:
>Brother Sanusi, with your kind permission, can i be more specific and
>single
>out the brave, heroic and patriotic stance of a Brother, who not only
>selflessly defended constitutionality on July 22nd. 1994 but, most
>importantly, defiantly defended his actions on that fateful day, and paid
>the price of being illegally detained for said stance? The Brother in
>question is Ebrima Ismaila - formerly of the Gambia Police Force.
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