Facuru,

It is good to hear from you and even more refreshing
to add your voice to this rather interesting debate
here in The Gambia. Before i go to the substance of
your peice, let me register my disappointment with the
fact that a lot of people on this forum may still be
wandering as to what you are replying to since you
failed to forward my article in question in the
Independent of monday to the G-L. All the same i will
start by reacting to your this point: "before you wage
an intellectual war on anybody, make sure you
cultivate the mettle to accomodate scathing truth
about yourself or your beloved Gamnia."
Indeed Facuru if you know me very well then you should
not have any problems realising that i always like to
be challenged...therefore to come here potraying me as
intolerent to opposing views or painfully sensitive to
critism is not true. All what i was doing was to take
Charles Sam to task on what he said about the Gambia
and Gambians. To say that the people of The Gambia are
not truthful, are not Godly, are not hardworking, are
not petriotic is not only misleading but a big insult
to all what we stand for as a people. What is wrong in
setting the record straight? Charles Sam, a guest of
the current government, has been writing persistent
articles about the Gambia, her people and critics and
i have never replied to any one of them.
I have been a keen reader of almost all his articles
and therefore chellenging him on what he said this
time around about the country is no crime. To imply
that my challenge to Sam will not help the "Kaira
Banku" becuase only half truth will be known is a
deleberate misunderstanding of where am coming from.
Facuru you know very well that some of us have stood
by the truth, we're still standing by the truth and we
will continue to stand by the truth.  But this does
not mean that we have to idly sit by and see
international presitge seekers to come here rewrite
our history for us in a dishonest way. The Gambia is
full of hardworking sons and daughters who will not
weaver this responsibility to anyone.

Your other reaction to the Independent view is even
more intersting and baffling. Since am a party to this
debate i have to take issues with you on this phrase
of yours. You wrote "how disappointed he must be that
not the politicians but the press itself is not
tolerant to free speech." Where is the intolerance
here. All what is being said is to make the records
straight. Read the independent view once again and you
will realise that all what the paper was saying has
been this: in today's Gambia it is right for those
foriegners who come here and trumpet the good side of
the government to meddle in our local politics but at
the same time wrong and a big sin for that matter for
foriegners who pin point government weaknesses. Most
of these unfortunate foriegners are either arrested or
deported. How many foriegn journalists  have been
deported to their countries(for some to their war torn
countries) just because they were working for the
independent media? Are you letting me that you've
forgotten the controversial deportation of Bharat
Joshi--the then deputy British High Commissioner to
the Gambia just because he attended an opposition
press conference? So why allow Charles Sam a Ghanian
by birth, to disparage Gambians in such a manner?
Cgarles Sam can still write anything about The Gambia
but we also reserve the right to challenge him on his
statements. I still stand by my piece in the
independent of monday that Sam's take on Gambians was
a masqueraded article ridiculing the people of the
Gambia who were infact treated with contempt in the
article. That is my position,period!!


--- Facuru Sillah <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hi
Ebrima Sillah
 Before you wage an intellectual war on anybody, make
> sure you cultivate the mettle to accommodate
> scathing
> truths about yourself or your beloved
> GAMBIA.Patriotism should not be limited to praise
> singing of the Smiling Coast,Smiling People.If you
> will only be positive, you must be telling
> half-tories
> and half-truths which will not help GAMBIA KAIRA
> BANKU
>
> __________________________________________________
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