To The Editor, The Independent:

Well Said!  The criticisms leveled against Gambia-L by The Independent
are appropriate and well taken.  It is always good to have both
internal/external criticism. It should also be said, however, that many
members of Gambia-L have raised the same issue over and over again.  And
that, it is a very small minority on Gambia-L that engage in such abuse.
For The Independent or the author to give the impression that Gambia-L
is a forum for emotional outbursts and insults, without looking at the
healthy debates and in particular,the GAMBIA-L POSITION PAPER to
President Jammeh and others, is to blow the "insults" out of proportion.

While The Independent can make room for an article on "insults" in
GAMBIA-L, it has not to my knowledge, made room to cover the Gambia-L
Position Paper or to interview President Jammeh and other political
leaders on their reactions to the recommendations.  I believe Gambians
would be better served by a serious discussion of national issues( which
I am sure you do) on The Independent, than the "insults" a minority of
us are engaged in.  Gambia-L, in spite of the "insults," remains a forum
of free speech and an exercise in democracy.  More important, it is a
microcosm of The Gambia in both its positive and contradictory
attributes.  Surely, the maturity of a minority who engage in "insults"
is disturbing to all those who know better.  Yet, to focus on the
"insults" as if this was the dominant feature on GAMBIA-L, is to
misrepresent what the L is all about.

In conclusion, GAMBIA-L, in my humble opinion, is an effective and
valuable forum whose members include intelligent, thoughtful and mature
individuals, not the loud and foul-mouthed individuals your article
purports.  Thank You.

 (I hope you publish this as a follow-up to your article).

Abdoulaye Saine
Oxford, Ohio, USA.

"M.B Krubally" wrote:
>
>  Ous I agree with you, but MAN! the personal attacks and fighting need
> to go. This site have turned out to be a place where one cannot even
> bring up a debate topic without being personally attacked. I hope this
> article will help direct us to a much healthier style of debating,
> like the ones we used to have at Armitage High School.
>
> M.B.Krubally
>
>
>
> _________________________________________________________
>
> GROWING OLD IS MANDATORY; BECOMING WISE IS OPTIONAL.
>
> __________________________________________________________
>
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