Hi!
Thanks Ebrima, Arona and Haruna for getting involved in this debate
about tribalism. Ebrima, I think the response from Arona and Haruna suggest
that the issue is something that we should discuss.
Haruna, you added a very important dimension to this discussion. You
have witnessed the horrors of tribalism albeit on a secondary plain. Seeing
the victims of machetes and other horrible weapons and hearing their
horrible experiences would make your contributions valuable in alerting us
to the dangers of tribalism.
Arona, the dimension you added to the debate is equally important and
interesting. You wrote:
"For I in particular my mother is a Mandinka and my father is an Hausa."
You are the typical Gambian. If you went further and added you nieces,
nephews, cousins etc., you would probably cover all the tribes in The
Gambia.
For me, my mother is Wollof and my father Jahanka. My maternal grandmother
is Tukulorr. My maternal grandfather is Wollof. My paternal grandparents are
Jahanka. My elder brothers and sisters have the surname Awe (Tukulorr). My
nieces and nephews have Awe (Tukulorr), Bojang (Mandinka), Sowe (Fula),
Mendy (Manjago), Jawo (Fula), Nyang (Wollof), Gaye (Wollof), Faal (Narr)
etc. surnames. My first cousins have Crookes (Hausa), Ann (Tukulorr), Khan
(Tukulorr), Jeng (Sererr), Conteh (Mandinka), Mbye (Wollof), Kunta (Wollof)
etc. surnames. My very good friends have Thompson (Aku), Gaye (Wollof),
Innis (Aku), Williams (Aku), Sanyang (Jola), Jagne (Narr), Jallow (Fula),
Njie (Wollof), Ceesay (Mandinka) etc. surnames.
If we were to allow ourselves to be manipulated to the extent of a
tribal war in The Gambia, who would I fight against? I wouldn't even know
where to begin in my home because of the various tribes represented. So you
see, Gambia is very small and very related. We should all work towards
greater harmony between the tribes. Those who have agendas should express
and deal with them in a manner that is not divisive and destructive to the
interests of The Gambia and Gambians. Thanks.
Buharry.
----- Original Message -----
From: arona john <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2000 10:59 AM
Subject: Re: Another Dubious Coup Plot in The Gambia
> Buharry,
> I sincerely agreed with you that tribalism has no place in The
> Gambia.The Gambia is a very mixed society,where all are related either one
> way or the other.For I in particular my mother is a Mandinka and my father
> is an Hausa.Thus the concept of tribalism should be encouraged in our
mother
> land.
> History is not static process but a dynamic phenomenon.It is our
> actions that creates history and help it to develop.Hence every human
being
> should ensure that whatever he or she did will lead to peace,liberty and
> prosperity of the society he or she belongs to.If a human being,the most
> creative being on earth,fails to fulfill this task then he or she has
fails
> to meet his or her social responsibilities.The issues surfacing in The
> Gambia needs our urgent attention.But one should be very sober and
objective
> in handling the tribalism issue.Emotional comments would not help to
address
> our problem.
> I sum up with this quotation of Benjamin Frankin: "Those who would
> give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve
> neither liberty nor safety." Liberty,peace,prosperity and dignity do not
> come by chance and are also not gift.They are to be secured through our
own
> sweat and sober actions.
>
> ARONA JOHN
>
> International Islamic University,Malaysia
>
> >From: Haruna Farage <[log in to unmask]>
> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
> ><[log in to unmask]>
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: Re: Another Dubious Coup Plot in The Gambia
> >Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 10:07:27 -0500
> >
> > Hi Mr. Buharry,
> >
> > I wholly and solely concur with your arguments as put forward to
the
> > whole members of the L and The Gambia in general, on issues
> >pertaining
> > to tribalism.
> >
> > I cannot but wonder if there are elements agitating for tribalism
in
> > order to change the system in The Gambia without regards to its
> > repercussions on the general populace.
> >
> > Having been working with the International Criminal Tribunal for
> > Rwanda, prosecuting genocide suspects, I always hope and pray such
a
> > situation never prevail again in any given nation given the
> > testimonies of the survivors.Genocide in short means the
elimination
> > of a certain ethnic group by another with the aim of wiping out the
> > targetted ethnic group. The elements of genocide includes
incitement,
> > encouragement etc of a certain group to wipe out the other. This is
> > due too tribal differences. One tribe aiming to eliminate the other
> > for political reasons are in most cases the occurrence of genocide.
> >
> > In the tribunal, survivors revealed their ordeals, expressing how
> >they
> > loose all members of their families due to ethnic differences.
Before
> > the genocide Hutus and Tutsis were living side by side in peace but
> > immediately when the genocide began all such relationships ceased
to
> > exist due to tribal differences. For in a tribal war one is not
only
> > aiming at political opponents but ethnic differences which would
> >spare
> > nobody, women and children, yound and old are all targets.
> >
> > PS. Note that the definition above is not quoted but mine to
simplify
> > my explanations.
> >
> > Bravo Buharry for a well thought out article.
> >
> >
> >______________________________ Reply Separator
> >_________________________________
> >Subject: Re: Another Dubious Coup Plot in The Gambia
> >Author: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
> ><[log in to unmask]> at Internet
> >Date: 1/23/00 5:33 PM
> >
> >
> >Hi!
> > The issue of underlining the tribalist undertones of Ebou Colley's
> >posting has nothing to do with the "keep it safe business". It is neither
a
> >run for cover nor an attempt to use "code words" to run away from
tribalist
> >realities back home. The issues raised by Ebou if true, given that his
> >information sounds real "insider", are issues that should concern us all.
> > My beef with the posting is that it sounds like an incitement with
the
> >intention of rallying tribalist sentiment against the Jola people most of
> >whom have nothing to show for Yaya Jammeh being in power. This is wrong
and
> >very dangerous for our country. What does Ebou want? Does he want
Wollofs,
> >Mandinkas, Fulas etc. to kill enough Jolas to even the numbers? Would
this
> >solve the problem? No, it would rather plunge The Gambia into a deeper
> >abyss of endless violence and retribution. Is that what we want? I, for
> >one,
> >don't want that.
> > We have to be analytical and not sentimental when issues such as
> >tribalism are mentioned. Nobody is denying the fact that tribalism exists
> >in
> >The Gambia. Gambians wouldn't be normal human beings if no trace of
> >tribalism is found in The Gambia. There is tribalism all over the world.
It
> >is therefore not unique to The Gambia and Africa. All over Asia, Europe,
> >America, Australia etc. some tribes (though they are tagged otherwise)
are
> >marginalised because of their ethnicity. This is wrong and has to be
> >tackled
> >and remedied, but not through incitement.
> > We have to avoid being sentimental when dealing with tribalism to
> >avoid
> >being victims of those with divisive and destructive ulterior motives.
> >Isn't
> >it quite interesting that Ebou "Colley" would incite people to react
> >against
> >the Jolas, knowing fully well that his kith and kin back home would be at
> >the recieving end of the stick?
> > It is very easy to be armchair revolutionaries, keyboard Rambos and
> >the
> >like living in some far away land knowing fully well that we are far
> >removed
> >from the repercussions of what we preach. What we however have to
remember
> >is that we have parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties etc. back
home
> >who may not be spared the turmoil if there is violence back home. We
> >therefore have to be sober and realistic in our prescriptions. If there
is
> >a
> >tribal problem back home, we should try to find ways and means of dealing
> >with it without jeopardising the stability of the country and turning
tribe
> >against tribe.
> > I came across a publication in England around 1994/1995 that was
being
> >distributed by a group calling itself the Movement for the Restoration of
> >Democracy in The Gambia (can't remember the exact name but it runs along
> >those
> >lines). The publication, like Ebou Colley's, highlights tribal and
> >religious
> >differences. It supplied the names of members of the armed forces with
Jola
> >surnames and talked about how Christians were being promoted to this and
> >that
> >position because Yaya Jammeh was one of Bishop Cleary's "boys". I was as
> >wary
> >of that publication then as I am of Ebou Colley's now. Why? Because the
> >same
> >tactics are reminiscent of those employed in the PALIPEHUTU communiqué of
> >May
> >1988 in Burundi in which an incitement to deal with the ethnic issue in
> >violent terms was propagated. They are the same as those employed by
> >Interahamwe and other groups in Rwanda. Maybe the Gambian publications
have
> >fallen short of directly telling people to take arms and attack the Jolas
> >but
> >who knows what will happen if such views are not challenged. I would
> >challenge
> >the democratic intentions of anyone or any group that tries to highlight
> >and
> >play the various tribes against each other.
> > To cut the story short, The Gambia is a very tiny country where I am
> >yet
> >to find anyone who can tell me that he/she doesn't have a relative who is
> >from another tribe. We therefore have to be careful with what we
propagate.
> >If Yaya Jammeh is using tribe as a basis for employment and promotion,
then
> >he is violating the very spirit of the Constitution for chapter IV,
section
> >33, subsection 3 states: "... no person shall be treated in a
> >discriminatory
> >manner by any person acting by virtue of any law or in the performance of
> >the functions of any public office or any public authority". Subsection 4
> >states: "In this section, the expression "discrimination" means affording
> >different treatment to different persons attributable wholly or mainly
to
> >their respective descriptions by ...colour, ...language, religion,
> >...social
> >origin ... whereby persons of one such description are subjected to
> >disabilities or restrictions to which persons of another such description
> >are not made subject, or are accorded privileges or advantages which are
> >not
> >accorded to persons of another such description". If Yaya Jammeh is
> >violating this part of our Constitution with a few of his tribesmen
> >benefitting, why should the Jola tribe pay for it? Yaya and those who are
> >benefitting are the ones who should be brought to book for that and not
the
> >average Jola whose living condition hasn't improved an iota since Yaya
took
> >power.
> > I therefore strongly stand by my conviction that tribalism has no
> >place
> >in The Gambia. We should all be fighting very hard to discourage it. We
> >should also take a stance against all forms of incitement or the playing
of
> >one tribe against the other because if we don't, the ultimate losers will
> >be
> >Gambia and Gambians. Thanks.
> >
> >Buharry.
> >--------------------------------------Original
>
>Message--------------------------------------------------------------------
-
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >From: Ousman Bojang <[log in to unmask]>
> >To: <[log in to unmask]>
> >Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2000 1:00 AM
> >Subject: Re: Another Dubious Coup Plot in The Gambia
> >
> >
> > > Ebou,
> > > This is such a powerful piece. Just as Buharry said a lot of it might
be
> >a
> > > revelation to some and to some it might be like an initiation of a
> >tribal
> > > differential. However, you seem to got the facts and said it as it is
> >and
> > > naturally Gambians like the "Keep it safe" business. In fact that is
one
> > > reason why it is going to take some a lot of bite to swallow and why
> >Jammeh
> > > continuos to act like this.
> > > And to some you might just tell them it is not for them to agree, but
> >there
> > > is a lot of sense in what you said. Jammeh has succeeded in
eliminating
> >his
> > > loyalties very well. And to confirm to you and everyone that it is
among
> > > tribal lines, wait to see the 33 people they accused as the coup
> >plotters.
> >So
> > > far 30 of them are behind the bar as we talk and some will be stunt to
> >hear
> > > the list.
> > > And as I always say, sooner or later the final day and the revelations
> >shall
> > > come and Jammeh will be the victim. Gambians have been the victims of
> >these
> > > brutal killings and harassment and I am sure God is not sleeping. God
> >Bless
> > > the Gambia.
> > >
> > > Ousman J. Bojang.
> > >
> > >
>
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> > > Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
> > >
> > >
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