To all who subscribe to Gambia-L,
It is my husband who subscribes to this list, and I have the opportunity to
read what has been going on through this terrible horror. I have read all of
your responses and outrage, and agree with the barbaric reactions of all
that were in involved.
I also want to extend all of warmest and heartfelt sympathy to those
families that have lost their children. There is not an individual that i
wish ever go through the pain of losing their child.
But what I really wish to point out is a little hard to swallow and some may
feel that I am pointing fingers the wrong way. But has anyone stopped to
think about how these children have decided to defend themselves??? What I
mean is:
Yes... they SHOULD have demonstrated.
Yes... they have the right to speak out.
BUT... WHY DID THEY USE VIOLENCE IN THIS DEMONSTRATION...
BETTER YET... WHAT WOULD THIS DEMONSTATION IN VIOLENCE BRING TO THEM???
Let us think about this for a minute. These children were outraged at what
has been happening in the schools. As they should be. The govt has not
protected them or their rights and they have seen their fellow student(s)
killed and raped. It is truly barbaric acts that allow this violence and
outrage to happen upon innocent children.
BUT... these innocent children, (WHO ARE LITERALLY DEFENSESLESS!!!) have
chosen to demonstrate to show their unapproval of what has been happening.
I can agree with this desire and their need to do such a thing. But what I
have trouble with is the way that they had decided to do this.
1. They have seen their fellow students suffer at the hands of the millitary
thugs and the barbaric way the govt has been running. As brave as they were
to stand up to that... don't they realize that standing up to these
barbarians must bring blood shed!!!???? There really is not way around that.
AND
2. They did NOT protest PEACEFULLY (as we would all love to see The Gambia
someday) and they did NOT protest with a POINT, A MISSION per say. It is one
thing to choose your cause and want to fight for it. BUT it is an entirely
different thing to set out in violence without a mission or a goal... a much
better way would be to go on strike, and demand their rights. A demand is
much better met under peacefull circumstances that it is by going out and
setting fire to things and throwing stones.
Doesn't anyone wonder why they chose violence against barbarians WITH
GUNS!?!?! Surely there must be blood shed with this kind of attack. And this
is what I find the most sad point of the entire situation!!!
The way that most conflicts have EVER been handled with in The Gambia has
been through violence and bloodshed. When in protest it is much better to
gain your allies and go in with demands and expect results from your demands
than to go in with rage and violence and expect some sort of victory.
This whole situation has brought great saddness into my heart. Though I
myself am not a Gambian, I spent two and half years in your beloved country.
I met and married my proud Gambian husband there... and I am proud to say
that I am a part of a strong, proud, and wonderful Gambian family. We have
only been in the States for a few months now, and we miss our people there
greatly....
This sort of news makes us feel a great deal of remorse. My greatest hope is
that teaching, or better yet, INSTILLING peace in Gambian children will just
become second nature. I hope that peace can be in the future of that fine
country.
Again, I wish to extend my condolences... it truly is a horrbile thing that
all will have to now face the consequences of.
Amy
>From: Yusupha Jow <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: What happened to Ebrima Barry's teacher ? (mr. Farage))
>Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 12:35:59 EDT
>
>You have completely taken me out of context: My statement was:
>Quote
>Kibily, I don't think that anyone can blame the teacher for the tragic
>series
>of events that happened AFTER Ebrima was handed over to the law
>Unquote
>
>The teacher, in my opinion, would not be convicted of the more serious
>charge
>of 'murder one' in any fair court of law. Yes, he might have stepped out
>of
>the realms of his authority by calling in the fire brigade and by putting a
>precious life in a compromising situation. But before we jump to
>conclusions
>and emphatically state that he had a hidden agenda in doing this, it is
>necessary to ascertain directly from the horse's mouth why the deceased was
>handed over to the police? If he was justified, then he should be duly
>absolved of all blame. Otherwise, he should be disciplined accordingly by
>the school board or charged with indirect complicity in Ebrima's death.
>
>This said, it is important to prevent such tragedies from happening in the
>future. To do this, we have to zero in on the law enforcement authorities
>that abuse the human rights of the very people they are supposed to
>protect.
>It is quite unfortunate in the year 2000, we still refer to law enforcement
>as "the wrong hands."
>
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