Hi folks,

I'm writing to provide an update on the problem of insults from Matarr Njie.
You might recall that we had discussions on the issue of subscribers getting
insults from Matarr, and what to to about the problem.

I am one of the subscribers that have been getting insults from Matarr, and I
have been probably the most unlucky in this regard because he has also been
sending me copies of insults he sends to other people.  All this, in my mind,
has a lot to do with the fact that I unsubscribed him from Gambia-L, and for
that, I have to pay dearly.

But I maintained that I was not going to roll over and play dead.  I decided to
do all I can to put a stop to the insults, for no reason other than the fact
that we all have rights to express our opinions without being insulted for
them, and futhermore, it is total injustice for anyone to be subjected to a
steady stream of insults for no reason.  As I indicated in a previous posting,
I have been following-up on this case, especially after Ebrima Ceesay sent in
his first posting about Matarr' University, program of study, and the Dean of
his Faculty.

I must say that my efforts at getting the University of Malaya to be involved
in the issue did not go smoothly.  Although the first people I called and/or
sent e-mail to responded were helpful, my complaints were met with disinterest
by the Dean's Office at the Faculty of Economics and Administration.  I
received an e-mail from an Associate Prof. there telling me that after hearing
Matarr's side of the story, he/she had concluded that the issue was a purely
political matter, and for that reason, they would not want to be dragged into
it.  I wrote the Prof. back to express my gratitude for his/her effort in
addressing my complaints, and left it at that.

As you can imagine, I was not the least satisfied with the position taken by
the Dean's Office, and so I had to map out a new strategy.  It so happened that
around that time, Ebrima Ceesay sent in his posting about setting up a
directory of "progressive Gambian intellectuals", and I responded to it with a
few suggestions about how to make the directory even better.

Matarr jumped at my response to Ebrima's idea, and used it as a reason to send
insults to Ebrima, and copied the e-mail message to me.  Naturally, he also
made sure that I was given my fair share of his insults.  I then wrote to
HotMail, and attached Matarr's e-mail to Ebrima, along with a few insulting
ones he'd sent before.  My e-mail to HotMail also included my correspondence
with the Dean's Office, to enable HotMail get the bigger picture as they
analized my complaint.

Furthermore, I also sent HotMail copies of responses I obtained from the Dean's
Office regarding my complaints about Matarr.  To ensure that everybody involved
was on the same page, I in turn copied my e-mail to HotMail to the Webmaster of
the University of Malaya Web site, the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and
Administration, the Assoc. Prof. who was instructed by the Dean to reply to my
original complaint, and also to the Manager of the Jarring Network Operations
Center.

The Dean of the Faculty of Business and Accountancy also got a copy of my
e-mail to HotMail because when I called the Dean of the Faculty of Economics
and Administration last week, I was told by the person who took the call that
Matarr was presently doing his Ph.D. at the Faculty of Business and
Accountancy, rather than at the Faculty of Economics and Administration, where
he did his Masters.

Besides presenting my case to HotMail, again, I also indicated to the Malaysian
authorities that either they dealt with my complaints, as they should, or they
be prepared to receive each and every copy of any and all insulting e-mail
messages sent by Matarr to anyone for expressing their opinions on Gambia-L.  I
also indicated to them that I was planning to solicit help from a mailing list
about mailing list management, which I subscribe to, and ask about how to deal
with the problem.  I tried to make it clear to them that they cannot just wish
the problem away.

I sent my e-mail to HotMail about last Thursday (June 10), and it was the
following day, Friday, that I received word that they had closed the account
from which Matarr had sent his insulting e-mail to Ebrima and me.  For your
information that happened to be the fourth time they had closed an account
created by Matarr.  The first they closed was the Burama Manjang address,
followed by two Matarr Njai addresses ([log in to unmask] and then
[log in to unmask]), and finally the Mahthar Ndiaye address,
[log in to unmask]

What's obvious from the above is that Matarr tried to stay ahead of the HotMail
staff by creating a new address each time I complained, and had his account
deleted.  I pointed this out in my e-mail to HotMail, and suggested that
something be done once and for all to make Matarr stop sending insulting e-mail
messages to people.

As I indicated above, Matarr's Mahthar Ndiaye <[log in to unmask]> address
was deleted by HotMail last Friday, June 11, and since then I haven't heard
from him.  This is unsual because each time they delete his account, I can
almost always gurantee that I will get an insulting message from him a day or
so later (from a new address ofcourse).  So I am tempted to suggest that the
authorities in Malaysia have finally sat him down and talked to him.

Whatever happens, I would like to inform all of you that I would appreciate it
if you can let me know if and when you receive any insulting messages from
Matarr because of a posting you sent to Gambia-L.  I will send you the e-mail
addresses of all the people I promised I would pass on their addresses, for you
to send them their copies of Matarr's insults.

I would like to wrap this up by thanking all of you for your patience, and
especially those subscribers who handled themselves with grace after receiving
insults from Matarr.  I know, because Matarr sent me copies of insults that he
sent in private to people.

I must also say that it is perhaps because our postings are accessible to the
public at http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html and/or because
Matarr is discretely subscribed that he, like anyone with Internet access, can
read what people are saying on the list.

I don't think that these insults warrant our changing the configuration of our
archives to limit access to them only to subscribers.  If anything, the fact
that our archives are in public view strengthened the case I case made that
Gambia-L is not meant to provide an anti-government platform, as Matarr always
claimed.

May I mention that I have tried my best to put a stop to Matarr's insults for
the simple reason that it is terribly important that people are able to
exchange ideas and information without fear of being insulted or intimidated.
In the end, the case I tried to make was not really about Matarr Njie and Katim
Touray, but about the fundamental right of people to engage in dialogue.  In my
mind, we are only human because of our capacity to exchange ideas and
information.  If you ever show me two donkeys engaged in a dialogue, I will
change my mind.

Furthermore, we must not forget that we should not spare any efforts in
protecting our rights to the distinctly human trait of thought.  The fact of
the matter is that our humaneness is only skin-deep.  Scratch anyone enough for
them to bleed, and you'll see the animal come right out.  Remember those very
friendly, civilized, easy-going, happy people that engaged in savagery back in
1981?  They were Gambians, you know.  Just like you and me.

Have a great week, and best wishes in your endeavors.

Katim

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