In a message dated 7/5/2001 3:02:25 PM Central Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:

<< Good evening,
         Is it OK if I may ask where the people asking about Traditional Land
Ownership
 originate from (town or village in The Gambia). I shall then do my best to
answer your PERTINENT questions.
 I ask this, for I think where one comes from is fundamental in grasping the
emotions behind Land Ownership.

 Good evening
 Manneh >>

Manneh,

I was born in Jangjangbureh, as were the rest of my family, except one, and
when I was 9, my family moved to Gunjur.
I want to thank Dr Jeng and Malanding for their explanations.
However, i also want to say that in our fight for justice, let us not be
selective. If we seek justice, we must be prepared to seeek it in every
aspect pf Gambian life. It has become too easy for folks to just  try to use
the word tribalism as a scare tactic to shut others up because they think
that everyone will consider it politically incorrect and run and hide.
If there are certain groups in The Gambia who claim certain lands, and others
have no such claim, then something is very unfair and wrong here, and I hope
I am not the only one who sees that. We have to be careful about being very
eager to address only those wrongs that are not to our advantage and try to
ignore, cover up or pass over those that directly involve our personal or
family, or group interests. One cannot afford to seem to give the imptession
of being cunning at the expense of other people.
If we are all Gambian by birth, then we are all entitled to have claim to the
land, not because we have used it longer, but because we were born in Gambia,
period. If the latter was the norm throughout the World, the Native Americans
could step forward and regain their land. In this regard, I resent the
question of where one is from that was asked by Mr Manneh. What is that
leading to? It angers me the same way that people anger me when they atart
talking about people's parents not being from Gambia, and therefore they are
not Gambians. One is the citizen of a country because one is born in that
country.
I am no tribalist, but I think that this land affair is something that
definitely needs to be looked at. It just does not make sense to me that some
Gambians can have claim to certain lands when this is not evenly applied as
far as every group in Gambia is concerned.
Am I to believe that my Gambian brothers and sisters whose klans, groups, etc
can lay claim to  land and  other groups are not entield to the same
priviledge actually consider that just? If we are all Gambians, then I think
we need to revisit this land issue and make sure we put a fair system in
place where every Gambian can acquire land in a uniform manner. I cannot see
myself as comrades to people who say they abhor injustice and are fighting
for justice with me, but who at the same time conveniently chuck this land
issueto tribalism when it is very clear that definitley not all Gambians have
equal rights when it comes to this issue.
These are some of the issues that cannot be swept under the rug people. Let
us debate them and formulate solutions instead of focussing on some of the
problems while trying to step over the others that are bound ot be
problematic later.

Jabou Joh

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