Mr. Sidibeh:
Thanks for the clarification. Your views are well noted. Best wishes
on this project.
Abdoulaye
MSSidibeh wrote:
>
> Dr. Abdoulie Saine,
>
> Thanks a ton for your input. The points you raised are quite relevant and
> important and I am sure many readers have taken note of them.
> I feel however, that I need to clarify some of the positions I maintained in
> the original article which, perhaps, have not come through well because of
> any number of reasons.
>
> Some of the positions you raised, I have already commented on elsewhere and
> therefore need not be taken up once more :
>
> Dr. Saine wrote:
> ........"
> > What your analysis left out however, is how far Gambia-L has come, from
> > a forum of necessary political/social discourse and criticism to one of
> > pro-active/agency. Unquestionably, G-L(and its constituent parts) is a
> > player in The Gambia's political landscape. Collectively, we created a
> > voice and space for ourselves long before the April 10 Massacre, and
> > have since then, exerted pressure on Jammeh and his regime. The latter
> > was made possible, in part, by the practical strategies the G-L took in
> > its efforts to influence events at home.
> >
> > Not withstanding the lack of response from the Jammeh regime, The G-L
> > Position Paper(published in New African, The Independent, BBC interview
> > and other outlets)has made an impact. How much? It is hard to measure
> > as of now.. Yet, we must never judge our success and possible impact by
> > the lack of response from Jammeh and his government. This was to be
> > expected. The response I and others have received from Gambia since the
> > publication of the proposal have been positive. And in the aftermath of
> > the killings, our efforts to see justice rendered and comfort the nation
> > at a time of such a tragedy and loss, must not be underestimated. In
> > fact, the postings forwarded to us by Ebrima Ceesay from Gambia and the
> > circulation of Karamba Touray's article at home, and others I have
> > received privately, suggest that our efforts as a collective,
> > (GAMBIA-L), are positive.
>
> As you may have noted, my intention was to make a case for the need for a
> broad-based mass organisation of Gambians by trying, in a humble way, to
> highlight how its absence may have contributed to the gradual militarisation
> of Gambian society ; and by implication, the tragic events of last week.
> True, I might have paid little attention to the
> influence Gambia-L may have in Gambia (I was off the list for the past four
> months, rejoining again last week Tuesday), as I am not
> aware of any reports anyone may have made on the impact the L has on Gambian
> public thought and discourse. But I have recognised the very importance of
> the L for us and have invariably commented on that in the past.
>
> While I have no figures available, (the list managers may be able to help
> here) I should dare venture the opinion that the number of Gambia-based
> subscribers to Gambia-L is still below 100, especially taking into account
> government agencies and agents hiding behind dubious identities. The
> positive feedbacks notwithstanding, I think there are ample reasons for
> expanding participation in Gambian affairs beyond Gambia-L. There are
> thousands and thousands of civil servants, workers, students, and unemployed
> individuals who have no access to the net.
>
> You also wrote:
>
> > Also, Overseas Gambians are very diverse in their political and
> > ideological orientations. We are not a monolith. In fact, a great
> > number of us are apolitical, but not any less concerned about events at
> > home, or trying to make a contribution, however modest. To call for
> > "some kind of ideological commitment...."on the part of Gambians, is at
> > best naive and setting ourselves up for possible failure. We must rid
> > ourselves of the notion that "We Are All One" because we are not.
> > Witness the April 10 Massacre and the different versions each
> > representing different interests. More important, Gambians today are
> > distinguished along lines of wealth, class, education, gender etc.,
> > hence different material interests. I wish it were different.
>
> Naive perhaps, and yes, we are not a monolith. But certainly, we are also
> not
> a discrete collection of morbid individualists without anything in common,
> or who are irredeemably incapable of reconciliation. Gambians have on many
> occasions in the past recognized their common concerns and shared interests
> and have organized accordingly.
>
> I am afraid you must have missed the big picture Dr. Saine because the
> students who died last week in Gambia and those whose families are in
> turmoil and trauma and grief, recognised their differences, yet they
> organised a demonstration! They did not not care that Ebrima Barry was a
> Fulani (like me), or that Binta Manneh is a Mandinka GIRL(!) or that some
> were from well-to-do families while most others were from poor ones! They
> went
> out there chanting, not lazy slogans like "We Are All One", but that they
> wanted Justice. If they could find common cause in resisting callous
> brutality, in demanding justice not only for the two victims but for all of
> GAMBIAN SOCIETY, then they must have discovered an ideology sufficiently
> powerful to move them to challenge the state with all its might ; an
> ideology, that you and I are wasting wise acres - to borrow a phrase from
> Hamjatta - trying to figure out. They discovered an ideology of Resistance
>
> Yes, we may falter, fall and fail in our travails. Well, so what? We simply
> should get up, brush off the dust and TRY AGAIN.
> If there are overseas Gambians who find it better to dwell more on their
> multiple diversities rather than on what they share as products of a
> particular culture, history, and geography, and therefore cannot come to
> find common cause in a minimum programme (such as a simple Human Rights
> campaign) to work with,
> then I suggest the boat simply leaves them behind.
>
> You further wrote :
>
> > When changes occur in the lives of a people and nations, (short of a
> > revolution), it is bound to be tentative, fitful, messy and sometimes
> > slow. The Gambia and Gambians are not any different. While I commend
> > and admire the initiatives of Overseas Eritreans, our historical
> > conditions, as indicated in your first posting, are different in many
> > important respects. We are Gambians and like peoples every where, we
> > have both positive and negative attributes. That is a fact we must
> > accept and the basis upon which any analysis must proceed.
>
> I agree that our attributes are the basis upon which any analysis must
> proceed. Yet I must insist that we study differences in order to find a
> basis for international solidarity ; in order to better realize how similar
> we actually are. The professional methods of racists and bigots is to dwell
> on the differences. Serious people concerned with progess seek for
> similarities and act accordingly.
>
> In your own very important National Reconciliation Position Paper, you named
> a few countries where National reconciliation Commissions have existed. One
> was South Africa. But indeed Gambians are equally less South African as they
> are Eritrean. Gambians are not the only inhabitants of this word. We have a
> duty to learn from the experiences of other people and figure out how these
> can be incorporated into our own reality.
>
> You again went on:
>
> "Finally, it has become fashionable to scapegoat so-called intellectuals
> > and in particular, their collective failure to the nation. Again,
> > intellectuals are not a monolith and the failures at home are a
> > collective responsibility that we all must bear. Most so-called
> > intellectuals do what they can to assist family and nation, in addition,
> > to their professional contributions. To expect less of them or
> > so-called "non-intellectuals" is unforgivable.
>
> Yes, we should not expect less of them, and yes, the failures are a
> collective responsibility. But the issue is to expect much more, not less,
> from intellectuals.
>
> All over the world, ordinary people, businesses, institutions, and
> governments look on learned people to offer guidance, to provide visions,
> and to lead. The group of intellectuals that made a public apology for not
> involving adequately in the affairs of their country were well aware of
> their duty to their country ; a duty they failed miserably. Please do not
> even try to absolve them of their responsibilty. You see, their are
> thousands of Gambian farm hands picking up apples in Spain. They also help
> their families and nation in the best way they can. But inside Gambia we all
> should make a clean separation between people who spend their lives teaching
> our children and prepare them for life, from those who use their time
> selling lipstick and soda. All of us have a responsibility but we should not
> be philosophical and pretend that our responsibilities are equal.
>
> In Taiwan, twelve of the fourteen-member 1989 cabinet all acquired their
> Ph.Ds abroad. Educated Gambians must get involved in the LIFE of their
> nation.
>
> Finally Dr. Saine, I want to tell you that it all boils down to a magic word
> namely, SACRIFICE. I believe, we must respect the fact that some of us are
> afraid. Afraid of losing their jobs, afraid of being tortured, and afraid of
> going to jail. But we must hold high the efforts and sacrifices made by
> others as monumental lightposts for our collective fearful groping in the
> dark. Their are many Gambians one could name in this regard. But I think
> particularly of the exemplary sacrifice made by Sidia Jatta. Not that I am
> repeating what Amadou Kabir Njie said.
> Almost exactly ten years ago (April 1990) in a critical letter I wrote to
> Foroyaa - criticising PDOIS for mixing politics with political science, so
> to speak - I explained and confessed how Sidia's resignation letter from
> government service was such an incredible source of inspiration.
> When he rejected his high national assembly member salary, I calculated at
> the time that if the entire membership of the Assembly followed his example,
> at least 500 of the so-called uncertificated teachers, whose services were
> then being terminated, would have retained their jobs! (Unfortunately, I
> cannot remember the precise figures).
>
> It is for such reasons that I mentioned the Eritreans. I did not mean that
> we should do the same; but I wanted to point out that such collective
> sacrifice should not be seen as alien to us.
>
> Some of you with doctoral degrees on this list have stayed put inspite of
> our criticisms, sometimes even insults, our greed to pick your brains now
> and then, and have even taken leadership roles in this campaign for freedom
> in Gambia. You have won the respect and admiration of many of us. If nothing
> else, your efforts mark a great beginning for Gambia.
>
> ( I am now resting my case, pledging that I will comment no more on this
> issue. The discussion as we all know, is an open one).
>
> Thanks.
> Momodou S Sidibeh
>
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