Hamjatta, I salute you, too. Your points are well taken. Thanks. Cherno Baba Jallow Charlotte, NC >From: Hamjatta Kanteh <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Attn. Cherno: On Jammeh's 'Third Wife' And Newsworthiness. >Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2000 08:01:42 EST > >Cherno, > I'm glad that you seem to share my concern about "credible newspapers >to >descend into Stygian depths of Yellow journalism" (your words). But my >concern is themed on private lives of individuals being laundered in the >public arena under the specious argument of political/public. figures >cannot >have private lives so long as they are in the public domain or remain >representatives of The People. My Liberal instincts tell there is >everything >wrong with this reasoning and at best this is covered in the cobwebs of the >ringing fallacies that political/public figures cannot have private lives >that they own solely and which should they choose to would no share with >the >public. Experience teaches us that for a hundred mile journey you begin >with >but a step. I hold the view that once we muddy the private and public in >national discourse, Yellow journalism would step in insidiously just as if >it >is natural. that was how the Tabloids developed in to the psyche and >culture >of the West. Thus I hold the contention that: so long as whatever has no >bearing on the public interest, if it happens to be a public figures >private >life, it shall remain thus: PRIVATE. Nothing more, nothing less. > Having said that, i ask you and the rest what interest is it to >the >public that an exclusive story of Jammeh's "third wife" is revealed? is >Jammeh beholden by any laws that compel him to marry? or even compel him to >have a benchmark/ceiling quantifying how many wives he can have at any >time? >nowhere would you find any classification/designation of an official >position >called "First Lady" in our constitution or other laws of our land that our >leaders are beholden to or swear allegiance to defend. Suffice to say that >our body polity is secular liberalism. it does not have as a prerequisite >that candidates to public life must be married or if not should do so post >haste. it does not precondition any public official to share or make >his/her >private life a subject trivial chit chats. public officials are under no >duress to divulge what they do in private so long as it doesn't affect >their >public roles and ONLY if it is in the public interest. What has it >increased >any way to the daily struggles of Gambian masses now that The Independent >has >exclusively revealed Jammeh's "third wife"? Zilch. it has not ameliorated >the >poor farmer's travails; nor the underprivileged who have to trudge under >the >most miserable conditions to make a living; or give medicine to the sick >who >throng our hospitals. Again I hold thus that: the revelation that Jammeh >has >married a "third wife" is a trivial and frivolous blabbing fit for "Attaya >Vous," cocktail rumour circuits and hostile snipes. It has no bearing >direct >on the ordinary people of The Gambia. > Interestingly enough you took this occasion to qualify what would be >"newsy" and what would not be. Bizarrely you chose to juxtapose my >comparison >of the Senegalese gov't and MFDC peace talks and Jammeh's "third wife" with >that of the Observer's decision to make prominent in their headlines >Dibba's >allegation of the PPP's gov't overspending of taxpayers money and that of >an >international business conference that took place at the same time. my >comparisons even reminded you of Omar Sey angst at your taking precedence >of >the Dibba story instead of the then gov't's attempts to sell the Gambia as >business haven for investors. You went on that: "this reminds me of former >foreign affairs minister Omar Sey, when he went bonkers over Daily >Observer's >front page in which Sheriff Dibba alleged that the PPP government had >overspent tax payers' money within a short period, by over 1 billion >dalasis. >It happened that the story took place on the eve of a major international >business conference. By Omar Sey's reckoning, the conference ought to have >been given front page prominence not Dibba's revelations. Well, Omar Sey is >journalist; he probably didn't know what was news or what wasn't." Cherno, >you are a journalist and I presume not only that you do know what is news >but >also you have a decent sense of fairness. You know very well that you have >chosen the wrong analogy here. The Dibba "revelations" mentioned cannot be >compared to Jammeh's "third wife" in any case; be it newsworthiness or of >national importance. The PPP's overspending of taxpayers' money to the tune >of a billion dalasi (don't know where you got your stats from but they >don't >just add up, old boy), is a legitimate public concern and very news worthy >in >that it affects in no small way every fabric of our country. it is very >risible you even make this comparison. Can you even imagine that the >revelation of Jammeh's "third wife" having the same effect as the billion >dalasi that came from Dibba's revelations? > Again you went on to moralise grandiloquently why Jammeh's "third >wife" >qualifies to be more newsworthy to than the MFDC and the Senegalese gov't's >peace gathering in Banjul. You said: "I wasn't in the Gambia at the time of >the Independent's publication of their article under scrutiny. But my >reading >of the situation is that Jammeh's 'third' wife was more newsy, contiguous >to >the national identity than a peace conference that held no optimism. In >fact, >soon after the signing of the peace conference, heavy fighting resumed in >Casamance. To be sure, the peace talks were important, but how many times >have the combatants been to the Gambia, working on peace formulas only to >renege on them later. Can you imagine the boredom afflicting the minds of >Gambians and Senegalese on the Casamance situation? Moreover, the story is >about a next door neighbour, but it is foreign consumption to Gambian >readers. It's always good for newspapers to give more coverage to local >than >foreign news. Too much foreign news in a local paper will consign that >paper >to obscurity, because the local population will look elsewhere for news >that >hits close to home, directly affecting their lives." > Cherno, Cherno, how can you be so insensitive? Has the millennium >partying and bug already rendered your humane faculties of sympathising >with >those under less favourable and traumatic conditions? How can you consign >Casamance as "foreign" when the Gambia and Casamance are what I will call >overlapping communities of fate? On what grounds do you hold the assertion >that the "peace conference holds no optimism" and will be just like the >others that were forerunners? Where is the evidence that The Independence >or >newspapers in the Gambia for that matter devote more space to foreign news >as >you seem to insinuate from the MFDC/Senegal gov't meeting? Where is the >evidence that the peace talks would be another bout of "boredom afflicting >Gambian Senegalese minds?" > Cherno it goes without saying that almost every Gambian has a blood >relation and almost all of us regard Senegal as a second home where distant >uncles, aunts, cousins and the rest of it live. How can any sane person >regard the traumatic experience of that area as "foreign news"? How can you >be so callous? In any case what of the ordinary folks who had to live >traumatic and displaced existence since this tragedy started in 1982? Even >if >you regard these peoples as "foreigners" where is your sense of humanity >and >African-Ness? Have you paused to think that as you rush to party in North >Carolina, that displaced peoples are living wretched lives even on the eve >of >the millennium? Has it occurred to you that not everyone is fortunate >enough >to celebrate or even a cause to celebrate? Are you not afflicted by the neo >colonial dementia of identity crisis by consigning news of Casamance to the >dust bin of "foreign news" and Casamance as mere "neighbour" or "foreign"? >As >you chew at these in front of your PC with your fingers dipped in some >pepperoni jepperoni pizza just remember not everyone has a cosy apartment >to >return to at night and the least you could do for these peoples is >encourage >any decent effort no matter how tedious, that they attempt to bring >normalcy >in their lives. It is very easy when you are in good Ole Uncle Sam to take >these things for granted. Let this salve your conscience. > Equally I'm concerned your wisdom of what would constitute a priority >and >tedium and how in the interest of humanity, the tedium can be catapulted >into >priority even though as you claim it might afflict boredom on a papers >readership. I will give you the recent case of the Northern Ireland >tragedy. >Even though some many ceasefires were declared and deals signed, the >British >press were never found in wanting when it comes to highlighting the tragedy >of the province. They certainly don't consign the Irish problem to >"foreign" >columns. Can you imagine the British press going after Cherie Blair's >pregnancy whilst the Good Friday deal was being signed? It would be >rebarbative and appal people. No matter how tedious, frustrating and >reneging >of deals by parties involved in the conflict, the British trudged >nonetheless >to carry out what was a moral responsibility to encourage the parties even >it >sometimes cost them readers. Not every problem of society is solved by >liberal markets. Sometimes moral responsibilities demand you risk the wrath >of readers and pursue humanist goals. This was what persevered the British >press and look at the dividends they are reaping from it now. Today >Northern >Ireland on a shaky peace, is enjoying devolved government from Westminster >and the Good Friday deal still holds as they prepare for disarmament. > On a final note, you have perversely misinterpreted my application of >"getting it right" within the context of the Independent story on Jammeh's >"third wife." You interpreted that I mean by "getting it right" that: "the >Independent's story does not have facts, and therefore false." Far from it >my >application doesn't in any mean I charge the Independent with publishing >false information. By "getting it right" I mean that they didn't get their >priorities right and were in a rush to publish a story of no legitimate >importance to the public; that it was a frivolous and trivial blab of no >direct importance to the ordinary people. By "getting it right," I mean >again >that the MFDC/Senegalese gov't gathering holds more importance to the >ordinary peoples of Senegambia and Africa at large and that the Independent >could have saved itself the trouble of a collusion course with an >authoritarian populist like Jammeh, who as you claim earlier had always >drawn >the knives out for the Independent. On the veracity of the story we shall >all >in the mean time know the truth after the due process of the law. >Happy New Year and Eid Mubarak in advance to y'all. >I salute you. >Hamjatta Kanteh >hkanteh > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------