It has never been the independent media's fault that so much attention has been placed on the negative propensities of the A(F)PRC in the Gambia. No morning or evening broadcast of the GRTS has ever ventured to tell the complete story of the horrific mismanagement of the state affairs, neither the total disregard of humanity by the state machinery that are occurring daily in our own backyards. It's the A(F)PRC leadership that must be pointed to for the blame. Yaya Jammeh and the A(F)PRC, brazenly rode into the State House on their horses, poised to do battle with an enemy that is only existent in their twirled minds. An enemy they have successfully exonerated with flying colors. They told us that they were but soldiers with a difference. They told us that they came to clean house. They told us that they are open to criticism by the media or any one else who dares. They told us that they came to serve us, the people of Gambia, to take the reins of the nation on the right tracks. Today, the A(F)PRC have been catapulted into a game of one-upmanship over who can spread the greatest terror within their loyalist ranks, while our country men and women are dying of ill-afforded health care and while general poverty has become normal amongst the majority. While Gambia’s unemployed who can afford to find their way towards the Mediterranean into Europe to seek jobs outside of the country, find themselves in harm's way and are dying, too. While the independent media is striving against all odds to present the true picture of the happenings in the country. In Gambia today, gun violence in the form armed robberies has begun to escalate. Violent crimes against media personnel are escalating at a time when our nation's president is threatening his opponents using the same terms that fallen dictators before him had used in attempts to thwart open minded and strong willed activists against corruption and public mismanagement. “They will not live to witness the next election…” The curse of irresistible progress is irresistible regression. Enlightenment that seeks to dissolve myths and to depose imagination through knowledge must be nurtured at all costs. Gambia’s independent media on the Gambia is leading the way forward in this regard. Only a retrogressive leadership will tempt to clandestinely stifle such progressive movements in a society like ours. Why the violence against the independent media? The latest streak of violence against the independent media in the Gambia is capricious not only phenomenologically but also conceptually. We must attempt to diagnose the significance of these attacks. We must attempt to understand what this is by making a distinction between symbolic violence and real violence against the independent media. Do we refer to these attacks as physical violence or psychological violence against the media personnel or both? Shall we refer to these as individual violence or collective violence against the media houses? Are we witnessing rational or irrational violence in these cases? Are these state sanctioned spontaneous or planned violence? Are we referring to destructive violence or constructive violence from the perspective of the media houses? Are we referring to violence against the media or an assault on public freedom and right to opinion? In our conceptualization of these violent streaks, should we focus on the account, the source, the victim, the act, the consequences of action, or the justification of action? We must individually answer all these questions and settle down with an independent analysis of what is happening in our dearest Gambia. I believe that, if we understand these actions at an individual level, there is a chance that collectively, we can come to terms with what is happening to us as a nation. Reminds me of S. S Molin (1963) when he said: “Man is not unique among the animals in resorting to violence or in organizing groups to enhance his striking power and his ability to inflict pain and injury. …... To man alone belongs the ability to compose elaborate systems of religious values, political ideologies and scientific myths that by the beauty of their poetry and the cleverness of their reasoning, have succeeded over long periods of time in legitimizing violence and concealing its otherwise ugly profiles.” It is time to end the madness before its gets any worse. It is not too long before 2006 when the time finally comes for Gambians to make a change, the world will be watching. -- BambaLaye "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." -M.L King Jr. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~