Still not my 33^rd Message to All Gambians! – Please watch out for that in the New Year.

I want to record my thanks to the hundreds of people who have e-mailed me through the Gambia Post and Gambia-L and in private messages, and also all those people who have contacted me by telephone or letter in the last few days. Your kindness and words of encouragement and celebration mean such a lot to me. George Sarr and Dr Jaiteh – you now know the reason for my silence of the last few months on the mighty Post and Gambia-L!

I intend to break my silence soon and start to rattle the bars of the APRC cage in The Gambia again!

I shall try to make personal contact with you all in the next weeks, but you should know that I am thinking of you and looking forward to working with you to unseat Yahya Jammeh and the APRC from power in my country.

My Thesis will add to the Research Literature on The Gambia, and will draw together the work of academics like Dr Abdoulaye Saine, the late Dr John Wiseman, Professor Ken Swindell, Professor Carlene Edie, Dr Hazel Barrett, Professor Arnold Hughes, Dr Angela Browne, Dr Elizabeth Vidler, Dr Ebrima Sall, Brother Halifa Sallah and others. I am hopeful that the thesis will be published as a book, and will give any details of this as soon as I have them. I shall ensure that extracts of my research are available on-line.

We Gambians at home and throughout the Diaspora have need to feel proud: in Universities and Colleges all over the world, Gambians are studying at First Degree, Masters Degree and Doctorate levels in a huge range of subjects. Gambians are also in positions of importance in almost every nation on this globe, and Gambians are contributing towards the development of Africa as the first Continent.

Let me take the opportunity to inform you about a new book, edited by  our own Dr Muhammed Faal et al. Dr Faal, a Gambian who teaches Security Studies at the University of Bradford's Africa Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, studied at universities in Dakar, France and England. The book, published by Ashgate UK, is entitled: "Dangers of Co-deployment - UN Co-operative in Africa." It provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of the capacity of the African Regional Intergovernmental Organisations in collective security, peacekeeping, conflict management and resolution, and the collaboration between the UN and ECOWAS in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In Senegal, we are proud to have the renowned Gambian scholar, Dr Ebrima Sall, heading CODESRIA’s Research and Documentation Department. CODESRIA is doing a wonderful job in encouraging research in the social sciences in Africa. CODESRIA, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, is based in Dakar Senegal. Established in 1973, CODESRIA "is as an independent Pan-African research organisation with a primary focus on the social sciences, broadly defined. It is recognised not only as the pioneer African social research organisation." See www.codesria.org 

In the UK, Gambians like Hamjatta Kanteh (currently studying Social and Political Science at Corpus Christi College at the world-ranking Cambridge University) and Alieu Badara Sowe (an undergraduate reading Law at Sheffield University) are doing us proud. To gain a place to study at Universities in the UK (or in the USA, Europe etc.) is no easy matter: the competition is fierce, and to gain a scholarship from any source is very difficult. Our Gambian brothers and sisters are doing their best to acquire knowledge and understanding at University level, and we know that eventually our beloved nation will benefit from their expertise.

In my own case, it is not possible for me to return to The Gambia until we see the end of Jammeh and his APRC regime: if I were to go to The Gambia now to find work, I would put my life at grave risk. I have received many death threats from the APRC thugs. I make a solemn promise to continue to do whatever I can to bring about the downfall of the criminal regime which has The Gambia in its wicked grips. I also pray to Almighty God that soon I shall be free to return home and to put all my heart and soul into restoring my country’s social, economic and political well-being.

There are organisations and groups throughout the world which are dedicated to the restoration of democracy in tyrannical countries, and we support their work.

Closer to home, our Gambian Opposition leaders and their parties are risking life and limb to continue the struggle for a return to Democracy in The Gambia.

Like you, I pray for all these people and urge YOU to make your opinions known in every way possible. If we work together to bring an end to a tyrannical and despotic regime, we can rescue our country from criminality, destitution and lawlessness.

On a final note, I salute my Journalistic brothers and sisters in The Gambia. Despite all the difficulties, I urge you to continue your hard work and to remain true to your political and social ideals. May God help you, and all those who are working to benefit our homeland.

Ebrima Ceesay,

Birmingham, UK

PS: Cherno Omar Barry: I visited your web page and needless to say, I did like it. Keep it up! I hope you are enjoying your studies in Limoges (France). In fact, just three weeks ago, I was in Paris, where I met Langfafa Dampha, a Gambian doing his PhD at the University of Paris 4, Sorbonne. His email is: [log in to unmask]

There is also another Gambian Linguist/phonetician, Rudolph Sock, who is a Professor at the University of Marc Bloch in Strasbourg, France.

See Professor Sock's page: http://misha1.u-strasbg.fr/IPS/Sauvegardes/RS.htm

Meanwhile, find below some of the PhD theses on The Gambia, that I came across when I was doing my research. I’ll send the rest at the weekend. You might consider creating a link for these PhD theses (on your page). Copies of these PhD theses can always be obtained through the Inter Library Loan (between universities).