Amid allegations of gross negligence, mal-administration, and financial misappropriation
GPA In Hot Financial Waters - Deputy MD Refutes Allegations
by Ahmed Carayol
Reports emerging from the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) indicate cases of financial impropriety, negligence and to curry favour to climb the ladder, indicating that the services of TTS Company has been contracted to salvage a Japanese made ferry (James Island), which sank at the Banjul Shipyard, creating a huge financial burden on the authority.
The reports indicate that the ferry was bound for rehabilitation by the Japanese government in January this year, but due to gross negligence by the management of the Ports, an amount equivalent to 55,000 Euro was needed to rescue the sinking ferry.
An insider at the GPA, revealed tales of massive corruption and mal-administration at the Ports, which have taken the ring over the years, thus, crippling the efficiency of labour and the productivity of the port.
It is alleged that the whole cadre of senior managers busied themselves to look for per diems, while "the old guards are seen elbowing one another and trying to curry favour or gain recognition from the new Managing Director".
The daunting report into the allegations of negligence indicates that though the state of the equipment is of concern to the working class on the frontline. They allege that the management is doing nothing to help the situation, which if goes unchecked would sooner or later go out of hand, making special reference to a G38 BOSS Forklift, which they said had outlived its usefulness since the previous year.
In addition, special references were also made for the restructuring of the traffic department, which serves as the nerve centre of the authority, but up till now nothing is done to remedy the situation: "A lady who has been promoted to a senior position, and not even budgeted for or approved by the Board; the creation of over nine assistant management positions without considering the financial implication on the budget; and the dissolution of the Traffic Manger's position – a position that has always been the pivot of the traffic department since the creation of the GPA in 1972."
The report added that President Jammeh’s broom of 'Operation No Compromise' should be extended to a wide range of areas and not overlook the Ports and its plant equipment, since the authority plays a crucial role in the socio-economic development of the country.
In a letter addressed to The Independent prior to the investigation reveals cases of nepotism and gross administrative negligence. Below we reproduce the letter.
"The MD promoted the least productive and in-experienced staff above some senior staff. A case in point is Mr. L.S. Bojang, who has no experience in container operations; Mr. Lamin Sanyang, junior staff, now promoted as "Operations Coordinator", what this means, no body knows. Ms Mama Loum, someone whose only job has been at the Rating Office, since she joined the port over 15 years ago, until she was transferred out of this Office by the former MD, is now made "Manager" of Rating, a position not even budgeted for, or approved by the Board.
Our MD, Mr. Gibba, has very little knowledge of J88" administration. He has created positions and promoted people without such positions being approved by the Board. Over nine assistant manager positions were created and people promoted into, without the financial implication on the budget being thought of by the MD. The Traffic Manager's position has always been the pivot of the traffic department since the creation of the GPA in 1972, has now been completely dissolved. So many misfits and round pegs in square holes created by this new MD.
Mr. President, the port is without a strong leadership. Everybody is scared, or is doing what he or she thinks, without being in the interest of the GPA. The new MD, keeps on intimidating everyone at meetings with his popular slogan "H.E said..., H.E. said blah, blah" He once said that, H.E gave him the mandate to fire everyone, even if two people are going to be left at the ports.
Mr. President, do you know that, your man operates on kinship lines. The "Second MD" as he is popularly referred to, (Mr. Ebrima J.T Kujabi) is assigned for his own use, a four- wheel Galloper vehicle, which is traditionally, the MD’s utility vehicle. As Communications Officer, this guy is busy confusing everything, jumping from one area to the other. Today he is at the ferries, tomorrow, at the PWD Container Terminal.
Mr. President, are you aware that one of the Japanese ferries i.e. "James Island", which was slated for major rehabilitation by the Japanese Government in January 2005 has sunk at the Banjul Shipyard! This is gross negligence by senior management, especially, Mr. Halifa Bah, Director of Operations. Now the grapevine has it that, they (the management) have hired the services of TTS Company at a cost of Euro 55,000 to salvage and get the old ferry out of the water. What was senior management doing? Yes, busy looking for foreign travels and fighting over who controls what department at the ferries, or who should be giving out approvals for priority crossing!
Some of the senior management staff such as Mr. Ass Bah is pre-occupied doing surveys for fishing vessels whilst on- the-job, altering "GRT" records and giving out false certificates to fishing companies at the detriment of the government. What is the State Department of Works waiting to institute a commission of inquiry, as it is the practice in the past for such mishaps? ...
Mr. President, the port, the ferries, the shipyard are all going down. Please do something urgently before the once respected port, the jewel of the public enterprises becomes a Nawec, or GPTC fiasco. Mr Gibba is honestly not fit to handle the GPA."
Commenting on the issue, the Deputy Managing Director, Captain A.R. Bah refutes the allegations as false. He said the ferry has been written off about two years with plans for rehabilitation.
Refutig the claims, he said the ferry is currently under-going rehabilitation at the Banjul Shipyard.
"Not a single penny was paid to anybody. The rehabilitation is being funded by GPA itself".
On the creation of nine new positions without the approval of the Board, Captain Bah said he could not clarify the issue on the phone and invited this reporter for an interview. See the subsequent edition.
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Tallinding Residents Vent Their Anger over Ruptured Pipes
by David Thoronka
Reports privy to The Independent have revealed that residents of Tallinding, notorious for their advocacy for constitutional rights have vented their anger over NAWEC's ruptured pipes in the area, causing incalculable loss to users.
The reports came in the wake of the presidential decree known as "Operation clean the Nation", when residents are compelled to engage in environmental cleansing exercise.
Expressing grievance over the issue, a group of middle-aged men, said Tallinding neighborhood is practically littered with bust NAWEC pipes oozing out huge quantities of precious drinking water.
They enunciated cases of exposed pipes, which are left naked at risks, as they are seen lying, noting that in most cases when a pipe got busted it takes days before it could be repaired by a technician, thereby causing incalculable loss to the company.
It is also indicated that pipes leading to the homes of private consumers are mostly affected creating huge financial burden on consumers, who are hell bent to pay for the loss and deprive people of the use of the facility at the end of the day.
"The government spends a lot of money to doctor the water and to distribute it only to be literally wasted", said one Lamin Phatty, a resident of the area. He revealed that the water of a nearly ruptured pipe stretches approximately 500 metres causing inconvenience to road users, both motorists and pedestrians.
Until press time there has been no word from the sole providers of water and electricity in the country (NAWEC), despite its exemption from liability for any damage done in the course of distribution and supply of electricity and water.
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More Arrests At Brikama Area Council
by Lamin Njie
Following the arrest and subsequent detention of the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Brikama Area Council, Bala Musa Cham and the Finance Director of the council Fafa Kuyateh, Dembo Jassey, the Chief Security Officer of the council was last Monday arrested by the Brikama Police.
Shortly after his arrest, Mr. Jassey was arraigned before Magistrate Buba Jawo of the Brikama Magistrate Court and charged for fraudulent conduct.
According to the particulars of the offence, Dembo Jassey on or about the 28th of August 2004, along the Brikama-Janjanbureh Highway in Brikama deceptively collected the sum of D20,000 from one Modou Nasir Touray through the following persons: Bakary Mambureh, Baba Ceesay, Alagi Gaye and Alagi Modou Touray to restore to life the shop belonging to the said Modou Nasir Touray which was earlier closed by the Brikama Area Council.
In the absence of his lawyer, he pleaded guilty to the charges but to the surprise of many, when his lawyer arrived in the court, Mr. Jassey said he is not guilty of the offence. Lawyer L.K Mboge, who stood for the accused appealed to the court to grant him bail, since the offence is bailable.
But the Police prosecutor, Constable Ceesay, objected that the bail might tamper with the ongoing investigations.
In his ruling, Magistrate Jawo ordered the accused to be remanded in custody until 14th February 2005 for further hearing.
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Editorial: The groundnut trade season hullabaloo
This year’s groundnut trade season is almost at an end, but the debate as to the merits and demerits of awarding the contract to Gamco as the sole monopoly to purchase groundnuts is still raging. While the Department of State for Agriculture has been vehemently defending their decision to award the contract to Gamco because they alone satisfied the criteria that was set up by the regulatory framework, some of the other operators, including members of the Agribusiness Service Plan Association (ASPA) have disputed that claim. They said they were not fairly treated by those who made the award. They also refuted the allegations that they failed to meet the criteria which required them to show that they had the money and the means to purchase the nuts.
The Department on their part have insisted that they did the right thing by awarding the contract to Gamco as it was the only one among the lot that fulfilled all the criteria set up by them.
Meanwhile, even though the farmers were never consulted when those criteria were being set and in choosing who was qualified to purchase their nuts, but in the final analysis, they still had to bear the brunt of whatever mistakes were made. Although it is not clear as to how those criteria were set and who were responsible for setting them up, but the problems encountered by the farmers in the past few years have not been adequately addressed. They still continue to face credit buying and all the other problems associated with it. Therefore, regardless of all the denials and excuses made by the Department, all the successes they anticipated have not been realized.
In view of the lessons learnt from this arrangement, we hope the government would involve the farmers in any future negotiations in determining who has the wish and capability to purchase their produce rather than leave the whole process to those sitting down in Banjul to determine. There is no doubt that if the farmers were given the opportunity to participate at every stage of the process, they would have fully understood and appreciated better what is involved.
While there is no doubt that there is a need to regulate the entire process, including those who should be licensed to purchase the nuts, but in view of the fact that this country is operating a liberal economic system, it is important that monopolies are not encouraged. It is certainly not in the interest of a healthy competition and neither is it in the interest of the farmers if a monopoly situation is allowed to develop. Therefore, those responsible for setting the rules should always ensure that the field is wide open to all those who have the intention and the means and each one be given the opportunity to participate. This is certainly going to give the farmers more choice of operators rather than being forced to deal with only one operator. Indeed the very fact that some of them had to sell their produce across the border in Senegal despite all the efforts to stop them doing that shows the futility of allowing a monopoly situation.
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Police Steadfast With Deyda's Case - Interior Dept
The Gambia Police Force is mounting investigations in the cold blooded murder of Deyda Hydara, the Managing Editor, and the co-proprietor of The Point Newspaper, who was shot death by unknown assailants in December last year. The release from the Department of State for Interior and Religious Affairs indicates that the Police are still adamant with the investigations into the death of Deyda, a veteran journalist and one of the valiant sons of the land.
Below we reproduce the full text:
This is to inform the general public that the investigation into the murder of the late Mr. Deyda Hydara of The POINT Newspaper is in progress and that: The Gambia Police Force in collaboration with and support of the Senegalese authorities, the Press Association of Senegal and the President of the Gambia Press Union, fielded a mission to Dakar, Senegal to interview the two eye witnesses to the fatal attack on Mr. Deyda Hydara;
Statements have been obtained from the two eye witnesses, namely, Ida Jagne and Nian Sarang Jobe, presently undergoing medical treatment in Dakar, Senegal, for injuries sustained from the shooting of the late Mr. Hydara;
According to the statements of the two eye witnesses the gunshots were fired from a Mercedes Benz Taxi and not a pick-up vehicle as earlier claimed;
The eye witnesses could not describe the attackers nor tell the number of attackers involved; One of the witnesses could not tell whether the Mercedes Benz Taxi had any registration number on it or not;
The vehicle drove in the direction of Ebo Town after the incident;
Two suspects were earlier interviewed by the Police and released.
Statement has been obtained from others including people close to Mr. Hydara. Some of these statements refer to Mr. Hydara mentioning to them that some people were out to kill him but never indicated whom these people were even when pressed by some of those close to him. Mr. Hydara also did not report such threats to his life to the police.
The Police and other Security Agencies are however resolved to bring the perpetrators to book very soon. Accordingly, the support and cooperation of the general public is highly solicited in this regard.
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Gambia Press Union / UK Branch Formed
by Alieu Badara Sowe
Gambian Journalists living in the United Kingdom have formed what has become the first branch of The Gambia Press Union (GPU) outside the boundaries of The Gambia.
The move is geared towards supporting, promoting and consolidating the tireless and selfless sacrifices by the media fraternity in The Gambia, in the pursuance of the noble course of informing and educating the people.
At a meeting held on Saturday, January 29, 2005, at the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom, the journalists discussed the plight of their colleagues working under a volatile and an unpredictable situation, where intimidation, threats, arson attacks and maiming of journalists go unpunished.
The aims and objectives of the sub-union are to work, in collaboration with the parent body, the GPU, to promote and defend the right of access to information in The Gambia. It also seeks to assist morally and financially all practising journalists and families of journalists in The Gambia, who have fallen foul of draconian media laws meant to gag the press.
The meeting selected a standing committee that would work on the modalities and to prepare a draft constitution before holding the first congress on the last Saturday of March, 2005. The congress, to be held in Birmingham, is expected to draw together about 29 Gambian journalists currently residing in the United Kingdom. The draft constitution is to be discussed at that congress, amended if necessary, and adopted. There will also be the election of an executive body for the sub-union to serve a term of two years.
The Leeds meeting selected the following to serve in the interim executive committee:
Chairman -
Dr. Ebrima Jogomai Ceesay
Vice Chairman - Sarjo Bayang
Secretary General - Alieu Badara Sowe
Assistant Secretary General - Lamin N. B. Daffeh
Treasurer - Jainaba Marong
Co-opted Members - Bunja Touray and Lamin Conteh
At the end of the meeting, members issued the following declaration:
"In view of the plight of journalists in The Gambia; concerned with the rapidly deteriorating environment in which they practice; concerned with the resource constraints of The Gambia Press Union in trying effectively to do its traditional task of defending and promoting journalism in The Gambia. We the journalists resident in the United Kingdom pledge to commit our time, skills and any disposable resources to the sole purpose of promoting and defending the media front in The Gambia. This we shall do without any political affiliation, bias or ill-will. Our primary objective will be to protect the interest of Gambian journalists in and outside The Gambia, through our parent body ( GPU)), under whose mandate we undertook this task.
Done in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, the United Kingdom, Saturday, January 29, 2005.
The meeting also discussed the forthcoming protest march, over the assassination of veteran journalist Deyda Hydara, scheduled for February 18, 2005, in central London.
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Danish Donates To Little Trees
by Pa Modou Secka
Danish-Gambia Friendship Society, a charitable organisation based in Denmark, last week donated training materials to the Little Trees Skills Centre in Bakoteh.
Presenting the items, the president of the association, Mr. John Moller, said the tools are meant for the training young people mainly in the area of carpentry, bricklaying, mechanics, tailoring etc, valuing over D150,000.
On his part, the Acting Principal of Little Trees Skill Centre, Mr. Amat Sowe, said the Little Trees Skills Centre has been receiving gifts from the association for the past six years, adding that this year’s alone they have received two containers from them.
Speaking earlier, Mrs. Bente Moller, briefly talked on the historical ties, which dated back in 1998, when her son visited The Gambia in 1998, evolving to the birth of numerous assistance being rendered by the association.
The project coordinator, Mr. Pa Omar Bojang also spoke at length on the Danish-Gambia Friendship Society, which he indicated has immensely contributed to the development of the training centre.
He urged the students to make good use of the materials donated, noting that without learning materials education would be difficult for them, and thereby impede their success in life.
Mr. Samba Touray chaired the occasion.
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CEDAG/MAC In Aids Sensitisation
by Buya Jammeh
Child and Environmental Development Association The Gambia (CEDAG) in collaboration with the Municipal Aids Community (MAC) in KMC, last week Thursday held two-days joint HIV/AIDS sensitisation workshop.
Speaking at the occasion, KMC’s Deputy Mayor said it is high time people belief in the prevalence of Aids syndrome, which is snuffing out several lives.
While declaring that KMC would play a leading role in the fight against the pandemic, he said community groups should also play a significant role in the fight against the Aids pandemic to raise awareness of the scourge.
He finally thanked the management and staff of CEDAG for taking part in the crusade against Aids.
For his part, CEDAG’s President Mr. Omar Sey noted that Child and Environmental Development Association The Gambia (CEDAG) as a organisation considers it paramount to organise such a sensitisation workshop as part of the global fight to wage war against the pandemic.
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School Girl Convicted For Assault
by Buya Jammeh
The Kanifing Magistrate court presided over by the principal magistrate Gaye Sowe last Tuesday sentenced one Jabou Kinteh, a student of Bakau Upper Basic School, after she was found guilty of assault causing actual bodily harm, contrary to the laws of The Gambia.
According to the charge sheet, on 12th December 2004 the accused’s younger brother had a problem with the complainant Awa Touray, ensuring in a row between the accused and the plaintiff.
While the accused was coming home from school along Mamakoto Road, she choked her on the neck with a razor blade during which the plaintiff Awa Touray suffered five cuts on the face, and subsequently the accused Jabou Kinteh left for school.
The plaintiff was immediately rushed to Bakau Health Centre, and then proceeded to the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH) in Banjul, where she was treated and discharged.
However, the case was further reported to the Bakau Police and the school authorities, subsequent upon which the accused was arrested and charged with the offence. The medical certificate issued to the accused was tendered before the court, which the accused did not object.
In her plea of mitigation Jabou Kinteh, urged the court to be lenient with her, adding that she will never commit such a crime.
However, the presiding magistrate Gaye Sowe fined the accused to pay D2, 000, in default to serve nine months imprisonment and to compensate the complainant with a fine of D5, 000 in default to serve another nine months in jail.
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Muharram- A Month Of Deep Reflection
ASHURA’S BRIEF HISTORY
After the martyrdom of Imam Hassan (AS) the grandson of the Holy Prophet, the son of the noble lady Fatima (AS) the second infallible and daughter of the Prophet and Imam Ali Ibn Talib (A.S) Amiru- momineen, the first Imam of the Ahl-ul-bait (AS) his brother Imam Husain (AS) succeeded him as guide to the people by God’s command and in accordance with the last will of his brother.
But, after about three and half years, Muawiyah died, and the caliphate, which had degenerated into a sultanate passed to his son Yazid. By contrast with his hypocritical father, was drunk with conceit and open of indulgence in unIslamic acts. As soon as this vain youth assumed control of Muslim affairs, he ordered his governor in Medina to extract an oath of allegiance from Imam Husain (AS) or else to send back his head. When the governor demanded the oath -Imam Husain stalled for sometime. He set out for Makkah with his party by night and sought refuge in God’s sanctuary, which is a recognize place of refuge in Islam. After staying there for some months, he realized that Yazid would not relent; and unless he gave the oath, he would surely be killed. Then also, thousands of letters had arrived from Iraq over these months pledging support and urging him to rise against the Umayyad oppressors. Imam Husain understood from his own experience and from indications and the prevailing social climate that an uprising on his part would not succeed. Nonetheless, he resolved to refuse the oath and to fight to the death. He set out with his party for Kufa in a state of revolt. En-route, on the plain of Karbala (about seventy km from Kufa) he encountered a large enemy force. Imam Husain had called no one to join him in his fateful journey and had expressed to members of his party his firm resolve to meet martyrdom, giving them the choice to part company with him. In consequences, on the day he faced the enemy army he was accompanied by an insignificant numbers of armies who were committed and resigned to their fate. The enemy army tightly encircled them without difficulty and cut off even their water, same act that the forces of Muawiyah did to his father, Imam Ali (AS) during the battle of Siffin. There Husain and his party were caught between the oath of allegiance or death. Imam Husain (AS) however did not submit to the oath, which should have resulted in handing over the authority of Islam, instead, he prepared for death. One day, he and his party fought the enemy from morning until afternoon in that battle; he, his sons, his nephews, his cousins and his other companions were martyred, numbering 72 in all. Only his dear son Imam Sajjad, (AS) who was too ill at that time, remained alive. After martyring Imam Husain (AS) the enemy force plundered his goods and placed his family in captivity, sending them on from Karbala to Kufa and from Kufa to Damascus along with the severed heads of martyrs. During this period of captivity, Imam Sajjad the 6th. infallible and 4th Imam of the (Ahl- ul- bait) Household of the Prophet and Zainab, Imam Husain’s sister, made a series of speeches that laid bare the truth about the Umayyad tyranny for the world to see. Imam Sajjad (AS) gave a notable sermon in Damascus, and Zainab made a series of public speeches in Kufa including speeches at the Kufan governor Ibn Ziyad’s assemblies and a speech in the presence of Yazid in Damascus. In any event, Husain’s uprising against the unbridled tyranny and injustice of the Umayyad which as we have seen resulted in his and his relations’ and friends’ martyrdom, the plunder of his worldly goods, and captivity for his wife and child was a memorable occurrence, the like of which cannot be found in the pages of history. One may even surprised to know that the events of Ashura did impressed even those who are not Muslims. In the French Da’iratu’l Ma’rif there is a lengthy article entitled "Three Martyrs" written by a learned British woman. Her theme is that in all of history there has been three martyrs whom; by sacrificing their lives, have been most influential in advancing the cause of truth. The first was Socrates and the second was Jesus (The writer was a Christian) .Of course we Muslims believe that Jesus was not killed nor crucified (Quran 4: 157 - 158). The third martyr she writes was Husain the grandson of Muhammad she continued; "When we take stock of historical events and assess the circumstances under which these three persons offered their lives, we acknowledged that the sacrifices of Husain excelled those two. The fact was that Socrates and Christ offered only there lives for sacrifice in the way of God but Husain left his home for a distant desert land to be surrounded by the enemy. He and his entire family were martyred for the cause of truth. He sent his friends and relations to confront the enemy and to sacrifice their lives for the religion of Allah. This was in fact harder than giving up his own life". Therefore, we may venture to agree that Islam owes its survival to this event; if it had not happened, the Umayyad would have eradicated all traces of Islam. For centuries, Ashura has been the subject of theological and at times historical discussions, but it has never been the subject of sociological analysis. Aside from the event in 61AH, which became the fountain head of system of rites in the fourteen centuries that the true Islam of the Household of the Prophet has been in existence thus this present discourse will not deal with research and ideological issues or debates, but will summarily present the effects of Ashura in the lives of Muslims and Islam as a whole. That which the reader will read in this article is the result of a research study about the 13th-18th verses of the Surah Ahqaf. The summary is that, the noble Quran had years before the incidence of Karbala took place discussed this event, and considered the motive behind this tragic uprising to be the reaction of which Imam Husain (AS) was supposed to show vis-à-vis the self aggrandizements of the usurpers and occupants of the caliphate and the innovations they were introducing in the religion. This was to be done in the form of a religious program, which was to be a sacrificial Jihad i.e as an act of thanksgiving for the title of a leadership, which God Almighty bestowed upon Muhammad and his family. Imam Husain (AS) was supposed to start a revivalist epic by offering himself, his family and friends for martyrdom and through the captivity of his wives, sisters and children so that all may come to know the true servants of the Merciful God, while the slaves of Satan confront them and commit every kind of crime and injustice for hanging on to power .Propagation is the essence of all the religions and the responsibility shouldered by all the Divine Prophets in Islam, considering it’s.permanent mission, the propagation must be universal. If the living and the noble teachings of this immortal religion are not properly propagated not only the religion is abandoned, but mankind, too suffers. The very men who have the potential to grow and blossom are bogged down in their earthly ignorance and passion, enchained by their pride and sent on the downward spiral to lowliness and misery. In this regard, we must by all means focus on such issues as the history of propagation, the elements of propagation, propagation in the divine religions, the knowledge and the tools of propagation. Today’s world is the world of communication and the media. But the main problem of man in our time is that he does not find meaning, goal and faith in his life. He is deprived of moral-ethical nature (fitrah). One must address these deficiencies, keeping in mind the goals that the Prophets had. One such case is the glorious revolt and the movement called Ashura. In dealing with these events especially whose agents are the infallible members of Prophet Muhammad’s Household (Ma’sumin), one should view them from two angles. One is the divine angle and the other, the historical angle. At any rate, one of the issues that need to be discussed is the effect of this uprising in the movements of contemporary Muslim figures. Propagation keeps Muharram, and by extension, the goals of the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS), alive. This in turn, safeguards Islam.
6. CULTURE OF ASHURA
Revitalizing Ashura and its culture was among the methods that the holy Imams (AS) belonging to the Ahl-ul-bait (Household of Prophet Muhammad) chose to ensure the very survival of the school of the Prophet (SAW). Among these methods, one can mention the fact that they exhort their followers to :-
(1) Make pilgrimage to Imam’s shrine or recite Ziarat (i.e offering prayers as a present to the holy soul of the Imams and as a means of approaching Allah.
(2) Organize mourning ceremonies.
(3) Lament over his sufferings.
(4) Prostrate on his Torbat -i.e the sacred soil of Imam’s burial place.
Making pilgrimage to the shrine of Imam Husain (AS) or reciting Ziarat is, in effect an oath of allegiance to him demonstrating your willingness and obedience and support for your help and love, you could have given him should you be present at that time, which in itself is an indication of obedience to the instruction of the Holy Prophet; "Verily my son Husain will be killed on the soil of Karbala - Every one of you who is present at time must help him". However, the potency of the Ziarat of Imam Husain was such that the enemies of the Household of the Prophet (Ahl-ul-bait) (AS) always opposed the visit to his shrine and on different occasions took tough measures to destroy it. Others even described it to be an unIslamic act forgetting that the Holy Prophet before his death went to A1-Baqi cemetery and pray to Allah for the dead. Tabaqat Vol. II Page 190. A1-Muraji’at Pages 310- 311, al-Nass wal Ijtihad PP 15-19
The Imam’s Ziarat includes the following:
1. Introduction of Imam’s personality.
2. His role in reviving Islam.
3. The nature of Ashura.
4. The nature of his enemies.
5. Homage to his loyal companions.
Furthermore, as it has been recommended that mourning ceremonies be held in memory of Imam Husain (AS) such ceremonies have been very much instrumental in receiving the path of the Prophet’s Household who are the symbols of Islam as both the Quran and Prophetic traditions declared. Among other methods, one can mention the fact that the Imams (AS) stressed the significance of lamentation in the mourning for Imam Husain (AS). Tears are the distillation of the most sacred, and purest form of human emotions. Crying for the master of Martyrs shows the depth of devotion and love for that martyred beloved. By prostrating on the Torbat of Imam Husain (AS) (the pure soil of Karbala) one is honouring freedom of spirit, love of God, self sacrifice and renunciation in the path of religion. Torbat of Imam Husain (AS) calls us to compassion, mercy, kindness and love. The effects of the culture of Ashura is that as the epic of Karbala is among the immortal epics of the world, every year the crescent moon of Muharram appears, the memory of Karbala is revived in a much more vivid manner than the previous years.
7. PHILOSOPHY OF MOURNING CEREMONIES OF ASHURA
Holding mourning ceremonies for Imam Husain (AS) is among the most important rituals and has many religious morals and socio- political benefits. Thus throughout history the enemies of Islam and the Prophet and his household have been against holding such ceremonies by those who love Allah, the Prophet and his household, the religion Islam and the truth. These ceremonies have special and unique features; among them one can mention the fact that they portray a struggle against falsehood. They also help keep the religion alive through an emotional identification with an event thereby strengthening the morale of the followers of the Master of Martyrs (Husain) (AS). In the mourning ceremonies held for Imam Husain, one should avoid recounting stories that have no basis in reality. Only then these ceremonies can foster a spirit of struggle, sacrifice and martyrdom. Only then these ceremonies can serve as a model for enjoining the good and prohibiting the evil. However, a few points need to be observed in holding the mourning ceremonies for Imam Husain (AS).
1.The ceremonies must comply with logic and rationality as well as authoritative religious rulings.
2. The ceremonies must give a detail explanation of the aims of the uprising by Imam Husain (AS).
3. The ceremonies should not contain any act, which might be against the rules of religion.
4. The ceremonies should stick to retelling the historical facts.
One important issue to be noted is the practice of drawing blood through cutting over scalp with a machete or knife -a practice which is against reason and against the manner practiced by the holy Imams of the Ahl-ul-bait (AS. This practice is no way considered among the authentic religious rituals.
8. THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE MOVEMENT OF ASHURA
Why has the movement of Ashura become so prevalent? The answer to this question lies in the special characteristics found in the movement itself. The most essential element of this movement was its struggle for truth, which caused it to be immortal. This movement has had diverse achievements, among are:
1.Awakening the people who have yet to become conscious.
2. Rationalizing the forces that are dormant within.
3. Shaking the foundation of oppression.
4. Teaching not only "how to live" but also "how to die".
5.Teaching lessons in "martyrdom" as the best way for exposing falsehood.
6. Teaching how to reform the oppressive and corrupt entities.
7. Keeping the religion of Islam alive.
8.Providing proper guidelines to all struggles for change.
Hence, the Imam has proven in the message of the uprising (Ashura) that the higher levels of human life involve sacrifice, honour, love and reaching the level of guardianship. And considering that these life- giving qualities belong to all human beings and not just to people belonging to a particular place or time, every individual who cultivates these qualities will have an eternal life, a life which bestows upon man and the society , a perpetual change and development. Therefore one of the duties of today’s Islamic leaders and intellectuals is to transpose the event of Ashura from its lonely abstraction to the context of history. It is only then that this revolt against falsehood, tyranny, corruption and oppression will become meaningful. It is only then that it can become a beacon of light for today’s man. It is only then that one can teach the culture of Ashura to the Muslim people. The fight of Imam Husain (AS) was not the last fight of righteousness against falsehood because Ashura is a declaration of condemnation of the existing system built on falsehood, systems that continue to exist even after the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS).
Fellow Muslim; be aware and be conscious of the month of Muharram which started yesterday and the historical event of Ashura among all other events. It is a time to mourn and a time to assess and evaluate your spiritual, social, political and cultural domains of your existence within the context of Islam and organize yourselves with the command; "enjoin to the good deeds and prohibit to the evil deeds" through the spirit of Jihad- the path leading to Allah the Almighty. May Allah guide and protect us from astray and may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon Muhammad and his household.
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A Tribute to Deyda
His destiny was to ensure that the truth be told no matter what and he died fulfilling this
by Jai Marong
Like countless others, I was profoundly angered as well as saddened at the brutal, barbaric, un-Islamic and gruesome assassination of Mr. Deyda Hydara.
Why??? This was someone who apart from being deeply religious with strong family oriented values, was a very caring and benevolent man whose duty to his staff extended unquestionably beyond the standard employer-employee relationship. Learning of the details of his tragic demise, I was not at least surprised that he was gunned down while dropping two members of his staff, Ida Jagne-Joof and Nyang Jobe at their respective homes. He was the type of person who would have personally seen to it that his staff got home safely before he made his own way home. Little did he know that his fate (which was pre-destined) awaited him there.
I had the privilege to work for him and together with everyone else (Gambians and non-Gambians alike) who worked for him was treated practically like a member of his family. Even when I recently suffered a very close bereavement, he, regardless of the fact that I no longer worked for him, made sure he was there for me in every sense of the word. That was the kind of person Deyda was.
He made sure that every day his lunch would be brought to The Point offices by a courier to be shared by one and all. If any of the reporters were away on coverage, he would wait until they return before lunch was served. I do not think such a thing happens in many Gambian offices, be it government, parastatals or the private sector, (of course I stand to be corrected) where the boss’s lunch will be brought to his work premises for everyone to share. He encouraged and instilled a real sense of camaraderie and harmony to The Point offices.
The Gambia, whose events I avidly follow on the net with a sinking heart is definitely not The Gambia I grew up in. This country and its citizens have always been renowned for their general docility and peace loving stance (irrespective of its religious and tribal make-up) in a region which, to say the very least, has been far from stable. The Gambia, I read about now with a furrowed brow is where media houses (e.g. The Independent) are deliberately being set alight; even reporters’ worldly possessions are not spared (e.g. Ebrima Sillah), threats being made against journalists (e.g. Alagi Yorro Jallow, D. A. Jawo) and to add to the nightmarish list, Omar Barrow and indeed now Deyda Hydara heinously murdered in cold blood.
In each and every one of these instances, "investigations" have been promised by the police to be held and the all too familiar statements like; "No stone will be left unturned …." have been been said and heard. Whether all the incidents quoted are still open cases or not, I am obviously in no position to ascertain. But what I do know is that in typical Gambian style (no fault of anyone, I guess) incidents of such nature do get swept under the carpet after a while – whether this is due to eyewitnesses not cooperating for fear of their lives or the police simply not vigorously pursuing the lead, is another story.
I wholly support the call by Reporters San Frontiers (as stated in their January report) for an immediate creation of an independent commission of inquiry to determine who was responsible for Deyda Hydara’s murder and guarantee protection of witnesses. This would not only prove to be a deciding factor as to who would be ultimately brought to justice but it would also create an environment where eyewitnesses to these atrocious crimes could testify without fear of any repercussions to themselves or their loved ones.
If indeed The Gambia is now a country where journalists can be brutally mowed down just because they happen to believe in the tenets of freedom of expression and also in the right to disclose what is of legitimate public interest, then the question any right thinking person should be asking themselves is what kind of lawless society is The Gambia descending into? I do hope and pray that once found guilty, the book will be thrown at whomever person(s) is or are behind this most heinous and abominable act.
Deyda’s family and associates should be immensely proud of a man who chose to live his life exactly the way he wanted by championing press freedom and democracy as a whole and overall ensuring that the truth be told no matter what the costs. He could have resorted to leaving the country and seeking refuge elsewhere when the current regime made no bones about gagging the independent media at whatever costs. Instead he chose not to compromise his stance despite all the odds stacked against him.
Now the question we should ask ourselves is; how many of us would actually be willing to lay down our lives for whatever cause we have chosen to pursue in this life? I think very few of us would. Only committed people like Deyda Hydara would and by doing so, he has fulfilled his destiny and should thus be consigned to the annals of Gambian history as one who has truly achieved martyrdom.
I would like to express my heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the Hydara Family, Pap Saine and the entire staff of The Point; the Gambia Press Union and the entire media fraternity in The Gambia and most of all, the Gambian people. I, for one shall miss him very much together with countless others.
I would also like to salute DA Jawo, Pap Saine & the entire staff of The Point and countless others for their laudable efforts in ensuring that Deyda’s legacy – his pride and joy (The Point) carries on the struggle.
I would also like to seize this opportunity to extend my deepest condolences to the family of A.A Barry at his sad passing.
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Smoothy’s Puppet
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Smoothy sneezed and sneezed again. At the sound of his boss’s sneezing, Goorlam Jigenla came rushing in, sniffing and snorting, saying ‘bless you, bless you’ and complaining of a terrible cold he had just caught. This was a common sight at Seesugi Enterprises. The staff had become so accustomed to the automatic reactions the boss’s every action produced in Mr. Jigenla that they no longer expressed surprise at his antics.
Dr. Halimba Dufidaw, alias Smoothy, the managing director of the famous Seesugi Enterprises, had a whole lot of very loyal staff and servants. There were the likes of Bra Yappa, whose cardinal characteristic was a chronic inability to understand simple English, but who was famous for his persistent expositions in English of the excellent qualities of Dr. Dufidaw. As one of the co-directors of the communications department at Seesugi, Bra Yappa poured out endless pages in praise of the great boss, always with the aid of a dictionary. It did not matter whether his grammar was correct or not. What mattered was that he heaped as many praises on the boss as he possibly could without choking the very paper itself.
And there was Bra Nyaata, whose function was to serve as Master of Ceremonies at the many galas organized in honor of the gallant Smoothy. Bra Nyaata, who had to pause and think of what to say next after every sentence, had grown adept at thinking and saying whatever he thought or knew Smoothy wanted to hear. It did not matter whether what he said made sense or not. So long as Smoothy’s head bopped up and down in appreciation and his face glowed with oily contentment, Bra Nyaata would go right ahead and have his noisy say.
Then there was one of the most famous staff at Seesugi Enterprises, the gallant and flamboyant Bra Netetu. Bra Netetu was only interested in one thing: to be near the seat of power and authority at Seesugi Enterprises and partake of whatever dry crumbs of glory dropped from the big man’s table. His function was to vehemently assent to whatever Smoothy said and vigorously deny whatever anyone else said that was not in line with Smoothy’s personal philosophy of Never Down. It did not matter whether what was said was the truth or a bunch of lies that made you hold your nose and run away. What mattered was whether it was in line with Smoothy’s infallible philosophy of Never Down. If it was, it was true. If not, it was a lie. Case closed and sealed.
But none of these or Smoothy’s many other loyal servants came anywhere close to the level at which Mr. Goorlam Jigenla perched in relation to Smoothy’s personal pleasure. He was so loyal to the boss that he always declared that he loved the boss more than he loved himself. When Smoothy complained of heat, Mr. Jigenla would fly into a frenzy and start sweating profusely. When Smoothy complained of cold, Mr. Jigenla would immediately start shivering so hard that his teeth loudly clattered in his mouth. When Smoothy complained of a mild headache, Mr. Jigenla would start weeping and moaning, holding his head, tears running down his cheeks, asking to be given an overdose of paracetamol. When Smoothy got annoyed about something, Mr. Jigenla would fly into a tantrum and loudly weep and wail and furiously knock the walls and pull his hair. And when Smoothy said he was happy, Mr. Jigenla would laugh so hard that he would cry. He would bend and double over and roll on the floor in blissful glee. And when Smoothy expressed disagreement with someone, Goorlam Jigenla would challenge that person to a debate and call him fool and a useless species that must not live. An eloquent speaker, Mr. Jigenla would loudly extol the undying virtues and endless glories of the great Mr. Smoothy and call the person a useless wisp of air that was trying to fell a giant tree. He would speak in parables and remind the pretentious brat of the rat that thought he was an elephant and thus got himself into mortal trouble. No wonder Mr. Jigenla soon overshadowed all of Smoothy’s loyal servants and won himself the honorable and immortal title of Smoothy’s Chief Puppet. And he was so extremely glad to be given such an honorable title. That was what he lived for. When they thought of it, some of our common townsfolk loudly wept and blew their noses and drank some water to cool their throats. Then they would sadly shake their heads and wonder what had become of our little town, why the world was so upside down.
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Gov’t Contributes D10m To CAF U-17 Championship
by Sainabou Kujabi
The Government of The Gambia pledged an amount of D10 million (Ten million dalasis) in preparation of the sixth edition of the CAF U-17 football tournament to be hosted by The Gambia in May this year.
The Secretary of State for Youth and Sports, Samba Faal made this revelation last Saturday at the launching of the fund raising appeal and unveiling of the U-17 logo held at the Kairaba beach hotel.
Deputising for President Jammeh, SOS Faal said that the amount will include the rehabilitation of the Independence Stadium and the Serrekunda East Mini Stadium among others.
He stated that the day marked the beginning of a campaign to work with all Gambians, in hosting successfully and delivering what he called ‘the best organised continental football tournament.’
"In this regard also, on behalf of the local organising committee (LOC) which I chair, I am today publicly committing all of us from henceforth to the end of the sixth edition of the CAF U-17 championship in Gambia 2005 to you The Gambia people" he pointed out.
SOS Faal gave his undertaking that The Gambia will rise up to the challenge and stand tall and proud in the mission to entertain and compete with other continental brothers. He stressed that; this could only be done with the assistance and partnership of organisations, institutions and companies in the country, urging them to rally around the LOC with their expertise, contributions and indeed their knowledge.
He continue to encourage the private sector to come forward and work in partnership with them for The Gambia’s success in 2005. "The opportunities of working together with the private sector to deliver the programme of activities and the professional organisation of this important continental event are many and up for grabs," SOS Faal revealed.
He further acknowledged football game as a big business, that needs huge resources for it to acquire it profile as a globally competitive event, and assured government commitment to provide the enabling environment to assist the private sector in facilitating the delivery of this tournament to a success.
SOS Faal called on the whole nation, to offer their resources when possible and explore with the local organising committee and the marketing sub-committee, the benefits and opportunities available for publicity, promotion and sale of their goods and services before, during and after the sixth edition of the CAF U-17 football championship to be hosted by The Gambia from the 7th to 21st May 2005. The fund raising and unveiling of logo was organised by the marketing sub-committee of the LOC and headed by Bakary Jammeh.
Gambia U-17 Campaign Kicks Off Well
Barely three months to the CAF U-17 championship, up to two million Dalasis (D2, 000,000) in the form of pledges, were collected last Saturday at the launching of the fund raising campaign and unveiling of the logo for the sixth edition of the African Under 17 championship.
The main and major sponsors who pledged openly during the ceremony are: - The Point Newspaper with D30, 000 worth of advertisements; Trust Bank Gambia Limited D150, 000; Gamcel D200, 000; Senegambia Beach Hotel D250, 000; Vital Lait D200, 000 plus 10,000 posters and 1,000 tickets per match; No One Sports Shop D20, 000 plus D20, 000 worth of equipment; One Plus One Shop D50, 000; and Sahel Investment Company D25, 000.
Some individuals who made pledges are: Modou Musa, former GFA first Vice-President D10, 000; Mass Axi Gai D2, 000; Sheikh Omar Faye Secretary General of Handball Association D1, 000; Abu Dandeh Njie president of The National Olympic Committee (GNOC) full set of kitting materials; Adama Halla Samba D10, 000; Dr Henry Carrol D5, 000; and D50 from Eliman Jammeh, number one supporter of The Gambia National Team.
Other organisations and clubs that made pledges are; Special Olympic D1,000, Latdior F.C D2, 500, Gambia Sport Journalists Association D1,000, Wallidan F.C D5,000, Gambia Football Coaches Association D5, 000, Real de Banjul D5,000, Cherno Samba Academy D500, Brikama United D3, 000, Gambia National Army D5, 000 plus free entertainment and security throughout the competition, The Gambia Police Band also pledge to offer free entertainment during the championship and SOS Children’s Village D5, 000.
Meanwhile, The Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC) is also willing to assist the U-17 team head coach in any technical matter regardless of the fact that they are paying the coach. First International Bank, Social Security and Housing Finance Cooperation (SSHFC), Africell, Elton Oil Gambia Limited, UNDP, UNICEF, Gambia Ports Authority and Palm Beach Hotel pledge to be major sponsors but avoided disclosing the amounts.
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Sports Journalists Association Gets New Treasurer
by Namory Trawally
The Gambia Sports Journalists Association (GSJA), the umbrella body for sports writers in the country, last Saturday selected Gibril MS Jasseh of Effective Communication as the association Acting Treasurer, Mr Jasseh replaced Assan Badjan of Radio one FM Sports, who travelled to the United Kingdom last Friday to join his wife.
At the meeting held at The City Limits Radio conference room, the executive committee of The Gambia Sports Journalists Association (GSJA) agreed unanimously to the selection of Gibril MS Jasseh as acting Treasurer.
Mr Jasseh was selected in concordance with article 10 sub-section 10 (1) of the association constitution, which states that "In the event of a vacancy occurring during the term of office of the executive, the committee shall have the powers to co-opt a person to fill the vacancy in an acting capacity until such time extraordinary general meeting is convened to elect a replacement"
Gibril MS Jasseh is a native of Kiang Keneba and a graduate from Nusrat Senior Secondary School.
He started reporting in his school day with Peter Gomez on the then popular sports round up, on Radio Gambia.
He finally joined the Daily Observer in 2001 after his secondary school education.
Gibril MS Jasseh later joined Effective Communication established by Gambia veteran sports journalists Peter Gomez.
Gibril Jasseh is now the executive producer of the popular sport file programme on West Coast Radio.
FIFA Prexy Visits Gambia
The president of the World Football Governing Body FIFA, Joseph S. Blatter will be visiting The Gambia in May this year by the invitation of The Gambia Football Association (GFA) president Alhagie Omar Sey, who returned home recently from Zurich, Switzerland at the invitation of the FIFA president.
The GFA president extended an invitation to Mr. Blatter to attend the official opening of the CAF U-17 championships and the possible inauguration of the Goal Project (National Technical Training Centre). Mr. Blatter who agreed in principle to honour the invitation last visited The Gambia in 1980, then as FIFA Technical Director.
During his visit in Zurich, the GFA president had a very fruitful meeting with FIFA president, Joseph Sepp Blatter, where he briefed him about the FIFA Goal Project and the CAF U-17 championships.
On his part, FIFA president threw his weight behind The Gambia, as it prepares to host a major football championship come May. He pledged to support GFA strengthen its secretariat, to better cope with the demands of a tournament of this magnitude. The FIFA Secretary General Dr. Urs Linsi and Deputy General Secretary Jerome Champagne graced the meeting.
Meanwhile, in another development, The Gambia Football Association have issued a press release signed by its media and communication officer, Landing Aboy Kolley that there had been disturbing media reports about the national U-17 team, some of which are not for public consumption.
The release added that it is very embarrassing for the head coach and the GFA leadership and to avoid further embarrassment, it has been therefore decided that from henceforth, all information on technical matters be referred to the head coach and all other issues about U-17 team and related matters to the media and communication officer to avoid gross misrepresentation of facts.
The release added that the GFA has an open door policy and all are being urged to solidly rally behind darling U-17 team as they gear up for success in the forthcoming CAF Championship in May.
Wallidan Bounces Back
The 2004 GFA league titleholders and FA cup winners, Wallidan made an impressive come back in the GFA first division league last Sunday by collecting their first three points in the week four of the championship.
On Sunday, at the Serrekunda West mini-stadium, Wallidan under the command of veteran sticker Bai Omar Samba beat Sait Matty FC 1-0, who scored the only goal. After loosing to Armed Forces in the super final in early January, Wallidan drew all their first three league matches.
They shared points with Steve Biko 1-1 in their first game followed by a goalless draw against Armed Forces in their second game and another 1-1 against GPA in their third appearance.
With their victory against Sait Matty, last Sunday, Wallidan is now at the fourth position in the league together with Bakau United, who got their first three points against GPA with 1-0 victory.
The good result of the week four came from Hawks FC, who maintained their position at the top of the league after beating Kaira Silo 2-0 last week Friday in Serrekunda West.
Hawks have now 9 points in four matches.
They won three and lost one.
Real de Banjul kept their good running in the league with a win against Armed Forces 2-1 on Saturday.
The newly promoted team in the top fly, Gamtel continue to create surprises.
They defeated Steve Biko last Saturday 1-0.
and now have seven (7) points, at the third position.
Meanwhile, the week four would kick off today at the Serrekunda West mini-stadium with Armed Forces taking on Sait Matty tomorrow Saturday, two matches are on the programme, Real de Banjul against Kaira Silo in Serrekunda West and Steve Biko would lock horns with GPA. On Sunday, Hawks would face a big challenge against Bakau United in Serekunda East and Gamtel would test their force against Wallidan.
Results of week four
Kaira Silo 0 Hawks 2
Gamtel 1 S/Biko 0
A/Forces 1 Real 2
Sait Matty 0 Wallidan 1
B/United 1 GPA 0
Fixture week five
A/Forces vs. Sait Matty
Real vs. Kaira Silo
Steve Biko vs. GPA
Hawks vs. B/United
Gamtel vs. Wallidan
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Three Boatloads of African Migrants Seized Off the Canary Islands
by Peter Popham in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands
You might call it an invasion. Given the climate of public paranoia, perhaps the word armada comes to mind. But do those words square with the evidence of one’s eyes?
This was another huge weekend for Africans in the Canaries. More than 7,000 illegal immigrants from Africa clambered ashore these islands last year, mostly on Fuerteventura which is the closest of them to the African coast. That’s 20 per day on average. Around Christmas, terrible tragedies were reported a boat with 10 corpses aboard, all dead of cold and thirst, another with 13 dead among dozens who were barely alive.
Then came a lull of more than two weeks. No arrivals at all, though the Atlantic from here to Laayoune, the nearest port in Western Sahara, was playfully mild under balmy, cobalt blue skies. It’s the manoeuvres, suggested the man at the Red Cross. The Spanish and Portuguese navies were reported to be doing joint manoeuvres in the channel, trying out new radar with laser gear, trying to monitor the African coast as precisely as they would a harbour. Perhaps the new kit was working. Perhaps they’d fixed another hole.
Nothing of the sort: the deluge began again last week. First on Thursday one of the little pateras, the migrants’ boats, arrived in the far south of the island, at a place with fabulously broad, long, sandy beaches, lined with the apartments of Germans and Britons, called Morro del Jable. Thirty-two on board it was reported, though it beggars the imagination how: you would hesitate to row your family across a municipal pond in this vessel.
The big one arrived on Saturday, this time in Tenerife and in a fashion that has only been tried four or five times since the big rush began five years ago: a rusty old fishing boat shorn of its lifting gear was arrested 150 yards off the port of Tenerife: a two-man white crew sped off in a launch, leaving 227 sub-Saharan Africans, nearly all young men, squashed into the boat. Some were reported to be hungry and suffering from hypothermia but the condition of most was good.
Then two more yesterday, tiddlers like Thursday’s, so similar they might have been hammered together by the same carpenter. Twelve or 14ft in length, bare, unvarnished wooden ribs clad in a hull of box wood, plastered in a greenish tar-like material to keep out at least some of the ocean. Twenty or 30 Africans in each, all of them young, all male, apparently from Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Nigeria. The last of the fleet is now tied up on the quayside under my hotel window in Puerto del Rosario, the main town of Fuerteventura. On the quay, the Red Cross inflated a pneumatic tent where the Africans are being checked by medics.
Neither "armada" nor "invasion" describes it: if this is an invasion it’s one of the weak, the desperate, those for whom home has become a place of terminal hopelessness.
For the arrivals, it was the end of a harrowing adventure that cost each one all the money he possessed and probably the savings of his relatives as well. It could have ended in death or prison at any point.
The Africans whose journeys end in the Canaries sneak across fiercely guarded borders, hide in the dunes of the Sahara, get passed from one gang of traffickers to another, ripped off by each group in turn. Somehow they avoid detection by police and soldiers. They survive hunger and thirst in the desert, their lives at the mercy of smugglers for whom they are no more than pieces of merchandise, their lives of even less account than those of the slaves who left those shores 200 years ago.
At the coast, sometimes after an agony of waiting, they are packed into these pathetic little handmade boats often constructed amid the dunes, dozens of miles from the coast, to avoid detection until no more will fit in. They were allowed to bring nothing with them except the clothes they stood up in: any document proving their nationality could lead to their prompt deportation. And by the end of the hideous overland journey which might have taken many months they no longer had any possessions in any case.
And all this sacrifice for what? To make landfall in a Europe which could not make its distaste for them and everything they represent more plain. The face mask and sanitary gloves of the Red Cross volunteers in Tenerife who bundled them in blankets to bring them back to life are merely sensible precautions against disease. But metaphorically, the masks and gloves will pursue them every mile of their European passage.
Spain will quarantine them for 40 days, and then deport all those that it legally can. Those it cannot physically deport it will notionally expel: the only bit of paper the migrants take away from the detention centre is an expulsion order.
As the Canaries are rapidly filling up, Spain now packs the Africans into a plane, flies them to Madrid and other big cities and sets them free. Or rather, washes its hands of them. They remain penniless, without documents giving them even the most fragile legitimacy, unable to work legally. "The only work available to them," says the head of the Red Cross in Fuerteventura, "is crime and prostitution."
Spain is marginally moderating these harsh conditions today: if they have been in the country for six months and by some miracle have persuaded a legitimate employer to take them on, they can get documents to allow them to remain in the country legally. This drop of humanity and economic common sense, for the immigrants will at last begin to pay tax and make social security contributions has been greeted by howls of outrage from Spain’s right-wing opposition, which has linked the new rules with the latest arrivals. It has dismayed Spain’s EU partners, which complain that the illegal immigrants thus sanitised will be free to spread across Europe.
How about Britain? No comment was forthcoming. But the Janus faces of British government policy towards Africa could not be more blindingly evident. On the one hand, Gordon Brown proposes a bold new policy designed to save Africa from ruination though Africa specialists attack his proposal to funnel billions of aid into the continent as one that has failed Africa before. And, on the other hand, the new stricter entry conditions for asylum-seekers Labour’s latest ploy in the bidding war with the Tories over which can boast the most aggressive anti-immigration policy show where the real urge lies. Keep well away!
The Canaries, meanwhile, are full of fugitives of a different sort, and there is no stopping these ones. But the mass arrival of German and British refugees from the north European winter in Fuerteventura’s flashy new airport is hardly news down here on the West African coast. It merits a brief, preening note in the Tenerife newspapers when newly published figures reveal that foreign tourists in the islands topped five million for the first time last year. The swarms of northern visitors have changed Fuerteventura beyond recognition in the past 20 years. The island’s population has soared from 20,000 to 90,000 today. Entire volcanic cliffs looking out to sea have been carved into terraces of miniature suburban villas served by shopping centres with a multiplex cinema, a Spar supermarket, a Burger King and a bouncy castle for the kiddies. The newsagents are stacked with Suns and Daily Mails. The Travellers’ Rest and the King’s Arms await the homesick. You might be just about anywhere in Europe, with the minor difference that this is early February, the temperature is nudging 20 and there’s not a cloud in the sky.
The other continent, the dark one with its freight of troubles, is barely 100 km away. If you were to set off from the coast of Western Sahara in a small boat and sail all night, in the morning you would see the lighthouse of Fuerteventura. It’s an Atlantic passage, and the Atlantic is everywhere a serious ocean; those big breakers can pick up and flip over a skiff and smash its remnants and drown its passengers within minutes, leaving no evidence behind. But if their timing is lucky, and the gangster who takes their money slaps enough hot tar on the flimsy boxwood of the little craft that he and his underlings have banged furtively together, then their life savings will not have gone to waste. They will have achieved, despite everything the wealthy of this world have tried to throw at them, a toehold in a different life.
Mohamed is 18, he says, and wears a red sweatshirt given him by the Red Cross. He’s a gangling black kid from Gambia, and for now he’s alone in the world. You can see him on the benches by the fancy fountain outside the Red Cross offices at the top of Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura’s biggest town, kicking his heels, waiting for something to happen. Last week he got out of the 40-day detention the Spanish government imposes, like a sort of quarantine, on the new arrivals in the Canaries. After 40 days, if they can’t deport you (because you haven’t told them where you come from, or because Spain has no extradition arrangements with that country), they let you go. Sometimes they take you to Madrid or Valencia and let you go. It’s hard to find clear rhyme or reason in what they do.
In Mohamed’s case, they let him go here. The Red Cross put him up in one of the two houses they keep for the most vulnerable of the African arrivals. So he has a temporary roof. He’s no longer in a sort of prison, he’s in Europe. In Mohamed’s case he also has parents and a brother who have already come this route and have fetched up in Barcelona. So he’s in limbo, but he can see the possibility of the limbo coming to an end. He has no money and no documents and speaks not a word of Spanish. But his brother tells him he has a passport for him, and it will arrive by post. Then he’s got to get himself to Barcelona. How is he going to do that, without two beans to rub together? A look of perfect blankness. But it will happen, somehow, sometime. He’s got a direction in his life. He’s going places.
Africans fleeing the desperation and poverty of their failed states have been washing up on Europe’s coastline, or dying in the attempt, for 10 years now. Thousands have staggered ashore on Lampedusa, south of Sicily, in Gibraltar and Malaga, or they have scrambled over the triple fence of razor wire at Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the northern coast of Morocco, and every time the European authorities plug one hole, the Africans find another.
The Canaries are the destination of choice now, because the Mediterranean has got too tough, the Moroccans have been cracking down as well, while Western Sahara has more than 1,000 miles of sandy shore and Fuerteventura is only a day’s sail away.
At Laayoune, they have other problems than the migrants on their minds. Western Sahara was once a Spanish colony but its annexation by Morocco is disputed by the Polisario Front, an independence movement. Hundreds of UN peacekeepers monitor the ceasefire line that divides Greater Morocco from east to west like an enormous scar. The Sahrawis, the nomads native to the region who have fought for their own homeland, have seen their political aspirations frustrated for so long that they too dream of fleeing to the happy lands in the north.
The Sahrawis were the first to come to the Canaries, 10 years ago, making the trip in fishing boats. At first there were just a few every year. Then the authorities in the Canaries began arresting the fishermen and sentencing them to long jail terms and the original traffic died off. It was quickly replaced by the more systematic and ruthless mafias that run the trade today. They have sent their clients off in boats that were bound to sink, helmed by immigrants who had been given the scantiest idea of what to do, packed to the gunwales, in filthy weather, with neither food nor drink nor clothes to keep out the cold. And the customers keep on coming. Nothing will put them off.
The desperation of the youngest, toughest, most ambitious Africans to flee the horror of their continent, no matter how desperate the passage, is the clearest possible index of the depth of trouble the continent is in. Stopping the trade in one place only forces it open in another. Neither granting amnesties nor refusing them makes an ounce of difference to people mired this deep in hopelessness.
Now the British Government and the Tory opposition are struggling to show which can be more aggressively chauvinist more agreeable to the readers of the Daily Mail in their defence of Fortress Britain.
But if either the Spanish or the British, or the Europeans at large, believe they can close down African immigration into Europe either by laws, by police action or by radars and laser, they are in dreamland.
Every boatload of misery that spills on to the Canaries’ pristine beaches drives further home the fact that Africa’s misery is Europe’s responsibility. We created these nation states, we set them free, we corrupted them during the Cold War with billions in aid which went straight into the pockets of dictators. We cut them adrift when they no longer served any geopolitical purpose. We crucified them with World Bank and IMF solutions which had no bearing on countries where the state had ceased to be anything but a means for dictators and their relatives to grow obscenely rich.
Now, as an election looms, the Labour Party proposes to make it even harder for asylum seekers to enter the country. The problem of these people, they seem to say, could not be more remote from our concerns.
The arrival of these four frail boatloads of black people in the Canaries and the thousands who will arrive in the coming months, regardless of who wins the British election, regardless of what laws or amnesties are in place prove that the exact opposite is true.
Gordon Brown and other Western leaders have understood that Africa cannot be allowed to fester indefinitely. Africa’s problems are our problems. But the billions in aid Mr Brown wants to throw at them is good money after bad. Much has already drained down that plughole. A Marshall Plan for Africa cannot possibly work if the human and physical infrastructure of almost every country on the continent has wasted away.
Because Africa’s deepest problems are Europe’s dirty solutions. The billions spent protecting Europe’s farmers, freeing them to dump their food in Africa, made it close to impossible for Africans to earn a living wage. Companies continue to exploit the continent’s mineral wealth, giving next to nothing back. The City banks cheerfully laundered the billions plundered by the corrupt leaders on the continent, keeping the few rich villains in luxury and the rest in misery.
Every new boatload arriving tells us that Africa must not be fobbed off again. Africa is a problem that must be treated with full seriousness. For perhaps the first time ever.
Culled from The Independent (UK) – Online Edition,7 Feb 2005
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