"I might tell you that every morning, on my way to work, I cry, always at the same hour. I no longer know how to answer people when they ask how many children I have.
 
I might tell you that I do not sleep at night and I fill it with the sound of the radio to occupy my mind and stop thinking.
 
I might tell you that I feel ashamed of laughing now.
 
I might tell you that I look elsewhere whenever I come across the sight of a wedding, of other people's happiness, because the display of their joy is like so many stab wounds to my heart.
 
This is how my daily life is like. No child, no individual, should have to put up with such barbarity."
                                                       Olivier Ferez, father of murder victim Gabriel Ferez
                                                               UK Metro Newspaper, 05 June, 2009.
 
Haruna
 
A parent's trauma occasioned by the random criminality of two Britons against two French students in southeast London. Random is the operative word! In The Gambia, we have both random criminality by one citizen against another, and systematic terror by the state against its citizenry, especially those perceived as political "enemies". With no distinction as to ethnicity, or other affiliation, our current public climate subjects human dignity to extreme strain.
 
I am pleased that you are committed to do your "part to yield a coalition of political parties to challenge the APRC in a potential 2011 election". To so commit, and yet reject the July 4th summit mechanism as a way forward, is, at the very least, quite baffling.
 
No less troubling is your desire to travel on parallel tracks with Mballow when it comes to gently nudging Ousainou, and Hamat, in a direction compatible with, and supportive of, a united front for 2011. I do not see any desire by anyone to either "coerce", or "threaten" Ousainou, Hamat, or other legitimate party leaders with regards a united front, but you must realise we are talking national politics and leadership, not an evening stroll in the park with a soul-mate. On this point, you and I appear to have a philosophical divergence in the sense that I remain unconvinced about the need to treat any of the legitimate party leaders with undue deference. If it does not happen in the USA, your adopted country, and the most successful democracy of modern times, I do not intend to burden a potential dispensation with the kind of public life outlook you appear to be suggesting.
 
When you have time, do elaborate on why you are "convinced that if it is a coalition to challenge Yahya that we desire, we already know how to yield that. Have known for decades. However, if it is a stop-gap measure or cordon that we desire, we must embark on that justifiable demarche sans the ruse of a coalition of political parties".
 
As a reminder of what we are up against, I refer you, again, to the quoted material at the beginning of this piece. If you are tempted to argue inapplicability, I refer you to the cases of Koro Ceesay, the April 11 student victims, Omar Barrow, Deyda, and Chief Manneh.

Within the hour, God willing, I shall call you collect
 
 
 
 
LJDarbo
 
 

--- On Mon, 1/6/09, Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Haruna.
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Monday, 1 June, 2009, 11:21 PM

[ATT] JDAM.

Hello. JDAM it will be super if you add Jr. to ATT when you address me. I am only considering agency in this regard. I like the name very much. And I have a feeling even if I didn't like it, you're bent on shvoing it down my Bamako throat. I love you too.

[I do not doubt the sincerity of your invitation at all, but my Atlantic seaboard community on the west coast of Africa incessantly beckons. I am watching the political winds, but with the accomplished Dr Peters reminding us of the constant that is human mortality, it is safe to say Dabanani offers the greater attraction for now.] JDAM.

I agree JDAM and the inspirational Dr. Peters was prophetic in the Dabanani itinerary. It were not my intent to introduce permanent detour from the inevitable rest. My works portend iterative rest-stops to meme. I am confident you will appreciate itinerant company, if seemingly wayward.
 
[That reminds me of your great potential to positively affect my life, and those of numerous Gambians,] JDAM.

You reserve more honour for me than I may attain. You're too kind. It so happens tat mine own life is everyday, being positively affected by yew and numerous other Gambians. I suppose it is time I attempt at yielding value for other.

[by offering your non-partisan services to the cause of a united opposition front for 2011.] JDAM.

I shall remain engaged and do my part to yield a coalition of political parties to challenge the APRC in a potential 2011 election. I am reminded that you have extant bet wth our other friend Koroma on some variance of such prospect.

[YJ of Gainako fame is leading the clarion call,] JDAM.

I am aware of Juan Car los' (Ma Yero) sojourn.

[and I have every confidence you will rise to the challenge as we negotiate a way forward.] JDAM.

Indeed. I am eager to rise to whatever challenge required of all Gambians ONCE we negotiate a way forward. We are all aware of the desirable and most valuable Way forward as Gambians. We have been since 1996 or at least since we recognized the ruse of a "revolutionary' in Yahya, transmogrified. DIsparate and narrow interests however threaten our trifle congresses. I do ot wish t hear of another summit to discuss the way forward. It is wasteful horloge. Robbed from progressive demarche. And I hope we are not looking forward to holding such around the July 4th weekend. Again. The urgency of all matter is reflected in mime and schedual.

[I assure you of the total absence of sarcasm in my plea.] JDAM.

I understand JDAM and going by your profound desire for relief for Gambia, I walk with you in somber gaiety. I am constantly reminded of your letters in these and those auspicious epilogues. 
 
[In collaboration with the likes of Mballow, it is imperative that you work on Ousainou and Hamat.] JDAM.

It will evidently betray non-partisanship were I to crowd the Hon. Mballow in audience with Ousainou and Hamat. Both honourables. I accept your challenge but on a parallel track as Mballow and STGDP. I am however of the general dispensation that any coalition of political parties must be one formed by desiring parties without coercion or threat. I understand you do not in any way infer such but it becomes ever so tricky to recognize the demarcation between encouragement and pigeon-holing. Our common experiences have revealed as much. If we, the diasporans, overstep our bounds if by zealotry and frustration, the affair become ever so burdensome when the residnts oblige us under the slightest duress, saber-rattling, and sleight. I understood your position to be along these lines, the harried hands of time and their attendant foreboding notwithstanding. I am convinced that if it is a coalition to challenge Yahya that we desire, we already know how to yield that. Have known for decades. However, if it is a stop-gap measure or cordon that we desire, we must embark on that justifiable demarche sans the ruse of a coalition of political parties.

[Much is at stake. Do your part, and be assured there is not an iota of sarcasm in my plea for your good offices in making 2011 fundamentally different from 2006.] JDAM.

I understand the gravity of the moment. It is a na tural progression of the moment of 2006 and the epilogue before it. I have always done my part and will continue to do so. In accession to your encouragement, I will redouble my efforts in sober enterprise.

[I do not propose that you join STGDP, but I strongly urge that you dilate the communication lines already opened by the group when it openly called for your support recently.] JDAM.

Far from it. I understood you exactly as you urge. That has been my posture. Some time back I shared with Fatou this exact posture. My only difficulty is in recognizing the contours of STGDP. As an organisation trained on saving Democracy for Gambia, I applaud the initiative and shall accord it unflinching support. Her erstwhile surrogatons are difficult to support or condone. Verily, raising funds for a prospective coalition of Gambia's political parties is a natural undertaking. The determination of any way forward for any opposition political party of Gambia or their varying amalgams, is both presumptuous and counter-productive. It is much more valuable if such diasporans were to form a political party in exile and compete for the hearts and minds of the Gambian electorate. Then and only then will it be appropriate for them to guide a coalition of whatever nature they desire. That will come with the gravitasse and umph of disciplined organsation and value-politic. I am tired of pantomime and I have run out of patience for pannafore. This chatter about a way foward is disrupting other sober though t and demarche and it risks truncating them prematurely. I shared with Musa Jeng an abstract of my disdain for unwarranted and trifle gaucherie. I remain in touch with Mballow, Ousainou, Hamat, Taal, and Hon. Mai. I shall rekindle contact with OJ, Halifa, and Mbarodi. The only complex is to alleviate Halifa and PDOIS' anxieties about UDP/NRP. Pretenses otherwise are just red-herrings. And given how much you allude is at stake, I find the anxieties unreasonable. Divine providence is frought with anxiety and fear, it is the shepherding of the present that we yield the future. Any future. 
 
[About US affairs, you forgot I spent eight years in that heir to the imperial throne of Rome. It is a country of great contradictions, and I am of the view that its embodiment of the imperfections of human societies notwithstanding, the US of A is as great as they come.] JDAM.

I knew there was a reason we love you JDAM. You afford us more by the letter.

[Like other students of comparative politics, I am fascinated by the US syste m, Sotomayor, the Supreme Court, the Federalist Papers, and much more, should be seen in that context.] JDAM.

Indeed. And a rich context it is. You bring to it sagacity and fair-minded review.
 
[How about we discuss the nuances of the confirmation as the hearings happen?] JDAM.

I agree JDAM with your proposition. And for the same reason as you. That is we do not desire to yield unfair advantage for Sotomayor's distractors. That is why ATT did not give the Algerian Press hints of the impending freedom of the Austrians. They said they were in North Mali. And I thought they were already in Burgenland. I couldn't resist JDAM. I want yo to know that I appreciate the high moments you speak of here and any inflexion will bear your succinct signature. I encourage your continued fair-minded review. ALways.

[Although I still struggle in placing you, I do hold you in great esteem.] JDAM.

If my prophet can't place me, you know I'm a lost soul. Thank you for the regard. If I were any more clairevoyant JDAM, I'd be dead by now. Did I say I loved you too? Well I'm saying it now. Evian, please go away!!! This is serious stuff. Not for grandkids. The man takes more French leaves than a Tuareg nomad. WHew. 

[LJDarbo]
Much obliged. Haruna. 
 
 

--- On Thu, 28/5/09, [log in to unmask]" rel=nofollow target=_blank>[log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]" rel=nofollow target=_blank>[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: [log in to unmask]" rel=nofollow target=_blank>[log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]" rel=nofollow target=_blank>[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Haruna.
To: [log in to unmask]" rel=nofollow target=_blank>[log in to unmask]
Date: Thursday, 28 May, 2009, 8:39 PM

My friend and brother, ATT here. That is one name I shall be proud and honoured to don. Along with the special privileges it can accrue Pueblo.

In true form you have germinated the mind as our other brother Karim is wont to quip. When I shared the notice, and all through yesterday evening as I conversed with a County judge, I was hoping you would share one of Sotomayor's decisions in order that we may appreciate her Jurislumen. I still encourage you to do that and this note below is a most welcome primer. I profoundly appreciate your knowledge of US law, the federalist papers, and your general measured temperament. You are indeed a treasure to behold. I have knwon all along why you remained treasured in Kentucky. I hope you will choose to resettle in the US. If I can play any part in advancing that desire, just pickup the phone and call me. COLLECT. That reminds me, no one calls collect anymore. Why???

I want you to know that it were no special privilege to be in my prophet Obama's audience. I keep privileged material and connections private and confidential unless expressly informed by all=2 0parties concerned that I could share such. I know you love me for that. Your fixation on my other prophet ATT is worrisome. And you are also my prophet. I look forward to the day when all my prophets could hold a Prophet Cabal. Yanfolila. Darbo. Cousin Sade will desire to speak with you soon. What're you doing in Alaska anyway? Palin country. I hope she deports you after she gets wind of your scheme to tilt the ideological bearing of the Supreme Court in favour of our Catholic bretheren. We will be glad to have you anywhere on mainland US soil. MQJGDT. Al mutawakkil.

-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]" rel=nofollow target=_blank>[log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]" rel=nofollow target=_blank>[log in to unmask]
Sent: Thu, 28 May 2009 7:05 am
Subject: Re: Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Haruna.

ATT
 
A great choice for America's judicial pantheon of nine, the custodians of "equal justice under the law", and just as well. When the Executive, and the Legislative arms shackled the Constitution, as they occasionally do, it is the Supreme Court, as the final arbiter of what US federalism entails, that usually steps in with a reminder of America's "true creed". This is not to suggest the Court is without blemish, as evidenced by two shameful and constitutionally perverse decisions, Dred Scott v Sandford, (1857), and Plessy v Ferguson (1896). The former was legislatively rectified by the 14th Amendment (1868), and the latter was judicially corrected by a differently constituted Supreme Court in Brown v Board of Education (1954).
 
In light of its critical significance, a Supreme Court nomination is of truly great moment. I hope Obama has opportunities to nominate at lea st two other replacements for conservative justices so as to tilt the ideological composition of the Court. Unlikely in 1st term, but hoping does not hurt. Sotomayor is a potential replacement for a liberal jurist, and this still leaves the Court with a 4-4 ideological tie, with Kennedy still the swing Justice.
 
Anyway, how did you manage this special notification from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
 
 
 
 
 
 
LJDarbo
 

--- On Wed, 27/5/09, Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]" rel=nofollow target=_blank>[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]" rel=nofollow target=_blank>T [log in to unmask]>
Subject: Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Haruna.
To: [log in to unmask]" rel=nofollow target=_blank>[log in to unmask]
Date: Wednesday, 27 May, 2009, 8:33 PM

Haruna --

I am proud to announce my nominee for the next Justice of the United States Supreme Court: Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

This decision affects us all -- and so it must involve us all. I've recorded a special message to personally introduce Judge Sotomayor and expl ain why I'm so confident she will make an excellent Justice.

Please watch the video, and then pass this note on to friends and family to include them in this historic moment.

Watch a special message from the President

Judge Sotomayor has lived the America Dream. Born and raised in a South Bronx housing project, she distinguished herself in academia and then as a hard-charging New York District Attorney.

Judge Sotomayor has gone on to earn bipartisan acclaim as one of America's finest legal minds. As a Sup reme Court Justice, she would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any Justice in 100 years. Judge Sotomayor would show fidelity to our Constitution and draw on a common-sense understanding of how the law affects our day-to-day lives.

A nomination for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land is one of the most important decisions a President can make. And the discussions that follow will be among the most important we have as a nation. You can begin the conversation today by watching this special message and then passing it on:

http://my.barackobama.com/SupremeCourt

Thank you,

President Barack Obama
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