Ace, I like you a lot. Men you have said a mouthful. How long have you been
keeping this inside you????
I second your motion to have a female President of Gambia. And I encourage
our women to come out and seek and earn our support and votes. No one is
entitled to the Presidency. Anyone can be President of Gambia but they will
have to seek and earn the votes necessary. I do second your motion and
hopefully we will have our womenfolk take you up on that.
At the very least, I encourage all political parties to make extraordinary
efforts to seek and earn the support of our womenfolk and to elevate their
profiles within the parties. I advise due-diligence and sobriety in this
endeavour.
Thanx again Ace for your thoughts.
Haruna.
In a message dated 3/24/2010 6:00:43 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
I was waiting for reactions to evaluate the rections of Gambians to this
story written by a woman of consciencem, What a woman !!! (in our society
women should speak ). But for many I think they are afraid to comment
because this simple political observation reporting, they think it will expose
them to go to jail and will be tortured when they visit Gambia to see
their familiesand love ones in the Gambiua. Gambians at home and at board are
almost alike ("wahtaan"), the difference is this that, one lives in a
country with lots of artifical food and ice,lots of bills and no love at all and
no respect as a black African and the other one live with punishment,
beaten with Tambi ( kola nut roots) and lemarr ( twisted stingray tail) and his
head broken with sticks aned cutlass. Jesus died on the cross and took the
pain, Prophet Muhamed fought the Badar wars and ignor the pain, No pain, No
Gain. We all will die one day, no pain is greater than death. Death ids
the ultimate and the final stage of life and that one is in the hands of
almighty god. In life one has to be simple and pure then there is no need to
fear anything.
Fear create gossip
This article is about Gambians and the state of political consciousness
and low level of ignorance in many, far too many and the state of fear we
live in. I believe that If you really want to scare the Gambians you have to
treathen them with death and punishment,.thethen them with bitter heavy-words
with deadly warnings and also with grave conscequences, then they are
subdue.
Because of fear we resort to gossip. Gossip is for the weak, hateful and
destructive gossip, sometimes to the destruction of others.No one can be
content in the Gambia, all thoes who were ones rich are now poor.They are
hungry and a hunger person is an angry person. They resort to juju and
marabouts who earn alot of money and don't pay tax.The marabouts add to the fears
of the people by daring to recommend solution to our piolitical problems
with a prayer. Most Gambians believe that if they suffer here, thet will be
rewarded when they die. We are lost.
Most Gambians back home are not exposed to the modern world and western
value e.g. democracy, rule of law, financial subsidies and how the world
works. They still live in name-groups, ( Njien, Barrow kunda,bantaba) family
groups, tribes and one religion household. They doin't explore colour and
landscape. There is little global information in the Gambia beside the
F......British Premiership football and La Liga.
Gambia is a joke.
Diaspora or Semester
Too scare to make a comment because many still like to preserve a family
contact in the Gambia and will individualy stand-out to contribute to the
awakening of the Gambians, hell no, they will excerise individuality ( that
Gambian-I don't care attitude) and self glorification, self importance,
self, self, self, something they learned from the Arabs. Many are waiting like
a google spelling check search engine, ready and waiting to make remards
based on other peoples narrations. Wahal-sa-WAH. This they will consider
contribution. It would be nice to read experiences, statements, observation
reporting. This is a mirrow that tell your future. Mirrow on the wall or the
person oin the mirrow and Micheal Jackson sang it in Man in the mirror.
We like to play god in the Gambia as semesters from Europe or America. It
is enjoyable and expect to go back to the Gambia again and again, over and
over to perform the semester rituals. For many poor Africans living in the
West is like Ice cream, they rather excel than rebell and prefer to keep
their mouth shut than to share their knowledge and experience of life.
A NEW DAY IS RISING
I am looking forward to the NEW day that the Gambia will have a female
President.
I am not saying that Men cannot rule us and take us out of the
uncertanity but the men had had thier chances.
For the last 50 years we had only men rules and now we have to try
something completely different.
L.C.S.
The Husband, the working Gambian man is a tired and broken man with many
wives and kinds to feed, powerless and hopeless who can be so easily be
corrupted by domistic responsiiblies demand pressure that he is pressured to
enslave himse LIE, CHEAT and STEAL( L.C.S). "They wait for others to come
help us. Bakary will sell Lamin to a slavetrader John Williams, hoping the
trade will cede before they get to him. Am sure they used to pride themselves
in throwing their uncles into the net than saving them"
It is also hard to be honest under hunger and poverty and the cost of
living is higher than your salary. We have compromise so much, that in some
homes, it is the wife or the daughters who go out and get the money for food.
The voice of the ALPHA MALE is silence. Life is too tough in the Gambia
and the body work so hard that people get older than their age because of
fear to loose their domistic comfort. Thats why they know KUL NAF SI- "Sayi
hatul Mauti" I at an early age.
Woman President for Gambia Next
There were great World leaders who were women and they have helped shape
our world, like Indra Ghandi, Goldermeyer of Isreal, Juliana of Holland,
Winnie Mandela, Mrs Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, and on and on and it is
maybe Gambia's time. In the Gambia we had great female leaders but we don't
look in all what we have but limited to what is going on.
I know we have strong Ladies like Marie Denton, Sophie Ceesay, Amie
sillah, the writer Fatou jow Manneh, Awa Sabally, and many, many more just to
give you an example (hopefully no vernom) and.the great women of testerday. No
one is born a leader, it is an everyday examination. Through guidance and
the rule of law everyone can be a President.
For a Re-start and a humble new begining, we need a female leadership
next, and the lladies are here, we need ladies of conscience in our midst and
in our match for total freedom, joy, happiness and fullfilment for all
Gambianms and constantly striving for AFRICAN UNITY.
"The secret of life is to have no fear"
S.Carmicheal
.
Oko Drammeh
____________________________________
From: Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tue, March 23, 2010 9:54:51 PM
Subject: I give you the Honourable Fatou Jaw Manneh.
But for the "forcing the opposition to form an alliance" part, I am in
total agreement with Fatou's sentiments and anxieties. Haruna.
Is Yaya Jammeh Our Perfect President?
by Fatou Jaw Manneh
Methinks so.
Well the saying goes that a leader is a reflection of its people and that
cannot be more accurate than in the Gambia.
Yaya Jammeh is the chosen leader of the Gambian people and it’s high time
that Gambians in the Diaspora get to
grips with that. Don’t mind the disappearances, the arrests and the dead.
Actually the more people disappear, the
more ‘patriotic’ Gambians become.
For the frightening reports from back home, well ,what are we going to do
about it.? If Gambians on the ground are
not ready to take matters into their own hands, who are we to question the
status Quo?
The same Gambians giving us these scary reports back home are the same
people, who will do whatever it takes to
get jobs from Jammeh. Whether it be giving in a neighbor or an uncle, if
it will throw a few crumbs on their way, go for it
please. Does the name Sheik ring a bell?
Gambian journalists should be commended for saying it as it is. The whole
world truly knows who “the rotten ones are".
Looking back, no wonder, the slave trade flourished in the Gambia, not
only because we had a port for it, but because
we don’t wiggle ourselves out of terrible situations. We wait for others
to come help us. Bakary will sell Lamin to a slave
trader John Williams, hoping the trade will cede before they get to him.
Am sure they used to pride themselves in
throwing their uncles into the net than saving them. In this APRC era, it
is called Patriotism, am not sure about the
terms in those days. (Lamin Dee Toubabala, Allahlay Nyingfo), Give lamin
to the white man; it is God’s will. It is no
different now so we better come to terms with it.
In 2007, when I got arrested from the airport in Banjul and detained at
the NIA headquarters for 6 days, little did I know
the epiphany that awaits me. I was so upset that fear was completely out
of the equation. I thought well, if there is going
to be any showdown, here it comes. Before the pickup truck turned into the
NIA gates, I PRAYED TO God to give my
Mum and my two sons all the strength necessary to carry on should incase
anything happens to me. And I vowed that,
if this is my final day on earth, so be it but am not going to shed a tear
in this NIA compound.
The heat, mosquitoes, dirty bathrooms and endless interrogations began.
Each of their questions was answered direct
and to the point and to the best of my knowledge. Then the circus court
case started and it took one year and six
months.
Well, if you think, Yaya Jammeh is gross and cruel, come meet some of his
subjects, among the Gambian masses. Don’
t get me wrong here, a lot of Gambians I believe harbor the same disdain
about Gambia’s problems but the bottom-
line is, WHO IS GOING TO BELL THE CAT? I appreciated all the “you are a
hero”, “God brought you here for a
reason”, and the ninety names of Allah verses brought to me on a
continuous basis but I would have preferred if we all
carry a hammer and sword with Allah’s ninety names when Chief Manneh was
abducted, when the witch hunters came
for our grandparents and uncles, when Deyda Hydara was shot dead and when
the GPU 8 got arrested.I hate violence
but do we have to sit still whilst our loved ones are individually
picked, smeared, jailed or dissappear and never to
come back?
I cannot thank more, ordinary Gambians whom I’ve never met come to give
some encouragement with all the prayers.
But you don’t fight a dictatorship, behind corridors with God’s name
tucked under your shirt.
IF you believe that there is no god but God,and that there is no ultimate
power but God's, you don’t go beg the king
for your brother’s disappearance, or pleading to the witch hunters for
mercy? No one individual has power more or
over the other. The ultimate power is with God and we can do a whole lot
of good for our neighbors and friends if we
as Gambians believe in God and help ourselves. Believing in God is not
just going to the mosque, memorizing the
ninety nine names of Allah and trekking to Touba. It is about having faith
and fearing no other human being that is out
there to harm you. Down with the hypocrites calling themselves Muslims.
Down with the haters, the cruel and the
unpredictable, the greedy and the selfish!!
In as much as disgusting Jammeh’s policies are, how about the judges and
lawyers who ignore the law in favor of
Jammeh. How about the Gambian people who instead of getting up to defend
their brothers and neighbors, resort to
reporting them, or forming a delegation to either thank Jammeh, for a
stupid mistake or beg him for mercy. Over and
over and over again. We create the monster in Jammeh, clapping for him
anytime he fires, detains and jail our fellow
Gambians.Creating an excuse for him anytime he pounced on someone.When
shall it end?
I was living in America, bombarding Jammeh for all the atrocities and
thinking Gambians are just mere victims not
knowing that that Gambians themselves are their own enemies. The APRC
establishment champions and celebrates
cruelty.It is a cartel of mischievous and cruel Gambians that will stop at
nothing in extending harm to their fellow men. It
has layers of powers and clubs and individuals all with power in their
hands and unleashing it as they see fit on their
fellow Gambians. No wonder if they are dumped out of the cartel, they fear
for their lives because then their safety is
not guaranteed from any individual within the APRC, who can harm one, for
your car, your house, your wife or if you
dare share a girlfriend or a SHE eying on ones husband. So it is left to
Gambians to stand up against brutality,
injustice, disrespect and humiliation.
There is an unending tale as to who did what to whom and why, each reason,
bogus and trivial beyond comprehension.
The terror starts from the top and trickles down to the cleaner at the
NIA. It is common knowledge for Directors to have
or know people at the NIA that have to be constantly watching their back,
in case some Patheh within the unknown
APRC hierarchy decides to smear them.
Watching Gambians go about their funny and mischievous ways have baffled
me throughout my stay, not to mention
the labeling and name calling that was attributed to me, so they can
excuse themselves, in their heads of my
predicament. I was angry at my own ignorance of my country folks and the
way we coordinate our affairs.
Gambians have abused the word patriotism, again and again just so they
are spared Jammeh’s rod and can use it as
an excuse too, to blindly follow him.
When I refuse to run and all their tricks fail for me to drop the case by
asking to beg or offering to row me out of
Banjul, they clearly declared war on me, just so they can break me down
and get rid of my court problem. Some family
members and some friends whom I’ve revered as my heroes, all turned
against me. They began to spread news that I
am mad, I’ve lost it and they will shamelessly come to verify whether am
indeed coocoo.
All well taken but if our grandfathers, grandmothers and neighbors are
snatched and forced to drink concoctions that
can be fatal, and Gambians openly thank Jammeh for cleaning the
communities of witches. Don’t you think something
is wrong with us too and not just Jammeh?
What am trying to say is that Gambians, will give all their sons and
daughters and neighbors to the lion, rather than
collectively find a way to get rid of it. Just in the name of being
scared. They want to have it both ways. Give some fake
support to Jammeh to the fullest because he will not tolerate anything
less, whilst they cry to us for help. Not realizing
that the Diaspora Gambians have no standing army and are also as
fragmented and not a collective force to be able
to effect any change on the ground.We can only compliment their efforts.
Whilst some of my colleagues argue that there is no strong opposition on
the ground, i beg to differ. Gambians have to
rise up, trash the opposition if necessary, or force them to form and
allia Well the saying goes that a leader is a reflection of its people and that
cannot be more accurate than in the Gambia.. I just read a strong
commentary from a cool
brother on the power of the people and what ordinary people when united
can achieveance but alas.Without action,the only
revolution that is going to be celebrated might just be the so called July
22nd revolution.
Gambians had a chance for a revolution when NADD was formed, when our
grandmothers and fathers were
individually collected and forced to drink the somewhat fatal “kubeyJarra”
. When our own sons and daughters got shot.
when Deyda Hydara got shot, When chief Ebrima Manneh disappeared.When
Kanyiba Kanyi disappeared. These
incidents were all a call for a revolution. Gambians in the diaspora
cannot abandon what they do to go back home for
a reveolution.We can only compliment and help. But our fellow gambians at
home would rather be humiliated , fired
ten times over and then hired back than do anything to the contrary to
gain their liberty.
So the debacle is here to stay unless we get up and sacrifice, protect
our dignity,and demand our liberty. Freedom is
never dished out. It is earned.
Fatou Jaw Manneh
[log in to unmask] (mailto:[log in to unmask])
"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which
we really stop to look fear in the face...
we must do that which we think we cannot".
—Eleanor Roosevelt
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