*"African Liberation Day is not a day for festivities. It is a day to take stock of the shortcomings of each nation and identify the strengths with the view to map out a strategic way forward to attain the goals set for the liberation of the people from poverty and tyranny". Foroyaa...* The quote above from the foroyaa editorial sums it all folks. African liberation Day while worthy of commemoration, it leaves a lot to be desired on the status of our continent and people. Over half a century later most part of Africa is still in a very sorry situation. Half a century later, our people are still being treated like animals by leaders acting as kings who inherited a loyal family. Half a century later Africa's best and brightest are still sitting outside contributing immensely to the progress and prosperity of other nations while our continent continue to go down the drain. Half a century later, Africa still battles endless wars, poverty and curable diseases that continue to maime our children and force our young sisters to give premature birth and some dying on donkey carts trying to reach an empty clinic. Half a century later, our children cannot access clean drinking water, decent healthcare or education. Half a century later our mothers, sisters and women continue to toil from dawn to dust in search of food to put on the table.... My dear brothers and sisters half a century later after most of Africa attained political independence, our people cannot freely choose their leaders or hold their leaders accountable... Half a century later journalist cannot freely do their work or create media houses that can hold elected officials accountable. Over half a century later; as Dr. *Nkrumah*<http://news.myjoyonline.com/features/201006/46997.asp> once said “the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up to the total liberation of Africa”. And folks the creation of a viable democracy in Ghana, South Africa or Nigeria is meaningless if the same political independence cannot be attained in Gambia, Guinea or the rest of Africa... African Liberation Day should be a day to go to work not to celebrate... The dignity and human decency of our people must be restored... May the lord protect our people and bless us with visionaries who will take Africa and its people out of its unending misery. Demba On Mon, May 31, 2010 at 8:27 PM, Y Jallow <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Koto Modou, > > It was good meeting you in person in Washington DC for the ALD symposium. > - such a gentleman, and a man of true conscience you are. Please keep up > the true spirit of awareness in our useful online portals, which is the > mediums available us to for activism. > > On the laughable festival in Kanilai, indeed laughable that the devil > himself is seeking blessings for eternity in his power seat -nothing else! > It goes to show that he (Jammeh) is a human being ofcourse with no power > what-so-ever, except that power from God and the people. While I am not > against such festivals, but I very well belief that the Foroyaa editorial is > spot on. Day will one day break, for certainty. > > Kind regards, > Little yj > > > > > *There is no god but Allah (SWT) and Muhammad (SAW) is His messenger. Fear > and Worship only Allah alone!* > > > > > ------------------------------ > Date: Mon, 31 May 2010 16:09:01 +0000 > From: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Foroyaa Editrial: THE KANILAI FESTIVAL, AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY > To: [log in to unmask] > > > THE KANILAI FESTIVAL, AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY > > The Mosques and Churches were requested to give special prayers for the > opening of the festival. The whole state administration was put to an almost > standstill as the President, Vice President , Cabinet Ministers, Governors, > Chiefs and the cream of Gambian society headed towards Kanilai. Many > officials from Gambian Missions abroad are also represented. The first > question we would want answered is the source of the funding for the event. > Those who are interviewed by the state media claim that they have meat and > drinks in abundance. Others however visited Coka Cola stands to buy drinks. > What is propaganda and what is truth needs to be clarified. > > It is visible to all that private companies, public enterprises, > Institutions and individuals did contribute in cash and kind to the > activity. Foroyaa will publish the amount of contributions made once we have > the figures. > > The festival has attracted many artists and the talents displayed have been > varied. Unfortunately, most of the songs were not designed to liberate > minds. They were songs of praise to the President. Such songs are designed > to build a personality cult. > Many of the singers also took partisan line and transformed the festival > into a party function. > > Now one may ask: What is the significance of holding festivals and trade > fares? Thinkers have seen the need to expand the economics of scale by > holding fairs and festivals which draw a large number of people to a given > area so that the sales of goods and services would be enhanced. The > collateral effect is to expand branches of the production of those services > into a particular area and thus facilitate infrastructural and economic > development. > On the other hand, if a festival and fair is organised just for fanfare, > visitors would come and enjoy themselves only to disappear and leave the > place like a ghost town until another event is held in the place. This would > require the maintenance of infrastructure that is used annually. This is a > monarchical approach to holding festivals and fairs. The people-centered > approach is to convene such activities to have lasting impact on people and > settlements in the way and manner general welfare is improved. > > Each government has to choose what type of festival and trade fair it has > to organise. Foroyaa stands for and recommends the people-centered approach > in contrast to the monarchical approach. In our view, State should be > separated from party and the individual life of the office holder. A > birthday remembrance should be a private matter of the family and friends of > a head of state. It should be quietly done, if it has to be done at all, > while one is in office. African Liberation Day is not a day for festivities. > It is a day to take stock of the shortcomings of each nation and identify > the strengths with the view to map out a strategic way forward to attain the > goals set for the liberation of the people from poverty and tyranny. We hope > the Gambia Government will embrace this pattern of marking African > Liberation Day. > > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To > unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web > interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search > in the Gambia-L archives, go to: > http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the > List Management, please send an e-mail to: > [log in to unmask]¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > > ------------------------------ > The New Busy is not the old busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. Get > started.<http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_3> > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To > unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web > interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: > http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the > List Management, please send an e-mail to: > [log in to unmask]¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤