Thanks Demba. Baba Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:32:40 -0800 From: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [G_L] [>-<] Days of Darkness To: [log in to unmask] Mawdo Baba you said, "As for Mr Jawara junior's celebration of Gyant DaMidget's non-existent developments since 1994 - that is simply a shameful case of brown nosing and backside sniffing in anticipation of some pocket padding. Watch out for Minister Ebrima Jawara in the not-too-distant future!" Baba Like father like son, there are no surprises there at all... with all his well groomed respect and record on human rights, the old man succumbed to personal security and well-being over national security and collective prosperity of a nation and its people (the norm for 30 years).. And you wonder why Yahya Jammeh continue to trample upon our collective rights as a people. You wonder why so many people (political elites and technocrats) bend backwards to to kiss off to this one who came from nowhere to be our so called savior? You wonder why so many of our so called top social class rushed to grab on every opportunity he gave them only to dump them one after another.... Until we are honest on how we got to where we are where a few controlled everything, had a sense of entitlement without regards to the future of the country we will not move forward for a better future... that is why a lot of the barks out there are simply a nostalgic syndrome instead of a genuine struggle for change...a serious soul searching is needed to correct our course.... Thanks as always for sharing the real stories in a more enlightening manner. Myanlenge Jam... Demba On Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 9:38 AM, Baba Galleh Jallow <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Indeed Yero. I hope so too. I'm glad that some of my Armitage schoolmates are enjoying the stories. I'm sure my friend Kondorong the Giraffe will be enjoying them too. Certainly, many polticians are selfish, but that, in my opinion, is not a function of politics per se or of their being politicians. It is a function of the human propensity for greed and selfishness which is by no means unsurmountable. A professional politician can certainly eschew selfishness and be a decent person who will tell the truth and act in a just and proper manner. But that takes more self-knowledge and discipline than the average political creature in today's Africa can muster. Unfortunately, unless we have working institutional checks and balances, many human beings who become politicians will not be afraid of exploiting their positions for personal gain. As for Mr Jawara junior's celebration of Gyant DaMidget's non-existent developments since 1994 - that is simply a shameful case of brown nosing and backside sniffing in anticipation of some pocket padding. Watch out for Minister Ebrima Jawara in the not-too-distant future! Baba Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:17:43 -0600 From: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [G_L] [>-<] Days of Darkness To: [log in to unmask] Dr. Jallow, I hope all your work will be available for future generations to use. perhaps then, they will be trying to resolve in meaning the hidden message contained in your satire work. How I wish to be available then to cheer some of the moments when things are rough. At Gainako, we appreciate your continued spirit to share with us. Certainly, most of your former Armitage High/GHS fans enjoy your part of things and they keep coming back for it to celebrate. Yes, I recently got heart-broken when I saw DK's own son celebrating in his new book to be launched soon documenting what he falsely calls jammeh's development from 1994. What a shame! Perhaps, my long held belief about politics and politicians remains true. The selfishness part with lack of principle and direction demonstrated by some of our leaders and their friends/families has helped me hang onto my gut feeling. Once again, thanks for sharing! Like they say in Hal-Pularr, 'Wurr-mawnuh'! Yero Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2013 19:02:11 -0800 From: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [G_L] [>-<] Days of Darkness To: [log in to unmask] Thanks Yero. Glad you liked it. Baba Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2013 20:59:22 -0600 From: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [G_L] [>-<] Days of Darkness To: [log in to unmask] Dr. Jallow, Nice read as always....and thanks for the humor. Best, Yero From: [log in to unmask] To: [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask] Subject: [>-<] Days of Darkness Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2013 13:19:51 -0800 Days of Darkness By Baba Galleh Jallow We soon realized that what happened in our country looked more like a change of places between Sir Bodyfat Joker and his Alhajis and Honorables and the soldiers who unceremoniously kicked them out of power. The soldiers claimed that they had come to save us from corruption and backwardness. They accused the white man and Sir Bodyfat Joker of being useless flunkies who had done nothing for the poor and needy of our country. They claimed that they were soldiers with a difference who would turn our country into a heaven on earth with freedom perching on the trees and milk flowing in abundance from the soil. They promised to banish hunger and poverty and make sure that everybody enjoyed the fruits of independence that were denied them by Sir Biggerface Bodyfat Joker and his bunch of greedy Alhajis and Honorables who lived flamboyant lifestyles while the people wallowed in the pool of poverty and misery. Within a few months, however, the soldiers showed their true colors. They were no different from other greedy and brutal soldiers who seized power in other parts of Africa. In fact, they began showing signs that they were even worse than many other greedy soldiers who seized power and pretended to be heroes and saviors of their countries. They now lived flamboyant lifestyles in the same posh houses and drove more expensive cars than Sir Bodyfat and his Alhajis and Honorables ever lived in and drove. What changed was the type of mantra our self-proclaimed saviors now chanted. Instead of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, the soldiers proclaimed undying love and respect for accountability, transparency and probity. It took us some time to understand these new terms and when we did, we wondered if the soldiers really meant what they were saying. Apparently, they did not. Transparency, accountability and probity were mere mirages in the desert, designed to buy time for the soldiers to firmly entrench themselves in power. A few days after the flight of Sir Bodyfat and his Alhajis and Honorables, the soldiers announced that their leader was one formerly unknown dude named Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget, one of Sir Bodyfat’s former cronies and bodyguards. We soon learnt that Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget was a former wrestler and notorious bully with a severe case of inferiority complex that kept him slouching in the shadows of the high society in which he was a mere tool of defense. He was known to be a dull, poorly educated and intensely bitter and vengeful character who sometimes growled under his breath that one day he would make all those corrupt politicians know who he was. When they heard the news of his sudden rise to power, those who knew personally him held their mouths and exclaimed that if Genamin Gyant DaMidget was indeed going to replace Sir Bodyfat, then we had jumped from the frying pan right into the fire! And boy were they right! Within months of the coup, Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget banned the mantra of accountability, transparency and probity. He also decreed that henceforth, it would be a criminal offense punishable by death or disappearance to mention democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the land. So-called elections and politics were made out of bounds. All were warned, upon pain of death, to forget about politics and work for our great country. There would be no elections for a thousand years if he did not want them, he warned. In one of the numerous rambling outbursts he delivered shortly after the coup Genamin Gyant DaMidget outlined what he said was his personal philosophy of life. Flanked by angry looking soldiers armed to the teeth and nose, Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget clumsily prowled up to the mike and with TV cameras trained upon his unremarkable stature, let fly the following amazing bombshells. “My name is Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget and I am a great man!” he angrily bellowed. “In fact I can say that I am the greatest man in the world and I have lots of punk and money and power and all the good things in life. From now on, I am the head of state and commander chief of the armed forces of this great Republic of No-Talk whether you like it or not. I chose to born after the white man left because I did not want to be born under the evil rule of the evil white man. And I know exactly when I will die. So if you think you can kill me you must go six feet deep. To be forearmed is to be forewarned. A wise for the word is enough. If you think I am joking then you can go to hell! Everybody can go to hell as far as I am concerned!” He angrily grinned and gnashed his teeth and tightly shut his eyes as he trembled with unprovoked rage. He loudly sniffed the air, vigorously shook his head, and took a heavy breath. “For a thousand years the white man oppressed our people and stole our goodies,” he raved. “And for another thousand years the so-called Sir Bodyfat or whatever you want to call him stole our money and lived a flamboyant lifestyle while the people suffered. I want to warn everybody that those days are over! And if you think you are clever I will show you that I Genamin Gyant DaMidget did not risk my life to save this country so that you can open your big mouths and try to oppose me. All opposition is banned in this country! Even thinking of opposition is banned and everybody must henceforth call me sir and support me and me alone! If you don’t then you can go to hell!” “You see, I have a particular and very unique way of thinking that marks me out as a really special person. I am not given to petty talks and unnecessary procedures. I do not care about rules and regulations and care less what other people think. But I must warn you that I am no easy guy and I will deal ruthlessly with anyone who tries to defy me or call me fool or make any funny noises in my presence concerning my infallibility and the uniqueness of my impossible thoughts. I don’t mind telling you the amazing story of my life and how I became the greatest man in the world. But I warn you not to even think of contradicting me or sending any funny letters to the press trying to challenge me or questioning the validity of my views. In fact, I have nothing but contempt for the so-called press and will not hesitate to close it down whenever I wish or when it tries to get on my iron nerves. If they don’t like it they can go to hell. And nobody can do a damn thing about it because I am the greatest man in the world and I will do what I like and say what I like without a hoot of a care in the whole big wide world. So warning before wounded is what my father used to say. “People say that I was not born a great man. They say that I was born in a remote village in the jungle and that I have little brains and no education. But I Genamin Gyant DaMidget say that such people are hypocrites and parasites, thieves and liars, evil monsters who are jealous of my greatness. If they are men let them dare to face me and say such stupid things. The evil dwarfs can hide under their stinking beds and say evil things against me behind my back. But if they are men let them come out and face Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget. If they deny that I am chosen by God to rule or that I fear no one but God let them come out of their hiding holes and face me. In fact, they are stupid because in reality, I regard confrontation with great trepidation and would rather go to sleep. Sometimes when I sleep and have bad dreams I wake up shouting in the middle of the night, even feeling ashamed of myself. But I forbid anyone, upon pain of death, to recount a single syllable of this secret to my enemies. I am just waiting to get a hold of those jealous midgets or their authorized representatives so I can seal their stinking mouths with red-hot iron and send them to the hottest corners of hell. “You think I care where I was born or whether I have any so-called western education? I have my power and my mouth, so what do I need stupid so-called western education for? I say what I like and I get what I like and so I don’t need any so-called book learning that will only confuse me and make me live in crowd coco land. I don’t care whether its crowd coco land or whatever they call it. Do they think that I will let them come here and spoil the party for me? I never dreamed of becoming a leader. Now I am having a good time and they think they can come here and say things that would make me feel bad in the eyes of the people or in the name of so-called human right and the rule of so-called law. I say constitution my foot. As far as I am concerned, the only human right is my own right – the right of Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget to do and say as he likes. If they think they have any right here, they should go eat some grass and drink some muddy water and they can go to hell.” At this point, Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget paused a while and surveyed the crowd. He cast his eyes to the ground, gnashed his teeth, and looked up again with his cynical grin, the one that smacked of extreme arrogance and a heart of iron; the one he wore to show how great he was. “I see that some of you are shaking your heads. You can shake your head all you want but you cannot shake your mouth at me because if you do, I will break all your teeth. Let me tell you something if you don’t already know. When I was in school, I saw some jealous fools pretending to be wise and rich and going to England and America and having beautiful cars and living flamboyant lifestyles. And I used to tell them to just wait and see what I will do to them one day. Now that day is here. Back then when they looked at me they could see that I was not a man to joke with and when we played football I stamped on their feet and sent them limping out of the field. Then the stupid referee would blow his so-called whistle and cry foul. What foul? Who cares about foul and rules of non-existent games? My philosophy of life has always been to hell with rules and regulations and whatever people think so long as it differs from what I think. And let me tell you, that is the secret of my greatness. So when people say Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget is this or Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget is that, I challenge them to come face me and open their big mouths and try to tell me Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget this or Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget that. Belay, belay, belay, they would then know who Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget is. I will send them all to their rightful places in burning hell!” As we listened to these early ramblings of the new great black man, we knew that the sun of progress and enlightenment in our country was sinking further down the western horizon of our dear motherland. It was soon going to sink and our country was going to be plunged into unending days of darkness. But we were not going to let Second Genamin Gyant DaMidget ride roughshod over our backs. We were going to give him all we got to the last moment of our human capacities. Like Biggerface Joker, he will one day pass into history. ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 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] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 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] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ -- "Be the change you want to see in the World" ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 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] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤