Sambou, It seems the system you are using to send mail is infected with the "happy99.exe" virus. You may want to run a virus scan on the system using the latest definitions from the virus scan program provider. Good luck. Abdooulie Jallow -----Original Message----- From: sambou <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Wednesday, June 23, 1999 2:32 AM Subject: A Lost Friend I am looking for my friends,both of whom i lost in contact when i moved from Illinois to Ohio.They are Ebrima Ceesay and Musa Sowe. They both graduated from Nusrat High School. Ebrima Ceesay used to live at Serrekunda (Latri-kunda Sabji) while Musa Sowe is from Brikama. Musa Sowe is currently living in North Carolina at Raleigh.If any body know either of them,please give them my E-mail address or my phone number. By the way i am Sambou Jaiteh E-mail [log in to unmask] Phone----(614) 431-0619 If you see any one E-mail like this with an attachment do not open it.Last time i send something,some one put an attachment to the same heading. Sambou ---------- > From: chernob jallow <[log in to unmask]> > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Tribute to D.A.Jawo > Date: Tuesday, June 22, 1999 1:54 PM > > D.A.Jawo: A man,a mission > > by Cherno Baba Jallow > in Detroit,USA > > "You can't run tanks on hopes. You can't riddle people's yearnings > with bullets." > --- Pres. Ronald Reagan to Chinese leaders on Tiananmen > Square massacre. > > Such was the toughness and outspokeness enshrined in the writings of > D.A.Jawo. A journalist of calibre and timbre,a man of unassuming character > and moral uprightness,Jawo recently became the first casualty of the change > of ownership of the Daily Observer Company. He was fired without good > reasons but apparently for his acerbic opinions and beliefs and ideas,on the > fossilization of his society. If you're looking for a prisoner of > conscience,Jawo is one. > > Well,actually,he's no prisoner,but a victim - not of his own designs - but > those of the privileged few,luxuriating in covetous courtship with the > powerful,and hell-bent on stifling intellectual growth and freedom. Jawo may > have been driven to the edges of intellectual frustration, but the > ebullience and resilience in him,larger than imaginable,will rekindle his > hopes,put him once again,on the cusp of his mission: to speak the > unvarnished truth without fear or favour,in these days of Gambian political > insanity. And incivility. > > While at the Observer,Jawo unwittingly earned himself the custodianship of > the newspaper's traditions and precepts. He infused responsibility and > accountability in all of us - young writers,occasionally prone to youthful > immaturities and peccadilloes yet working for a credibly serious newspaper. > He knew us all by our personae,typescripts,writing styles and work ethics. > And he would dutifully point out our errors and proffer solutions,and then > leave you to defend your position. > > Jawo's writings as a reporter and columnist at the Observer had the cutting > edge of truth. He never shied away from speaking his mind even if the scales > of public opinion were against him. That's one of the traits of a good > columnist: readiness to grapple with any issues whether controversial or > inflammatory of majoritarian tyranny. > > And Jawo was such good columnist. He wrote with verve and > enthuasism,profundity and clarity,honesty and objectivity. He combined > toughness and civility,which made his acerbic writings painfully > irresistible,instructively unputdownable. Read this: > > "The AFPRC also promised us that openness,transparency and accountability > will be the hallmarks of the regime, but it appears that there is quite a > lot left to be desired in that regard. We have witnessed the summary > dismissal of senior civil servants and other republic servants,and others > have been arrested and detained without anyone caring to tell us the reasons > for such drastic actions." Jawo was doing a stocktaking of the AFPRC'S 100 > days in power in 1994. Five years later,his words still have a ring of truth > about current political realities in our nation. > > But Jawo had one skill that many columnists do not have: he had ways of > telling you 'go to hell' and still have you come back to him looking for > friendship. Do you want a proof of that? Just see how he single-handedly > challenged State House Imam Abdoulie Fatty on his fanatical > rabble-rousings,which Jawo considered to be inimical to Islamic > sanity,secular unity and societal progress. In return,the Imam "threatened" > Jawo,but later denied he ever did so. He said he would be happy to meet Jawo > and even shake hands with him. > > Imam Fatty's overt change of heart was not because he wittingly submitted > himself to self-scrutiny,but because he discovered his threats could not > frighten Jawo into silence;that Jawo was a mountain that didn't move. He was > rock-solid in his opinions on the actions of the Imam. Jawo was not the type > of reporter or columnist easily brow-beaten into reticence. Speak his mind > he must! > > I recall with great nostalgia my days at the Observer with Jawo. If he was > not editing news reports,he was always busy scribbling notes which he would > later develop into a thought-provoking essay or commentary. His eyes gazing > above the rims of his lenses,adorned with his grizzled hair,Jawo would > always engage us in journalistic dialogue on issues of the day. He would ask > probing questions and then a proliferation of ideas would follow. We never > always agreed with him,but oftentimes we listened with painstaking > attention,as he argued his points. > > My respect for Jawo increased when, out of sheer ethica values,he stood by > me during my confrontation with the then Acting Nigerian High Commissioner > Goffrey Teneilabe. The High Commissioner was incensed by an article I wrote > in my column in 1995 lambasting his propagandist diplomacy at the behest of > Sani Abacha,Nigeria's most brutal military dictator since Ironsi in 1966. > > I wrote: "Time after time,the Acting Nigerian High Commissioner,more > loquacious than profound,has put up a spirited defence in favour of the > Abacha regime. The Abuja administration is constantly proffered panegyric > stakes. And anything critical of it is viewed disdainfully." The High > Commisioner went bonkers! He threatened to sue me and the Daily Observer > Company,for libel? We wondered. > > Granted,facts and Almighty God were on my side,and I had received tremendous > support from Nigerians in the streets,I still was visibly shaken by the > threat of a suit. Here was a young columnist taking to task a high > commissioner of the most powerful country in West Africa. I didn't want to > go through all the rigmarole of court proceedings;it was going to waste my > time and delay my efforts to pursue university education abroad,I lamented. > And I was concerned that my family,which was always opposed to my journalism > career,would have had more genuine reasons why I needed to quit the > profession. > > But Jawo determinedly pep talked me out of my emotional distress. "You have > nothing to fear," he reassured me. "Your opinions are your opinions," he > added. He reasoned that to put me on trial for my opinions,expressed within > the ambits of the law,would be a travesty, and that the Nigerian High > Commission was simply fighting a rearguard situation. > > Up till I left The Gambia in 1996,nobody would tell me anything more about a > lawsuit from the Nigerian High Commission. An informed source would later > tell me the suit-threat had been dropped,and the High Commissioner had > simply lodged a complaint against me at the Foreign Affairs Ministry on > Marina Parade. > > Jawo's moral support was very instrumental. It energized my zeal to pen down > yet more groundbreaking articles. He dusted off old copies of the AfricaNow > and New African magazines from his drawers and handed them to me. His wish > was to open up my mind to the didactic writings of Peter Enahoro,Abdu Rahman > Babu and Phillip Ochieng,three great African columnists who made great > strides on Africa's journalistic scene in the 1970s and 80s. In those > days,Jawo was already writing in the opinion pages of these magazines. His > interest in journalism is as old as the hills. > > Dismissal from the Observer will make not break Jawo. Always determined and > perceptive, he will bounce back and carry on with his mission. He is > undaunted. In the pursuit of truth he shall continue to persevere. And > survive. I think the world of Jawo. > > > _______________________________________________________________ > Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. 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