Hi Lamin!
How are you? Hope everything is fine. The purpose of my posting this 
thread was to provoke critical assessment of ourselves as we trod 
through the difficulties facing Gambia. I am glad that it has 
generated 
debate. I would accept it when you suggest "that some Diasporans were 
at the forefront of radical action when they lived in The Gambia" and 
I 
would take my hat off to them. I would respect their call for radical 
action because they have trudged through the dangerous waters.

You take the "average" in my posts to denote level as the example you 
suggested dealing with master and servant. Maybe that is why you 
stated 
that "intelligence, and, or, the ability to discern, are not 
necessarily tied to either formal certification, or, education". The 
average in my posts has nothing to do with social, educational etc. 
level. My "average" is intended to mean "typical". Maybe I should have 
written "typical" instead of "average".  The "average" in your example 
is resident not only in Gambia but outside also. That's why I wrote 
that the "things we accuse Gambians back home of are dividing and 
tearing our Diaspora societies apart. Tribalism, indifference to or 
even gloating about the suffering of fellow Gambians, lack of support 
for each other, self-interest at the expense of community etc. are 
equally prevalent in our societies abroad as they are in Gambia."

Lamin, you cannot convince me that you need Jabou to come to your 
rescue. I know that you are more than capable of trashing the bututs I 
throw around. Sarcasm appreciated though. You should not "take me on" 
because I consider your exchanging ideas and viewpoints with me an 
honour. You are equally tenacious. If you were not, you would have 
given up on the struggle ages ago. Please convince Pa Musa to go back 
to the fence so I can join him there. Tell him that I'll bring some 
attaya.  If he is not convinced, tell him I'll add some "mburu ak 
gerrteh saaf". Have a good night.
Buharry.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----Original Message----
From: [log in to unmask]
Date: 2009-03-19 9:31 
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subj: Re: [&gt;-&lt;] Of Militants, Cowards and Fence-sitters: 
Disaporan Gambians and the Political Situation in Gambia

Buharry
 
Good conversations, and I am indebted to Jabou for her comprehensive 
treatment of a timely topic. I agree there appears to be 
nothing separating you and Jabou on the critical questions of human 
rights  and the rule of law in our public life. And you are right that 
we must talk in the process of instituting and nurturing democracy in 
The Gambia.
 
On the key question of proximity and conduct, I am not sure that the 
Diaspora has questionable legitimacy in agitating for radical action. 
This is not to suggest an absence of dilemma considering the Diasporan 
is out of the zone of immediate danger. However, I suggest to you that 
some Diasporans were at the forefront of radical action when they lived 
in The Gambia under the lawless atmosphere of the Professor's 
repressive regime. Radical action may not necessarily mean engaging in 
violent disorder, but when others are censoring themselves, Foroyaa, 
and Halifa, continue to ask questions that greatly irritate the 
Professor and his sycophants. And I can attest to witnessing Halifa-
type conduct in the journalistic, and judicial spheres right inside 
territorial Gambia. Now outside The Gambia, I wonder if it is proper to 
shout down such people on their allegedly questionable credibility when 
they now advocate for conduct they themselves engaged in
 whilst in Professorland. I would reserve incredulity for those who 
served repression at policy, including, Cabinet level, and are now in 
the Diaspora because they were fired.
 
On your "average Samba and Demba", I am hesitant to accept their 
aspirations are not of the human rights type for reason 
of preoccupation with their "daily bread". Intelligence, and, or, the 
ability to discern, are not necessarily tied to either formal 
certification, or, education. Take the unschooled house help who feigns 
excessive obeisance to the master, or mistress, yet engages in sexual 
activity with one employer when the other is absent. Who is laughing at 
who? In other words, are your "Samba and Demba" really "average" when 
they routinely disorganise the matrimonial bed, even as they continue 
to perfect their sycophantic art anytime an employer approaches the 
mansion's drive? 
 
I urge you to ponder the issue of whether people are "average", as 
oppose to being driven by self-interest. If you remain unconvinced, 
ponder the cleverness of your "average Samba and Demba" as informers 
against their own side in liberation struggles, including against 
Apartheid in South Africa.  
 
I once again thank Jabou for coming to my rescue, and as for you, your 
tenacity tells me I should be ready for the long haul before taking you 
on. Great conversation nevertheless. 
 
As he is no longer there, please do not try to join Pa Musa on the 
fence.
 
 
 
 
 
 
LJDarbo     
 

--- On Wed, 18/3/09, Momodou Buharry Gassama <[log in to unmask]> 
wrote:


From: Momodou Buharry Gassama <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [>-<] Of Militants, Cowards and Fence-sitters: Disaporan 
Gambians and the Political Situation in Gambia
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Wednesday, 18 March, 2009, 1:50 PM


Hi Sister Jabou!
The scholarliness, maturity and humility displayed in your response 
are some of the reasons I always look forward to reading your posts. 
Thank you for engaging.

We do not have any disagreements with regard to speaking out about 
human rights abuses and lack of respect for the rule of law. The issue 
is how that speaking out is done, what is proposed and how what is 
proposed is presented. While you might feel that you can speak for all 
Gambians, others might disagree. There are many people who disagree 
with what I identify as being problematic in Gambia and are opposed to 
what I propose as solutions just as I disagree with what they present. 
That is the beauty of the democracy we wish for Gambia. Disagreeing 
with each other does not however mean that we cannot work together to 
bring about meaningful change. It means that we have to listen to and 
learn from each other. We can debate fiercely and present and guard 
our 
points of view with vigour but we must understand that what we present 
is true to us but might not be true to others. We therefore need to 
convince each other. If we fail to convince each other, we just agree 
to disagree. We might disagree on one topic but agree wholeheartedly 
on 
another.

I have debated with you and read your debates online for more than a 
decade and I know where you stand on many issues because you have 
always been steadfast in presenting and defending them. The issues I 
raised regarding clamourous condemnation of people on the ground, the 
urging of people to take to the streets, the issue of fence-sitting  
etc. were not only limited to your response or to this current debate. 
Halifa and PDOIS have been known for example, for writing open letters 
and press releases and have been condemned for doing so as lately as 
the witch-hunting issue. The issue of urging people to take to the 
streets has been around for many years. Some time ago, I read some 
writings on the issue of fence-sitting from the Gambia Post archives. 
Sister Jabou, I shall never accuse you of blowing hot air because I 
know better. I have known you as someone who fights for what she 
believes in both in writing and otherwise. As you stated, we have been 
on other venues where the thrust was not only debate but project 
oriented. I sometimes read the archives of the L, Post and other sites 
and see how many people have, over the years, come and gone with 
extremely radical pronouncements and instigations for people to take 
to 
the streets. These issues are not new and my opinions on them have 
been 
expressed over the years and are therefore not new.
With regard to misunderstanding what you wrote, it is no problem. 
While 
online communication offers great benefits, one of the main 
disadvantages is the lack of personal touch. One might write something 
that is misunderstood but would not have been so if it was a 
conversation with the ability to see facial expressions etc. Then 
there 
is the issue of the ?Angalé? (English) per the broken French we speak. 
It is not our language and for some of us in these parts of the world 
where it is not the mother tongue, we can go on for weeks or even 
months without speaking it. 

We agree on your other points. The way we present our points may be 
different but their essence is the same. Educating and presenting our 
viewpoints to the average Gambian is very important. Not assuming that 
they see things the way we do is vital. You have raised very important 
questions that need to be studied and dealt with. Your statement ?I 
have been debating these issues for a long time here on and have 
lately 
come to the conclusion that we need to move from debate to actual 
tangible, sensible, attainable solutions? is very true. I thank you 
for 
engaging in this debate and hope that the points presented by you and 
others have added light and facilitated retrospection and 
introspection. In the desire for true democracy in Gambia, we are on 
the same page. If you have any more questions on the issues I dealt 
with, I will try to deal with them. Otherwise I would like to book a 
seat on the fence by Pa Musa?s side for a while before continuing the 
thread after having exhausted my fifteen minutes in the spotlight. 
Maybe LJD can be of help (lol). Have a good day.
Buharry.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



----Original Message----
From: [log in to unmask]
Date: 2009-03-16 8:20 
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subj: Re: [&gt;-&lt;] Of Militants, Cowards and Fence-sitters: 
Disaporan Gambians and the Political Situation in Gambia

Hello Buharry,
Thanks for the response.
I am of the point of view that most of the activity, responses, 
pronouncements etc that disapora Gambians who are opposed to the 
regime 
are engaged in has to do with opposition to their human rights 
violations and the lack of respect for the rule of law more than 
anything else. Therefore, any response I have given is in relation to 
those two issues only.

First, I must explain that my response to your article was largely 
intended to address your question of whether those who are vocal 
online 
speak for all Gambians again with regard to those two issues. My 
answer 
was a resounding yes, and I then proceeded to give the reasons for my 
answer and why speaking out is also in fact a responsibility for those 
who can and who chose to.

If my response conveyed a different impression, then I failed to be 
clear and this may be due to me taking shortcuts with my answers due 
to 
laziness, lack of time to devote to my response or plain writer's 
fatigue
(I have been debating these issues for a long time here on and have 
lately come to the conclusion that we need to move from debate to 
actual tangible, sensible, attainable solutions and of course the jury 
is still out on just how we can attain that given all the variables) 
and/or making assumptions that I perhaps should not make in an 
exchange 
that demands much more clarity to avoid misunderstanding.

You
wrote:
"What I wrote was neither a recipe for nor an endorsement of
"maslaa". It was meant to provoke a process of retrospection and
introspection."

I agree. "masla" was a word I used to refer to or define those 
individuals who may acknowledge the physical progress such as new 
schools etc but who may also turn a blind eye or feign ignorance to 
the 
other gross human rights violations they know exist right before their 
eyes. I should have offered a more thorough explanation of this so 
that 
it does not appear that I was relegating all the points you were 
trying 
to make into just "masla?. So please accept my apology for that.

Also, if my response gave the impression that I was defending the 
notion of sitting comfortably at a safe distance miles away and urging 
Gambians on the ground to directly confront the regime in ways that 
will endanger them, then I think you misread me or I was not clear in 
what I was trying to convey.
I also believe that it is in fact dishonest and cowardly to sit 
outside 
the country and urge people to engage in things that one may not do if 
one was on the ground. I have always held the firm belief that unless 
I 
am on the ground to lead a march for example, I have no right to ask 
or 
encourage anyone to engage in same and to be truthful, I never fail to 
be alarmed whenever I see any kind of appeal by those outside the 
country for people to take
confrontational action.

I believe my statement that you referenced goes to prove my position 
on 
this when you quoted me as having said:

?You also stated that we ?may understand that those who are closer in 
proximity to the tyrant government of Yaya Jammeh are less free to 
express themselves for fear of reprisal?

For as long as I have been expressing my views with regard to this 
regime, and it has been since 1997, I have never in anything I have 
written, urged anyone on the ground to engage in anything that will 
put 
them in harm's way for the reason already mentioned. As such, I never 
said anything in my response that would even remotely suggest or 
support such a thing. I have always expressed my viewpoints and my 
observations unequivocally and left the rest to people to make up 
their 
own minds what position to take.

You wrote:

?That is why we should not be so condemning of them if they fail to 
express outrage the way we do thousands of miles away. The
Argument is not about expressing outrage. It is about how the outrage
is expressed. Most of us would not be expressing outrage the way we do
in Stockholm, London, New York etc. if we were in Banjul, Serrekunda,
Bakau etc. We cannot be telling people to take to the streets and do
this and that without any contingency plans to aid them should they be
arrested, fired from work, killed etc.?

Again, I think 
my position on this point is very clear and I do not 
believe that I have ever engaged in spending a great deal of time 
condemning anyone or urging them to put themselves in harm?s way. On 
the contrary, part of my argument was that those of us on the outside 
who can speak out and who chose to do so have an obligation to 
continue 
to do just that because of the limitations faced by people on the 
ground.

You wrote:
"I have not argued anywhere that people ignore facts and
accept fantasy explanations or that they should not express outrage at
anything they view as deserving of such. I agree that there should not
be ?divided camps in how we view tyranny and why it has to take all of
us, in and outside of The Gambia being on the same page to defeat it.?"

And indeed you did not and again, perhaps this is another indication 
of 
my failure or perhaps laziness to explain myself clearly and in detail 
in my response and not make assumptions. When I wrote of people 
engaging in accepting fantasy explanations etc, I was not presenting 
that as your argument at all. Rather, that is my opinion of the 
position that those you refer to as the average Gambian who has a 
different point of view regarding the regime have taken and my view on 
that issue is that no matter the fact that some Gambians have a 
different view of the regime, my view is that those same people cannot 
ignore the fact that 
unexplained murders, disappearances and illegal 
detentions have become the order of the day and the Daba Marena and 
co. 
case stands as a shining example of this as offered by Lamin Darboe. 
That for those people to be satisfied with simply measuring progress 
by 
infrastructure development alone or the fact that they and their loved 
ones are untouched by the regime?s disregard for the law or who pacify 
themselves that there is no tyranny in Gambia for any other reasons or 
the notion that any other issues people face on the ground is divorced 
from what those who oppose tyranny are talking about is an indication 
of living in fantasy given the present day realities in today?s Gambia.

Further, my view is also that while some Gambians have the right to  
beg to differ with regard to the whether Jammeh is a tyrant, there is 
reality on the ground that they cannot ignore and that we will never 
have meaningful change if for whatever reason, those same people 
refuse 
to acknowledge that while the regime has built schools, and while they 
are faced with having to manage survival "in the belly of the beast" 
so 
to say, they cannot afford to engage in ignoring the fact that the 
same 
regime has also taken away their rights and instilled fear in the 
general populace and they have murdered and maimed our people and this 
violent trend is escalating and has touched their relative, neighbor 
co-worker etc and  if
people do not wake up to the fact that there is a 
lot that is wrong and that development alone is not enough and is only 
a part of the entire equation, that living under any government that 
does not respect the rule of law and pretending that all is well 
presents a very untenable situation indeed. That it is our duty to 
keep 
hammering this point home for the sake of everyone.

So perhaps the question of a need to consider the views of the average 
Gambian should also consider the question of whether those on the 
ground who have a positive view of Jammeh?s government should not also 
endeavor to do a retrospective and ask themselves what the reasons 
they 
support the regime are and whether it is serving the interest and 
protecting the rights of all Gambians and whether the protection of 
rights is important or not.

You wrote:
"I agree that there should not be ?divided camps in how we view 
tyranny 
and why it has to take all of
us, in and outside of The Gambia being on the same page to defeat it.?"

My point was an attempt to convey the point that continuing to educate 
our people so that even those who hold a different point of view 
regarding the regime will come to terms that all is not well, even if 
the only option we have for that are these online forums must continue 
is one way we can get on that same page, so I do not think there is 
any 
disagreement there, pe
rhaps just a misunderstanding.

You wrote:
"What I argued was that in order to ?be effective conduits of
progressive change, we should realign our thought patterns and think on
the level of the average Gambian and learn to identify the issues that
Gambians hold dear and not the issues we expect them to hold dear.?  We
cannot just assume that all Gambians view the government as tyrannical
because that would be fallacious."

I agree with this point of view. However, my thought is that depending 
on what one is actually advocating for or speaking out against, in 
this 
case human rights issues, speaking out against the regime is not 
necessarily synonymous with a lack of understanding of the issues that 
Gambians hold dear or forcing them to an acceptance of a view contrary 
to their?s of course depending on what the average Gambian?s views of 
what constitutes human rights are. In my view, while urging people to 
engage in direct confrontation with the regime is another matter and 
again something I do not believe in doing, advocating for the rule of 
law and speaking out against human rights abuses and the abuse of 
power 
by the regime is not at odds with what people should hold dear and 
does 
not constitute a departure from an understanding of what the average 
Gambian holds dear.
I can accept that there are additional things that those who want to 
organize against the regime need to include in their strategies,=2
0but my 
response are limited only to those aspects of the activities that 
diaspora Gambians who oppose the regime engage in, the issue of human 
rights.

We are Gambia born and bred and speaking for myself as an outspoken 
Gambian and I am sure many others, know very well the limitations that 
people face on the ground and the fact that they have to survive under 
a brutal regime. All of us already know this very well. However, it 
does not and cannot mean that while the people have to face certain 
realities on the ground, our advocacy for the rule of law is in fact 
incompatible with the concerns of the average Gambian.  Furthermore, I 
argue that even if  the average Gambian or anyone else thinks that 
constantly advocating for and lamenting the absence of the rule of law 
(not urging people to expose themselves to danger through revolt from 
afar), under the Jammeh regime is an indication of lack of 
understanding of what matters to them, then as opposed to this being 
an 
indication of a lack of understanding of what issues matter to them, 
it 
is rather an indication of a need on our part to convey to them that 
our desire is for a better Gambia where one does not have to choose 
between pure survival by the seat of your pants, a semblance of 
material gain and loss of dignity and good governance that respects 
the 
rule of law. We understand the situation of the people and the 
conditions unde
r which they have to live already. For those of us for 
whom human rights is the overriding issue, if there is a need to 
connect with the average Gambian, it is perhaps a need to convey that 
we do in fact understand the daily survival issues they hold dear but 
that there is an urgent need for them not to ignore the reality that 
under a government that has and continues to take away their rights 
and 
commit heinous acts against them, those daily issues that pre-occupies 
them must include an appreciation for the need to find some means of 
acknowledging that tyranny exists in Gambia and that struggling 
against 
tyranny in whatever peaceful manner they can do it is in fact 
essential 
to the long term survival of everyone, both supporters and opponents 
of 
the regime and confrontation is by no means the only way to struggling 
against tyranny.

Therefore, while I agree that to accomplish our goal for the 
betterment 
of all, there is a need for education and better understanding on both 
sides, we do not have to compromise on trying to encourage our fellow 
citizens to accommodate some of those issues some of us hold dear, 
especially on the issue of whether we have a tyranny or not in The 
Gambia.

I think that most clear thinking human beings will agree that there is 
no doubt that our country is under the grips of a tyrannical and 
brutal 
regime that has relegated our constitution to toilet paper. I also

think that all justice loving human beings recognize that tyranny is 
tyranny and the rule of law is the rule of law. So as I have stated 
before, you either have justice and the rule of law or you have 
tyranny, and although some people may choose to ignore the gross human 
rights violations in the Gambia, and may even go so far as to argue 
that they did not happen, there are ample facts to prove otherwise. 
Therefore, on the question of "realigning our thought patterns and 
thinking on the level of the average Gambian and learn to identify the 
issues that Gambians hold dear and not the issues we expect them to 
hold dear", for those opposed to human rights violations, this one has 
to be one of the issues we expect and hope that all Gambians will hold 
dear.

You wrote:

?What some us do is not only claim to be speaking on behalf of those 
who are silent. We condemn them over and over without even knowing the
reason for their failure to participate. We expect them to carry out
what we deem necessary without even knowing if they agree with what we
believe in.?

As acknowledged by you already. I wrote this:
I am also of the firm belief that those of us who are able
to speak  without fear have a responsibility to do so and yes indeed,
we speak for those who cannot or are too timid to do so, or even out of
sheer ignorance and even if they do not recognize or appreciate=2
0this.

My statement above is not and was not intended to condemn anyone who 
is 
silent or a challenge to them to speak out. I speak out because that 
is 
what I believe and what my conscience leads me to do. I also see it as 
an opportunity to represent those who oppose the regime and who may 
want to speak out but cannot for various reasons. I have and continue 
to communicate with people outside of Gambia who are opposed to the 
regime but do not care to openly manifest that and I have respected 
their positions otherwise they would not confide in me.

You also wrote:

?Other people have vociferously condemned injustice and argued their
points of view without condemning people for refusing to accept their
viewpoints. They have presented and defended their case and then let
the people choose what they want and finally agreed to disagree.?

But yous also wrote:
"Jabou, you have vigorously argued your beliefs online but I
don?t remember you constantly forcing your beliefs and trying to force
people to accept them and constantly condemning them for refusing to do
so."

So I think that my position on this issue is already known to you.
However, I will add that naturally, it goes without saying that not 
everyone agrees with my point of view and I feel no need to coerce 
anyone into anything. Everyone has to go where their conscience leads 
them. I have family members who are firmly in the Jammeh c
amp and I do 
not even attempt to speak for them much less others. At the same time, 
I do not measure their worth to me by the fact that they are Jammeh 

supporters. On the contrary, how I feel and what I say against the 
regime is an open secret and we have agreed to disagree and leave it 
at 
that. However, their support of Yaya Jammeh has not and will never 
drive a wedge between me and my responsibilities in keeping certain 
family connections intact.
At the same time, I also believe that Yaya Jammeh is a tyrant and does 
not have the interest of any Gambian in his agenda, supporters and 
opponents alike an in opposing him and speaking out against I am 
advocating for even those who may not appreciate it.

You wrote:

?The case of Malcolm X and the Black Power Movement is different from
ours. The Black Power Movement from the Black Muslims, the Black
Panthers to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), The
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and followers all had
organization and ability. The SCLC and SNCC were able to organize civil
disobedience because they had the logistics, manpower and organization
to effectively do so.?

I am afraid that you had read way too much into my simple quotation of 
Malcolm X. Of course our case is quite different and by quoting his 
statement that ?we will set you free even if we have to shove freedom 
down your throats was not=2
0intended to compare our case to the Black 
Power movement. Our case, as you stated is different from all the 
struggles you mention and for exactly the same reasons you listed, the 
most important points being that all these organizations were able to 
form organizations and they were operating under a government that 
respects their constitution and had an independent judiciary and where 
there were people ready and free to protect their rights should they 
be 
breached. I hardly think any of us will even remotely mistake that 
situation with the situation in present day Gambia.
My quote was intended to do nothing but emphasize the statement I made 
above, namely that in speaking out against the regime, I believe that 
we are speaking for even those who oppose our outspokenness and who 
consider us so-called troublemakers and even if this is not 
appreciated.. That was it.

You wrote

?If PDOIS or UDP can only offer open letters, press releases
etc., that is what they are able to do under the circumstances. If we
want them to do something different or against their policies and
principles, why don?t we provide the logistics, manpower etc. to enable
them to do so? We have over the years seen warriors come and go online,
blowing hot air and forcing what they deem solutions, albeit
unachievable, on people through intimidation. I have always wondered
what some people would do if they had the mandate and power Yaya Jammeh
has 
because of the way they behave online without either power or
mandate.?

Brother Buharry, you can confirm that you and I have been in venues 
where the issues of how we can make a contribution to efforts on the 
ground have been the main agendas of discussion and I am certain that 
no one can conclude that my position at those venues has not always 
been that the best thing we on the outside can offer is to find out 
what projects those on the ground want to implement to help our people 
and to then offer material support. As I already pointed out, I also 
do 
not think that I can be accused of being among the warriors coming 
online, blowing hot air and forcing unachievable proposals on anyone.

You wrote:

?I don?t disagree with the need for enlightenment. That is why I am a
PDOIS sympathize.?

As you know, I am also a PDOIS sympathizer and I am all for educating  
and enlightening our people so they can make the right choices for 
themselves.

I think that aside from a lack of appreciation of any efforts to 
instigate people to engage in direct confrontation, I personally do 
not 
believe that there are any major departures between what the average 
Gambian on the ground and what those in the Diaspora think as far as 
the efforts to oppose issues of human rights violations are concerned.
  I say this because I firmly believe that a great number if not most 
Gambians o
n the ground know and acknowledge that there are human rights 
violations and they also know that they are limited in how or even if 
they can express their opposition to those violations and they 
appreciate the fact that those of us at a distance can speak out on 
their behalf. I also think that there is no lack of understanding by 
both people in and outside of the Gambia that people engage in 
survival 
tactics to survive a brutal regime.
After that is said and done, and aside from the fact that there are 
indeed infrastructure improvements, there is the reality of what 
ensues 
on the ground with regard to human rights issues on a daily basis. 
Some 
survive because they are part of the regime or have ingratiated 
themselves to the powers that be and it is to their best interest to 
chose to ignore any unusual happenings and maintain that things are 
just fine and those of us crying foul are crazy. Others conform out of 
fear and have developed survival tactics and think this is enough and 
do not want anyone to rock the boat. Then there are those who are 
vehemently opposed and who do not want to conform but are forced to 
out 
of a lack of an alternate option and are stuck.

In conclusion, may I offer the following with regard to your argument 
that in order to be effective conduits of progressive change, we 
should 
realign our thought patterns and think on the level of the average 
Gambian and learn20to identify the issues that Gambians hold dear and 
not the issues we expect them to hold dear.

In order to accomplish this, we must also necessarily ask the average 
Gambian on the ground to answer the following questions:

1.  What is their definition of a free society and a tyranny and which 
do they think exists in The Gambia and why?
2.  What is their thought on the murders, disappearances and rampant 
imprisonment of Gambians? What do they think has happened to those who 
have disappeared, and are they satisfied with the explanations offered 
by the government?
3.  Do they and t heir families feel safe and secure and are they 
confident that their rights are well protected in today?s Gambia?
4.  Are they satisfied with the way things are and is this how they 
want 
Gambia to be for the foreseeable future?
5.  What do they think about those Diaspora Gambians who are speaking 
out against human rights violations at home? Is what they are doing 
seen as something useful and necessary and if so, is it appreciated by 
them? If they do not see this advocacy as useful and necessary, why?
6.  Can we get a realistic representation of what the people really
   think given the current atmosphere of fear?
7. What are the major issues of concern for the average Gambian 
and     
    does that concern supersede the issue of human rights and the rule 
of law as it exists in the Gambia today?

Realistic=2
0answers to these questions would have to be obtained if we 
want to gauge whether we are in touch with the issues that matter to 
the average Gambian or not but the challenges we will encounter in 
trying to collect this information brings us back to the very reason 
we 
are speaking out.

Have a wonderful week Buharry.
Jabou Joh

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