Yes, indeed.  Lest we forget.

Chi Jaama

Joe Sambou


>From: Momodou Camara <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: FWD:Immortal Satang Jobarteh
>Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 11:09:38 -0500
>
>From http://www.observer.gm
>
>Opinion
>Immortal Satang Jobarteh
>By Yunisa S. Saliu
>Feb 26, 2004, 13:29
>
>
>The Late Satang Jobarteh
>It is a pity that the soil eats and consumes a lot. A lot of what? Will be
>the question many will ask. It seems just like yesterday, but, it is a year
>since one of the female gender activists, Satang Jobarteh passed away.
>Immortal Satang, a woman of substance as she would love to be remembered.
>
>Very early on Monday, February 24, 2003 one of the busiest highways in the
>Greater Banjul Area, Bundung, the location of her training centre, Simma
>Vocational Training Institute an area with a great sense of neighbourhood
>and community lost Satang. I saw the impromptu crowd at Satang’s School.
>The crowd, a cross section of those who live in the Greater Banjul Area
>extended halfway to the centre, at the RVTH mortuary and at Tallinding, in
>her uncle’s compound. People walked crying and passed each other. Everyone
>wore a mourning face while some were in a fierce mood. If I am to make non-
>accounting guess I would say that all tribes in The Gambia were over-
>represented in the crowd. Different languages were spoken.
>
>Condolence messages from different groups both national and international
>most especially from Mamacash of Netherlands, AWDF Ghana, Akina Mama wa
>Afrika, Uganda to mention but a few of them. To be frank, many passed their
>tributes through newspapers, radio and television reviews. Plenty of the
>training schools and NGO’s attended her burial and sympathised with the
>family, students and staff of Simma. For almost a term the SIMMA vocational
>training centre was in mourning. Different comments and much tributes were
>written by sympathisers .
>
>It is quite true that the modern media latched onto her death. It is quite
>true that the modern media latched onto the death of a gender activist with
>a vision and zeal. Though some might claim that journalists write or say
>too much about the late Satang, yes, she’s worth it. I can confirm that
>because she created and left behind a big vacuum to be filled by gender
>activists and women in general. It can be filled but can it be done the
>same way she did. Satang achievements as an activist are visible and
>transparent. Voluntarily she established the SIMMA Vocational Training
>Institute. The centre has graduated many youths to the field of employment
>and many are serving the country in various capacities. She researched and
>documented women legacies in a booklet and staged an exhibition to show and
>express the excellence of Gambian women. She engaged in many seminars and
>participated in many fora as a resource person and panelist to raise gender
>awareness. Satang who is not partisan trekked most parts of the country
>sensitising and advocating for female participation in national
>development, female inclusion in politics and decision-making position. Her
>excellent and popular articles under the the Daily Observer’s Women-in-
>Development column was applauded and commended by many readers because it
>was informative and contained vital information.
>
>A woman of her calibre is worth remembering. How do people forget so soon?
>The so-called woman of substance is a jewel to the nation. She left behind
>two precious things that she so cherished, they are Fanta Manneh, her
>daughter and a training centre, SIMMA. After her death, many made different
>pledges and vowed to support the centre both in kind and cash. But do
>people live by their words? In developed countries, activists are always
>held in high esteem and recognised. It is a pity that she came from Africa,
>The Gambia for that matter. Had it been one of the Western countries, even
>among some of the developing countries in Africa, she should have been
>immortalised and her name written in history books like Queen Mary Slessor,
>Princess Diana, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti or Mirable Sisters amongst others.
>
>The centre she left behind in support of the government’s call to create
>better access to skills training could have been turned round to a better
>centre that will suit her vision. If students from some western
>universities like Easton University, London and UWIC UK can come to the
>centre to study and know more about gender education, capacity building,
>African women participation in nation building because of the relationship
>Satang built and legacies she laid down, I do not see the reason why the
>centre cannot be encouraged more if the usefulness of Satang is to be
>recognised.
>
>Through her efforts in advocacy, counselling and enlightening girls and
>young women on how not to be dependants and liabilities to their families
>and the nation, she brought changes to many homes in crisis by fighting
>against arranged and early marriages, the role of women in building the
>society, awareness of politics, teenage pregnancy, baby dumping and
>violence against women. To recognise her prowess, the management, staff and
>students of Simma Vocational Training Institute have organised memorial
>lectures for the late Satang Jobarteh on February 23 and 24 respectively.
>
>Time can fly like a bird, but I know her death is still fresh in our
>memories. I know if there are activists in heaven she will take a front row
>and continue where she stopped on earth.
>
>To see an elephant one must be in the forest...
>For us to see a lion, you must be in the reserve ...
>A bird like an Ostrich is scarce and could be found in thick ...
>To see Satang, a woman of substance would be in the hereafter.
>May her gentle soul rest in perfect peace. Amen
>
>© Copyright 2003 by Observer Company
>
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