Sister,
Great to see you here.
Welcome to the family.
Much said perhaps some of them could have been said better,we must demand
justice for the mothers and the children, the mothers who have to provide
funds for the medical needs of their children at the RVH as if they are the
very people who are responsible for this brutality and madness.Why do we need
to find out who shot the children when we know who did it ?Do we need to give
some credits to the lies that the gun shots might come from the students
themselves ? what is it all for Jammeh to visit these children when his
government could not provide even a bandage for them.Sister we are dealing
with the most brutal regime in the history of our little country,it has even
become fascist any compromise to this end will be very unfortunate.
For Freedom
Saiks
Greetings to everybody! I joined the List very recently (in the wake of =
the unfortunate events of April 10th/11th). May I seize the opportunity =
here on the List to extend my deep-felt sympathy to all the parents and =
relatives of those who fell on those two fateful days. Most especially =
to the mothers! Yes, for only a mother knows through experience =
(pregnancy and labour) what it means to bring a child into this world. =
Above all under conditions lacking the soothing and comfort of epidural =
anaesthesia! Feeding that child at the breast and watching her/him grow, =
with high expectations of the great achievements this child will =
harvest. For that child to be shot in a student demonstration is =
naturally any mother's nightmare. To all the Mothers, may you be able to =
rise up from your (our) tragedy to be able to make something positive in =
the memory of the little ones. To Mr.Barrow's wife, hope you will gather =
strength to keep your husband's beautiful memory alive! He has already =
inspired many.
I have been following the different shades of thought on the List and I =
must say 'there is beauty in diversity'! We should continue cultivating =
the accomodating spirit. After the April event it is a fact that a lot =
of people are angry, and who wouldn't be? Nobody in their correct state =
of mind can condone the shooting of school children (in a peaceful =
demonstration or otherwise). It is important to keep in mind that anger =
as a reaction in this event is positive, but there should be room to =
move forward. In Pulaar (Fula) there is a saying, "no matter how angry =
you are, do leave some space where you can get happy, and vice-versa".=20
In this List it seems that some people are so angry, that their =
faculties of reasoning are almost blurred. And when that happens the =
possibility of getting focused and being objective gets very slim. That =
anger can get to a point whereby there could be a conscious or =
subconscious strategy to block anything that is not in tune with what we =
want to hear or read. People got angry because President Jammeh did not =
cut his visit short at the G77 meeting. People got angrier because =
Jammeh visited the children and the families affected to show remorse. =
People got even more angry because a commission of enquiry was set up to =
look into the events. Would it be soothing then if the opposite =
happened? Did the journalists take it upon them to search and interview =
those parents so that we can at least give them the right to vent =
exactly how they feel.=20
Let us remember that one of the most instrumental dialectical realities =
that brought apartheid down was not only because on the one hand we had =
people who saw it as an evil system, but because of the fact that there =
were others too who were equally in for that system. Who in our age =
cannot remember the likes of Margareth Thatcher and their "no boycott" =
iron stance. Yet, a political leader's wife in the Gambia came out in =
the heat of the April gloom and hailed the former as the symbol of =
femininity! How many children, women and old people lost their lives in =
Azania as a result of Maggie's political affiliation with the Boers? =
This phenomenon known as development by contradiction in basic political =
thought was what moved South Africa forward to what we have today. Let =
us in our forward movement accept the beauty in diversity!=20
Minister Farakhan in his One Million Man March address pointed out a =
crucial point. He said that when America bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, =
the Japanese did not shout, rant or whine. They re-organised and are =
today relocating the most important businesses from Wall Street to =
Tokyo! People have the right to be anti-Jammeh but in the famous words =
of Fanon; "what matters is not to know the world but to change it". That =
brings me to Mr. Katim Touray's 'Framework for Change'. Mr. Touray took =
his time and energy to come up with that draft. He called on everybody =
to join hands with him so that in the end the piece would be a =
collective product. Mr. Touray as I understood never claimed dishing out =
a masterpiece. Yet instead of making the necessary adjustment(s) that =
people felt should be made, or coming up with a better alternative, =
Katim was crowned 'chief cobbler', because he liked Gambian music that =
happened to be presented on the List by Tombong. A metaphor/simile I for =
one never found fitting. And I am sure a Jawara or a Fatty, no matter =
how much Shakespeare or Chaucer they have chewed would never store that =
in their vocabulary. We all know what a load of cobblers represent for =
the Elizabethans or Chaucerians. I was hoping that we are different. =
Cobblers are professionals. It is important in our day and age to weed =
our vocabulary of such phrases by liberating our minds. Let us stop the =
biopsy of each other's brain cells when it comes to the ability to speak =
and/or write foreign languages!
To Soffie Ceesay: in you I read woman at the zenith of her political =
intellect. Your resolve in the collective spirit distinguishes you as a =
woman of substance. Be rest assured that even those whom you are =
opposing may not like you, but for sure, they do respect you!
Finally, let us remember that firewood or the cooker are important =
factors in cooking, but rice is never cooked from the outside of a pot. =
Let us address the burning issues together with our ordinary people up =
to the village level. Let us not under estimate the intelligence of our =
people and those who are there struggling with them on a daily basis. =
Let us not substitute ourselves for this force. Let us remember that the =
people who invented the legendary words 'Aluta Continua'( The Struggle =
Continues) Che Guevera and Fidel Castro meant serious business in =
uttering that slogan. Let the debate continue respectfully! Have a nice =
weekend.Sister Jay
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