IN SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE OF BRUFUT
During the 1st republic, land belonging to urban farmers at Fajara and London-
corner were also confiscated and handed over to Land specoculators and all
efforts, includuing legal actions did not help to give any genuine
compensation to neither the urban farmers in Dippakunda/Latir Kunda nor to the
Women gardeners from Lodon-coner.The confiscation of these lands were also
seen as part of national development. It is always the case, when the State
confiscate land from defenceless people, we are referred to the right of the
State to do so, whiles they ignore the legal responsibility of the State to
defend the property and rights of defenceless citizens.
The Brufut land dispute shows how the State not only failed to defend the
rights of her citizens but also openly defended the interest of land
speculators in disguise of national development. It is the upper class and
some part of the middle class who would be able to afford these houses and not
the ordinary citizens and tax payers of Brufut and the country. The APRC
government, which have been using every possible moment to tell us that their
major goal is to advance and better the condition of the Gambia people
regardless of their class background, are here contributing to the further
segregation of the Gambian people and society.
Taf is a businessman and not a politician, his claimed to "house the Nation"
is not politically motivated and not motivated to provide ordinary Gambian
workers with decent housing, who are the majority, it is coined out of his
desire to promote his economic interest. Taf will never see it as anything
contradictory to build modern houses in the mist of poverty and dilapidated
mud houses. He will wall them solid round to make sure that those who buy
these houses are totally screen from the poverty and misery surrounding them.
Taf will do everything he can to make sure that the State confiscate as much
land as possible for him as far as there are people who will buy his house.
And Taf would not care if those who buy his houses were British/Swedish
holidaymakers or a Londoner from Brufut; his economic interest is what is
primary. There are enough Land in Fatoto that Taf can get without going to war
with anybody but this will not be of any economic interest for Taf and that is
why he is not going there to build houses even though that part of the country
is also part of the nation, those who claimed otherwise must understand this
reality. The idea of making the economic segration more physical have been the
idea behind this move and it will be correct to understand the protest of the
people of Brufut from this angle. They are Gambians and human beings, they
also need decent housing and this cannot come about by seizing their Land to
build houses that only the upper glass and some part of the middle class can
afford, right in front of their nose, this is not the new Gambia we are
longing for and this is what the APRC regime failed to see in the protest of
these people. No wonder, it will take only a Government that is interested in
national development to understand that such projects are just out to
physically mark the distance between the poor and the rich and not out to
solve a national need. The people of Brufut, need better housing but they also
know that the housing project of Taf is not for them, the struggle to have a
decent three meal a day is even a hard day work let alone to buy a small house
at D300, 000.
To house the nation, should be an assignment for the State, our hot houses are
old dated and our people need decent and modern housing to live as human
beigns. The irony had been that, the APRC government that is out hammering
capitalism, whenever they can are the very people who are contributing
effectively in building two worlds apart in our country and within the same
geographical area. The disputed land is a communal Land, oweded collectively
and must be protected for generations to come. The APRC cannot leave our need
for housing in the hands of capitalist land speculators.
If Taf is interested in these Lands let him go to the people of Brufut and buy
from them as ordinary Gambians have been doing for ages now. Taf must not be
allow to use the State as his long arms to crap land from defenceless people,
the interference of the State in this case will always be a proof of how the
State could be use to further the economic interest of individual in a very
speculative way. The majority of tax payers in our country are not the clients
of Taf.It is the duty of every Gambian to support the people of Brufut against
Land speculators and demand better and decent housing for all Gambians,
regardless of their class background. This is the only way to build a just and
decent society.
For Freedom
Saiks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
