Amen brother Buharry. The message, messenger or the conduit must have
been faulty after all these years of singing the same song.
Introspective diagnosis is well overdue. Thanks for a fabulous
reminder as always.
-Abdoulie
Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 13, 2009, at 21:12, Momodou Buharry Gassama
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Of Militants, Cowards and Fence-sitters: Disaporan Gambians and the
> Political Situation in Gambia
>
> In all enterprises, introspection and retrospection are necessary
> tools in quantitative and qualitative analyses to determine success
> or
> failure. As stakeholders in the future of The Gambia, Diaspora
> Gambians have, since the seizure of power by the A(F)PRC, taken
> various
> stances ranging from outright support to outright opposition. Such
> stances have found outlets ranging from discussions at social
> functions
> to online fora and mailing lists. The proponents, active or passive,
> of
> such stances have taken various forms and personalities, some timid,
> some nonchalant and some militant. Whilst most Gambians have some form
> of opinion, it is not all who have the ability or courage to make such
> opinions known especially on fora such as Gambia-l or Gambia Post, due
> among other things, to limitations in the usage of the English
> language
> and fear of personal attacks. As such, only those who have the courage
> and/or ability to partake of discussions on those fora appear to have
> carried the mantle for the identification and proposal of solutions to
> the problems facing Gambia. Does this however mean that the silent
> majority have no opinion? Does this mean that they accept as panacea
> the solutions thrown around or pertinent the problems identified as
> affecting
> Gambia? In trying to deal with such issues, some questions need to be
> asked and such questions include:
> - Who speaks on behalf of Gambians?
> - Are the opinions of outspoken people on the internet to be taken as
> representing the opinions of online and offline Diaspora Gambians?
> - Are the aspirations and opinions of Gambians abroad and those at
> home
> similar?
> - Is the failure of people to participate in the discussion of Gambian
> issues online tantamount to sitting on the fence?
> - Is the failure of people to engage in the discussion of Gambian
> issues online tantamount to cowardice or a passport to ensuring their
> ability to visit Gambia without fear of harassment by the authorities?
> - Are the hard-line, militant stances taken by people online
> realistic?
> Do such stances correctly and objectively identify the problems
> affecting Gambia and are the solutions put forward workable ones?
> - Do the militant stances stifle discussion of the issues that are
> pertinent to all of us?
> - Do Gambians have a right to freely choose the party of their choice
> to support and be able to propagate and defend their views without
> fear?
> The questions are many and in trying to deal with the topic at hand,
> these and other issues will be dealt to see whether Diaspora Gambians
> who, for one reason or other, fail to participate in discussions are
> indeed fence-sitters or cowards or those who take hard-line positions
> are justified in taking such positions and whether the solutions they
> propose are indeed practicable ones.
> Since the prosperity or failure of Gambia as a state affects all
> Gambians and non-Gambians who have interests in the country, it can be
> taken as a given that all Gambians have an inherent stake in its
> affairs. As such, it can be expected that they have a duty to
> participate in all aspects of its governance. This means being
> expected
> to take stances on issues that affect the country. However, as
> proponents and supposed proponents of democratic values, it should be
> expected that those who push for democratic change in Gambia?s
> governance should respect and protect the rights of fellow Gambians to
> either take stances or not. This brings to the fore the question of
> who
> speaks on behalf of Gambians. Since Gambian communities abroad are
> microcosms of Gambians at home, they can be expected to comprise of
> opinions and political leanings as diverse as those found in Gambia.
> As
> microcosms, the same problems and issues lamented as debilitating the
> social, moral, religious and political fabric of Gambian society back
> home are a reality within our own Diaspora societies. The values and
> opinions are equally diverse. This by natural extension results in
> contrariety of opinion with regard to the identification and proposal
> of solutions to the problems affecting the country. As such, it can be
> concluded that none has the mandate to speak for and on behalf of
> Diaspora Gambians. What is to be expected and accepted is a diversity
> of opinions with regard to both identification of problems and
> proposal
> of solutions. What should be avoided is obfuscation of issues and the
> imposition of what one regards as the way things should be. People are
> more passionate about some issues than others. In situations where
> people disagree, one should provide proof or other material or facts
> to
> convince others of the superiority of one?s ideas and positions. Since
> different tactics are required during different debates or phases of a
> debate, one can be expected to assume various postures and
> personalities depending on the characteristic of the debate. However,
> when all is said and done, the ultimate aim should be the convincing
> of
> the adversary of the superiority of one?s ideas. Failing that, one
> should agree to disagree. The simple reason is that every Gambian
> has a
> right to his / her opinion no matter how disagreeable and should not
> be
> cowed into silence. No one online, be it my very self or anyone else,
> has a mandate to speak on behalf of Gambians no matter how deluded we
> might be in our assumptions of responsibility.
> The second issue is whether the opinions of the most outspoken people
> online should be taken as being representative of the majority of
> Gambians. As alluded to earlier, many people are discouraged from
> partaking of the discussions online due to various reasons including
> limitations in the usage of the English language. Some do not have the
> time to engage in the back and forth that characterizes many
> discussions, the name-calling, the labeling etc., some are discouraged
> by relatives back home and some are plain scared. Does that mean that
> they do not have opinions? Does that mean that they do not express
> their opinions in platforms different from the internet? The answer
> cannot be in the affirmative in all cases. There are many people who
> just read and do not participate in the discussions and do not make
> their opinions known regarding the situation back home but might be
> contributing in other ways. Since writing online exposes one to
> unpredictable and sometimes unpleasant responses, many choose to keep
> quiet. However, their silence should not be misconstrued as being in
> acceptance of the positions of the most vocal. Their silence should
> not
> be misconstrued as abnegating their opinions and positions. As such,
> it
> should be accepted that anyone who expresses an opinion online speaks
> on his / her own behalf or those who opine with him / her and is not a
> representative of the sum total of Diaspora Gambians.
> The next issue is whether the opinions and aspirations of Diaspora
> Gambians and Gambians at home are the same. Some of us, including
> myself, sound like broken records regurgitating the same rhetoric for
> many years without the most miniscule of changes having been effected
> with regard to the status quo in Gambia. This means that we are either
> not effective in delivering our message or that we are out of sync
> with
> the opinions and aspirations of those we claim to be fighting for. It
> is very easy to blame the Gambians on the ground be they political
> leaders, religious leaders or the ordinary Samba or Demba. This takes
> away the responsibility of introspection from us. The same 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. Whilst we are pointing the
> finger of blame at Gambians on the ground, we should be doing more
> introspection to correct ourselves. If we are as we want Gambians on
> the ground to be, the issue of showing solidarity to people being
> victimized would not arise. However, if we close our eyes to our
> inadequacies and pontificate to Gambians at home, the gap in our
> opinions and aspirations will widen. One mentions a gap in opinion and
> aspirations because that is the reality. Some of us have become so
> fixated with what we deem to be the problems affecting Gambia and what
> we believe are the solutions that we have become intolerant of
> differing opinions. This is a liability because in many an instance,
> we
> have been away from the country for a long time and the ideals and
> opinions we hold dear are no longer the same as those of the average
> Samba and Demba in Gambia. If I can remember correctly, Yusupha Jow
> tried to educate us about this disconnect between our ideals and
> opinions when he came back from his visit to Gambia some years back
> but
> people got on him. I cannot remember the exact exchanges but what I
> got
> from those exchanges was that he was somehow being painted as a
> sellout
> because what he saw made him present opinions contrary to the
> prevalent
> view. I saw the same disconnect when I visited Gambia. During the Yaya
> AIDS cure period, many online said all kinds of things and some even
> wanted to change citizenship because of embarrassment but many, many
> people in Gambia actually believed that Yaya could indeed cure AIDS. I
> was in the country at the time and even educated people believed it.
> People, even educated people, believe that Yaya has magical powers.
> Many believe that Yaya ?dafa yaa bopa?. People sitting in Bakau would
> be afraid of talking about Yaya because they believe he can hear them
> whilst sitting in Kanilai. This might sound ridiculous to many but
> people actually believe it. That is the reality of things in Gambia.
> Why would people impose curfews on themselves during the time it was
> said Yaya?s spirits escaped? They did so because they actually
> believed
> it. 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. Whilst democracy, human
> rights etc. are basic necessities in any decent and civilized society,
> we accord them positions of necessity discordant with those accorded
> them by the average Samba or Demba preoccupied with how to find the
> next meal for his / her family. This does not absolve the Samba or
> Demba of his / her responsibility to demand his / her God-given
> rights.
> It just shows that expediency takes precedence over principle. Maybe
> ignorance of one?s rights is the reason. Can he / she be faulted? Most
> if not all of us who come online do so on a full stomach with roofs
> over our heads. Many in Gambia do not have this privilege. How would
> we
> behave in their positions?
> Is the failure of people to participate in the discussion of Gambian
> issues online tantamount to sitting on the fence? The participation in
> discussions online is a voluntary endeavour. As such, the time and
> importance accorded to individual topics and issues are governed by
> the
> time an individual has, interest in the topic, willingness to engage
> etc. An individual might fail to participate in a topic because he /
> she simply does not have time due to work, health and domestic
> priorities. He / she might fail to participate because he / she is not
> interested, is not willing to expose himself / herself to back and
> forth arguments. As years come and go, people?s participation has
> varied. Some have been vocal or active for a few years, silent for a
> few only to reemerge to restart the cycle. Failure to participate in a
> given topic, no matter how important to those discussing it, should
> not
> be misconstrued as representing fence-sitting. Even if it represents
> fence-sitting, people might sit on the fence because they have no
> opinion about a certain issue or their opinions are not strong enough
> to warrant engagement. Should they have this privilege?
>
> TO BE CONTINUED.
>
> Buharry.
>
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