Buharry,

Many many thanks for a very insigthful look into the unerlying causes of the tragic turn of events. Unfortunately, these are the very causes no government commission of enquiry either in Senegal or Gambia will "discover". I wish though that I am proven wrong eventually. Good-neighbourliness needs constant nurturing, and while most of us readily become auto-patriots in times like these, both leaderships are clearly to blame. 

Once again thanks a lot,
Momodou S Sidibeh


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Momodou Buharry Gassama" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2003 4:10 AM
Subject: The Senegambian Football Crisis and its Implications


> Hi!
>      The very serious situation in our dear Senegambia has prompted me
> to once again break my silence and throw in a few bututs. I was
> completely shocked when I heard reports of the situation back home.
> This just brings to the fore the superficial boundary between
> fraternity and misplaced patriotism and the situation requires cool
> heads rather than  inflated egos and boiling hearts. The authorities
> on both sides of the border need to act in a mature and decisive
> manner to arrest the situation before it further deteriorates. They
> should look at the underlying causes and try to deal with them so as
> to reduce the tension that has been brewing beneath the surface for
> the past months and years. Authorities on both sides of the border
> should realise that Senegambia is greater than them, preceded them and
> shall outlive them. During moments such as these, common sense takes a
> back seat and destructive acts, with difficult to remedy implications,
> take to the fore as a manifestation of frustrations that have long
> simmered beneath the surface waiting for a catalyst to explode. Among
> the reasons for the simmering tensions between the two countries  in
> the recent past and the causes of the crisis are the following.
> 
> First, the increase in alien taxes that was recently imposed by the
> Gambia Government on foreigners in The Gambia. Many Senegalese were
> deeply affected and critical and some went as far as to return to
> Senegal after numerous appeals for a review of the fees were not
> heeded. The disillusionment of Senegalese who have spent many years of
> their lives in The Gambia having to pack up and leave so abruptly,
> resulted in their directing their frustrations at Gambians in general
> and not the authorities who imposed the taxes as can be gleaned from
> interviews with Senegalese returnees or those living in The Gambia
> struggling to meet the tariffs.
> 
> Second, the recent transport imbroglio involving the countries has
> contributed immensely to the souring of relations. When the Gambian
> authorities doubled the ferry fares for non-Gambian vehicles whilst
> exempting Gambian vehicles, this angered many Senegalese drivers and
> they reacted by  preventing vehicles from entering or leaving Senegal.
> Another transport issues was the negotiation of national transport
> quotas during the Transgambia Highway talks. Difficulties in reaching
> a balanced licensing scheme for commercial vehicles angered Senegalese
> drivers who chose to boycott the route resulting in Gambian road
> traders' frustrations. The Senegalese had dominated commercial
> transport between the two countries and the Gambians' attempts to
> remedy this drew anger from Senegalese drivers and their union.
> 
> The Casamance issue also added to tensions between the two countries.
> Senegalese perceptions that Gambian authorities side with the rebels
> and are somehow meddling in the conflict angered both the Senegalese
> Government and its population. This added to the already simmering
> tension and public officials made comments in the Senegalese media to
> that effect. The recent report that Gambia expelled Senegalese
> refugees from Casamance was negatively received and reported in
> Senegal.
> 
> The nationalistic approach to the problems between the countries by
> the Senegalese media is a major contributor to deepening negative
> perceptions of Gambians in Senegal. A major source that springs to
> mind is Wal Fadjri. During a commentary earlier today, a journalist
> was outlining the reasons for the problems between Gambia-Senegal and
> Senegal-Mauritania and his commentary was so shallow. He boiled downed
> the reason for the problems between Senegal and her two neighbours to
> Senegal being an established democracy and Gambia and Mauretania being
> military dictatorships. As such, Senegalese leaders are accustomed to
> acting in a democratic manner whilst Gambian and Mauritanian leaders
> have military tendencies. The report apportioned all blame for the
> crises between Senegal and her neighbours on the neighbours with
> Senegal the innocent, aggrieved party. This is simply wrong. Senegal
> and Gambia have had problems when Jawara was president and Jawara's
> regime was not a military dictatorship. The Senegalese Government has
> a constitutional responsibility to look after the interests of Senegal
> whilst the Gambia Government is constitutionally mandated to look
> after the interests of The Gambia. During negotiations on issues
> affecting the two countries, each side tries as much as possible to
> look after the interests of its people. This is the universal mode of
> negotiation and to sensationalise issues does not help matters.
> Journalist on both sides of the border should be responsible and try
> to refrain from whipping up emotions. When the Casamance refugees were
> allegedly deported from The Gambia, Couthia, the Senegalese comedian,
> who briefly hosted a show on Wal Fadjri, commented that
> Gambians "gorre wunyu". The way he said was funny at the time and I
> laughed so much but in retrospect, I can see the negative impact of
> such jokes.
> 
> Another reason for the tension is the Senegalese perception that
> Gambians have used and  betrayed them more than once. The Foday Kabbah
> talks and the Senegambia Confederation are examples. There was so much
> resentment when the Senegalese intervened to restore Jawara after the
> 1981 attempted coup, got into the Confederation only to have Gambia
> dissolve the Confederation after Jawara consolidated his grip on
> power. The Senegalese felt betrayed and used and this frustration is
> still there. Jawara hastily entered into the Senegambia Confederation
> as a junior partner and against the wishes of many of his citizens
> only to withdraw from it before the Senegalese could realise their
> goals. Many Senegalese felt duped.
> 
>  The cultural domination of Gambia by Senegal and the relative success
> of Senegalese professionals and  artisans in The Gambia is another
> factor. Senegal has for a long time dominated Gambia in terms of
> religion, music, sport, dress, theater and many other aspects. Many
> Gambian preachers, in order to sound knowledgeable imitate the
> Senegalese accent. Many singers also try to sound Senegalese in order
> to prove their professionalism. This has created a big brother
> mentality and has left some Senegalese arrogant in their relations
> with Gambians. Gambians on the other hand try to prove that they are
> worthy compatriots and many a time do not consider niceties when
> proving the Senegalese wrong.
> 
> The Gambian economic situation is another factor. These are trying
> times in The Gambia with many people frustrated about their inability
> to deal with rising prices, falling Dalasi, unemployment etc. The only
> thing that was missing in the recipe for disaster was a spark. This
> spark was provided when they saw Gambian fans being beaten by
> Senegalese security personal and heard the rumour that some Gambians
> were killed in Dakar. All the pent up anger and frustrations were
> vented at innocent Senegalese residing in The Gambia.
> 
> Another reason for the frustrations is the rhetoric before the match
> by both sides. It is not only Elhadj Diouf who is the culprit. I
> listened to a Gambian official being interviewed in Dakar and he was
> truly upping the ante. The rhetoric on both sides helped to add to the
> tensions and it is no surprise that emotions got out of control.
> 
> Another reason for the crisis is the ineptitude of the Senegalese
> security forces in dealing with the initial outbreak of violence and
> the inability of the Senegalese authorities responsible for stadium
> seating to anticipate and make arrangements. The two sets of fans
> should have been separated in such away that contact between them
> would not be possible entering, watching the game and leaving the
> stadium. The security services should have acted neutral and not be
> seen attacking Gambian supporters. As professionals, they should have
> handled the situation differently.
> 
> Finally, the failure of the Gambian authorities to take decisive
> action and security forces to nip the violence in the bud played an
> important role in the escalation of the crisis. The security services
> should have contemplated the violence after scenes of Gambians being
> beaten were shown on tv. They should have been on standby to deploy as
> soon as violence started. The Gambian authorities should have made
> decisive pronouncements of zero tolerance for violence and vandalism
> the moment they learnt about what was going on.
> 
> Now that we have looked at the causes of the crisis, the next question
> is the current situation. The fraternal relations between Senegal and
> Gambia have been dented. The unimaginable has happened. Gambians have
> been beaten in Senegal and when some ran into compounds to seek
> refuge, they were turned away and pushed into the arms of angry mobs.
> Senegalese have been beaten and one unfortunately killed in The
> Gambia. Their properties have been looted and destroyed. Years of hard
> work have just melted. Barbarism akin to that experienced in Rwanda
> and other areas where raw human emotion, nationalism and misplaced
> pride were allowed to rule over common sense has happened in
> Senegambia and the result is devastating. Gen. Niang is currently in
> The Gambia after a request by some 200 Senegalese citizens to be
> repatriated to Senegal was received. The situation is serious. What
> will happen if these people are repatriated? Will they vent their
> anger on Gambians living in Senegal? How will their stories be
> reported in Senegal? Will they be reported in such a way that anti-
> Gambian feelings will run high in Senegal? Will Gambians in Senegal
> then be attacked? Will Gambians take revenge on Senegalese in Gambia?
> These are indeed serious times and the silence of Jammeh and Wade is
> deafening! This is probably why Musa Ngum, the Gambian musician, in an
> interview on Sud FM, Dakar, before the match in Banjul said the two
> countries should not play against each other. The interviewer told him
> that it was just football but he said that such competitions have a
> tendency to bring problems and such problems were not desired in
> Senegambia.
> 
> What happens next? The two governments should issue a joint
> declaration condemning the violence in both countries. An inquiry
> should be carried into the causes of the violence and the reasons for
> the ineptitude of the security services in both countries in dealing
> with the problem. The two governments should try to deal with the
> thorny issues that are slowly poisoning relations between the two
> countries. They should work on policies and programs that would
> harmonise the relations between Gambians and Senegalese on both
> official and citizen levels. The media on both sides of the border
> should refrain from fanning the fires of discord. These are just a few
> recommendations. I will just conclude by stating that I am truly
> saddened by the turn of events because never in my life have I
> imagined that Gambians can turn on Senegalese and vice versa. The
> bonds that have defined Senegambia preceded any living Senegalese or
> Gambian and will outlive us all. We should therefore condemn in the
> strongest terms violence by either side on the other and work toward
> harmonising and making better our relationship for no country on earth
> is more related and similar to Gambia than Senegal and vice versa.
> Thank you.
> 
>                                                 Buharry.
> 
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