Brother Laye Bamba,

I agree with you wholeheartedly that having different  factions in this
affiar, or factions in regards to any effort we undertake to take us forward is not
ideal.
Infact, George Sarr can tell you that I had a very heavy heart when an
alternate list was first set up because I felt that this would be divisive.

However, I was part of the Coalition funds list that was set up after I
called Joe Sambou on the telephone to discuss the issue of the fund and the lack of
response to enquiries by interested Gambians. It was then that he informed me
that a list had already been formed, and that I can ask George Sarr to add me
to the list.  I did that with the impression that it would be one that all
interested parties would be invited to join.

Prior to that, someone had asked me if he can nominate me to be part of the
committees they were going to organize, and I told them I would be glad to be
part of a committee but again, I assumed that the organization would be
inclusive of all Gambians who want to participate, and that these committees would be
how all participants would be organized into different focus groups. However,
this individual later infored me that he had submitted names of people he had
nominated, including mine, but that these were over-ruled by some people, and
a list was then set up i guess by these same  people.
After being informed of this, it was with trepidation that I added my name to
the list, but I did it anyway because I believed that no one had the right to
eliminate any Gambians who have interest to participate in this matter, and i
did not want to assume any negative thoughts before joining the group.

After my name was added to the list, a  non Gambian who is part of the group
advocated that only  those who pay into the fund should be allowed into the
group, and that all over the World, it is the people who control the money that
make the decisions,  and this is a direct quote. George Sarr and Haruna Darboe
objected to this view, and so did I although I had not said a word prior to
this because of the hostile atmosphere on the list. George Sarr also indicated
that the only criterion for joining should be that one is Gambian,  and that
he would delist himself if the prevailing opinion is to exclude Gambians based
on payment into the fund.

Then it was advocated that a vote be taken on the matter and it came out that
the majority of the handful in the group agreed that only those who have paid
into the fund should be allowed to join.
 After that,  one member demanded the names on the list so they can "remove
those who do not belong there" and there was further commentary that no one who
had failed to pay into the fund will be allowed to make any decisions here,
plus a few unsavory remarks i would rather not go into.
Haruna Darboe was delisted and I am not sure who else was, but I frankly
expected that I would be delisted too since I had not paid into the fund.

Then it was further advocated that the list be closed from accepting any more
members even though to my count, there were no more than 12 peopl at most on
the list. It was at this point that I decided it was time  to bow out and i
sent an email to the list explaining my reason for leaving. I never received one
single comment from anyone informing me that there was any effort under way
to open the list to all Gambians, although to be fair, you Laye, had written an
email to the list advocating that  payment into the fund  should not be the
criterion for joining the list.
Mr Gaye sent me an email later saying that they had a problem with one
individual who was belligerant and so this was the individual that they did not want
on the list.
I repeated my position regardign the criteria they had adopted and which i
cannot be party to.
It is a fact that there has  been enquiries on G-L, by interested Gambians
regarding the effort under way, and  to which no one has responded. Infact I
can say that we have been completely ignored, and  I wrote an email to this
effect,  and no commentary from anyone followed.

I do understand that Joe Sambou has been dealing with bereavements in his
family, and my heart truely goes out to him and his extended family, but others
could have responded because I am sure they saw the enquiries and comments just
like you saw this one and have responded to it. However, no one responded to
give any explanation in an effort that is a Gambian effort, ,not a private
affair. You have said you are organizing the effort, but I think that should have
included extending an open invitation to Gambians who are interested, or at
least giving an update of any efforts under way to include everyone in thsi
effort, especially when people have taken the time to send enquiries ot this
list.

The focus of the list when I left was not an inclusive list and that was the
majority opinion and since I do not want to be part of any effort that
excludes Gambians especially in the determination of our destiny, I had no choice but
ot leave. Todate, I have not seen any effort by any of the people on the list
I left to  respond to any enquiries, provide an updates, respond to any
opinions or extend any invitations to have their compatriots join them in this
effort.

Therefore, i decided that since we cannot afford to be spectators and since
we do not have to limit ourselves to the decision of others in this matter, we
had no choice but to start to organize ourselves and not set any limitations
on  criteria for Gambians to participate in this effort because the very
essence of the effort is to have Gambians be participants in the political decision
making process, and that infact, this is the very begining of a model for
that.

Sidibeh, Conteh and others, as well as myself had simply expressed our
opinion that we need to confer as a general body first and do our part towards what
it takes to make  a coalition a reality first,  and that this takes the
involvement of all Gambians. The group you are part of disagreed, making payment
into the fund the only croiterion for joining the list and failed to respond to
enquiries from their compatriots.

If there is an effort underway by the already organized group on the list
that has been set up, and for  which the criteria for  participation is simply
that one is a Gambian and nothing else, then I welcome it wholeheartedly  and
will be happy to be part of it. Also, such a group needs to be announced so that
all who are interested can feel free to join, or at least, an update or
comment provided to give an indication that the goodwill to work together is there.
Otherwise, this is a time to have all Gambians take part in this decision,
and we do not have to waste time waiting for anyone to reach a decison to give
us the permission to do so.

From what I gathered in my brief presence in the already formed list, coupled
with the lack of response, I felt that we simply cannot afford to be
spectators in this matter and so if there is no response, then I shall appeal to those
who share my view that this is a matter we need to decide together to join
hands and move forward because to my knowledge, there was no appointment of
representatives to speak for the Gambians in the disapora. My position is that we
cannot be expected to sit on the sidelines while a few people decide if all
Gambians should have a voice in this matter, nor do we have to lobby people to
allow Gambians open access to this process. Marginalization of people by a
selected few is the cause of our problems and we cannot allow this ot happen
anymore if we are to accomplish our goals.

However, people have a right to determine the area of focus for groups they
form, and if the already established list is for those who have contributed to
the fund, then that is fine, and  i felt that the rest of us will have to
proceed along a more inclusive line.

In my email to the list before I left, I stated that the last thing that we
need is to have any signs of dissent in this effort because that will only
serve the interest of those who would like to see thsi effort fail, and I did not
want to do anything to show any sign of dissent.
 However,  the lack of response to enquiries, and the fear that this may end
up disrupting this entire effort  left me no choice but to decide to appeal to
those who share my view to come together and work towards making this the
collective proccess it should be.
Again, if there is a genuine effort underway to have open participation by
all Gambians, it will be my pleasure to join it, as I am sure it will also be
the pleasure of others who are very interested. However,  it is important to
note that this is not a process where any Gambian has to have the permission of
any other Gambian, or to fulfil any condition set by anyone else to
praticipate. It is our birthright as Gambians to be involved in something too important
to let fall to senseless discord.

If this effort fails, we would have failed ourselves and those who are
counting on this effort to move us forward, and nothing is more important than that
fact, and it is important to remember that and focus our efforts towards that
alone and we will not let anything else make this fail.

It is time we set aside our personal egos and get down to the business of
what is really important and we cannot loose sight of that or waste time to
convince those who want to own this process and exclude their compatriots for
whatever reason. I cannot imagine anything more important  in this effort than
encouraging full participation by all, otherwise, we would have missed the point
altogether.


Jabou Joh

In a message dated 8/16/03 1:41:40 PM Central Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:>
>
> <<"I appeal to all those who are concerned and want to participate in this
> effort to send me a private email so that we can discuss how organize
> ourselves and how to move forward. Once we have something concrete in
> place, we can then move on to the business of raising funds.">>
>
> Sis Jabou:
>
> Why do you think that a duplication of efforts, that have long been started
> and is already well underway, is the best solution to a difference in view
> points, principles and ideologies? I don't see your appealing for others to
> join you in forming another 'compin' to "discuss how organize ourselves and
> how to move forward.." as nothing more than duplicating, or perhaps
> antagonizing - albeit unintentionally - wh
> at has already been put in place.
> I urge you to add your effort in making that august body become one that
> will encompass as many different view points and ideologies as it possibly
> can. You seem to have very little patience in that regard.
>
> The logical answer to feeling 'left out' from a body is not always the
> formation of a 'rival' body to the dicatates of what YOU think that body
> ought to be. Especially where the aims and objectives are the same, as in
> this case.
>
> I see no difference in what you claim to abhor so much - political hegemony
> by a few.
>
> Like you, I have expressed my opinion in contrast to the notion that only
> those who have actually "put their money where their mouth is" ought to be
> part of the list-serve that is set up for discussion, which I am currently
> running. But there seem to be the wisdon of majority in that regard so far.
> Unlike you though, I did not opt out and advoca
> te for another 'compin' just
> because my view point does not seem to be considered. I see that as a
> weakness in character.
>
> You have more to contribute as a member of the group with differing
> opinions than one that stands to seek for a group that may be antagonizing
> the efforts of the existing group, even if that is not the intent. We
> should learn to tolerate differences in opinion and strive to work together
> no matter what those differences might be.
>
> On another note, I will not hold brief for Joe and others to whom questions
> were directed, but I am in a position to say that efforts are in place to
> answer some of the concerns raised here and Gambia-post. Joe, God bless the
> bro, have had a couple of bereavements in his family in the past weeks and
> as such, has been unable to attend to some of the issues. I urge all to
> take it a little bit easy on the castigations and exercise a wee bit
> patience for now.
> We must take note that there is a thin line between
> opinions and allegations, especially where there are no facts to back
> opinions.
>
> With all heads and hearts in one place, we can accomplish much more than we
> expect.
>
>
> -BambaLaye
>
> "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that
> matter."
> -M.L King Jr.
>
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