Hi Buharry:

I wholly agree with you on the first portion of your article and have some
observations on the second segment. It is true as you put it, that The
Gambia has long neglected investing in culture. In fact, you will discover
the same imbalance in all other sectors as well. The Gambia is still a very
vulnerable country relying heavily on Senegal. Senegal knows this beyond
doubt and will always play it to their advantage. No one can blame them for
putting their national interest first.

We cannot deny the reality of the economic inequity that prevail between
these two countries. But, remember that the French invested heavily in
Senegal even before Senegalese independence. The French were also well
integrated into the country even after Senegalese independence that
continued to benefit the country. Compare it to what took place in The
Gambia; the British were just the contrast to the French.

I was indeed caught by surprise when I made my first trip to Dakar in 1979.
That was when I started asking questions. Unfortunate to say that the
underdevelopment that is ghosting us in The Gambia is due to bad leadership
from  colonial period until now. I disagree with you as you try to hold
responsible of the imbalance between the two countries on the Gambians for
not preferring something Gambian above Senegalese. The point is that these
two countries are well integrated, and if The Gambian public is able to
acquire Senegalese music or labour etc. of higher quality then it is obvious
that that´s  what they will choose. It is up to The Gambian musicians or
workers to meet higher standards and compete.

The Gambian structure of modern music has ceased to cultivate since the days
of Ifangbondi. Even during the finest days of Ifangbondi, Gelewarr etc.,
they were completely futile to create anything current and fashionable for
people to consume. Then you have the Senegalese who were very creative and
was able to snatch the scene from the Gambians, producing new albums almost
every year, whilst the Ifangbondi e.g.. just lingering and procrastinating
on the same songs for over 20 years. They were good songs, but people got
tired of  listening monotonously to the same thing. Not only were they
ineffective, but there is always an overwhelming amount of mismanagement and
even self-destructive behaviours within  Gambian bands, except Jaliba who
came later on the scene.
Ifangbondi and even Gelewarr those days  had all the potential and support
to emerge as Africa's number 1 bands and be in the books, but what happened?

The big brother-small brother perception between the two countries reflexes
the same between Sweden and Finland. But Finland was able to organized
itself, managed their small resources well, invested in education and IT.
The Finnish had a strategic plan that worked very well for them and today
stands just as strong as Sweden.
I´m afraid that telling Gambians to listen to Musa Ngum instead of Youssou
Ndure will be a hard work for both you and Musa, because it means he has a
lot of catching-up to do. But until we also acquire good political leaders
who are ready to effectively work well for the well-being of the country,
I´m afraid the present state of affairs will prevail for quite a while.

Thanks for Sharing!

 Saul S.Jawara
Stockholm.















----- Original Message -----
From: "Momodou Buharry Gassama" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 1:34 PM
Subject: THE NEED FOR A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO GAMBIA-SENEGAL RELATIONS


> THE NEED FOR A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO GAMBIA-SENEGAL RELATIONS
>
> The recent events in The Gambia have highlighted a serious deficiency
> in the country?s foreign policy apparatus especially in relation to
> Senegal. This deficiency has the potential, as has been witnessed, to
> seriously affect not only bilateral relations but to hamper or even
> paralyse many aspects of Gambian life. As countries related to and
> interdependent on each other, it is imperative that relations between
> Gambia and Senegal be based on principles of co-operation, equality,
> partnership and mutual respect. This can only be achieved if the
> governments of the two countries, realising the special relationship
> between The Gambia and Senegal, work in tandem to bring about policies
> that will help to promote and advance the aspirations of both countries
> in all aspects. This has however not been the case. What has so far
> prevailed is the pursuit of policies by both governments exclusively
> beneficial to the interests of their governments and people without due
> consideration being given to the impact on the other side of the
> border. This has resulted in a serious imbalance in relations between
> the two countries in most instances advantageous to Senegal. This
> imbalance has taken several forms and it will be helpful to identify
> some of the factors responsible.
>
> As a country that has heavily invested in the cultural sector in
> contrast to The Gambia that has practically neglected this sector for
> decades, Senegal has been able to successfully harness the potential of
> its citizens into a dominant power within Senegambia relations. The
> result is a de facto state of cultural colonialism where Gambian
> cultural life is dominated by Senegalese images, sounds and symbols.
> The impact this has had is the paralysis of the Gambian cultural
> sector. This is evidenced by the rejection of Gambian cultural
> enterprises by Gambians in favour of Senegalese ones with the resultant
> comatose state of The Gambia?s cultural industry. What does this entail
> in reality? If a Gambian wants spiritual healing or guidance, he/she
> bypasses the spiritual leaders in The Gambia and travels to Senegal. If
> a Gambian wants to watch a Senegambian movie, he/she bypasses the local
> theatre groups and gets one from Senegal. If a Gambian wants to listen
> to Senegambian music, he/she bypasses the Gambian musicians and gets
> one from Senegal. If a Gambian wants to speak ?proper? Wollof, he
> attaches a Senegalese tinge to it etc. This leaves The Gambia without
> heroes or people to look up to and this is very detrimental to the
> national psyche. It is left weak and vulnerable to all types of
> manipulation. This can be said to be one of the factors behind the ?big
> brother ? small brother complex? between Gambians and Senegalese with
> the consequential underlying Gambian hostility and underlying
> Senegalese haughtiness.
>
> Another area of imbalance is the economic. The inequity in the
> cultural sector translates to the investment in the Senegalese cultural
> industry with its resultant advancement and modernisation to the
> detriment of the Gambian cultural sector and those engaged within it.
> The economic aspect is not exclusive to the cultural sector but extends
> further to other facets within Senegambian relations. An example would
> be the awarding of contracts for building projects. One would notice
> that Senegalese building contractors are awarded many contracts by both
> government and private individuals. In the process of fulfilling such
> contracts, everything is brought in from Senegal including machinery,
> skilled and even unskilled labour. After the contract is fulfilled,
> everything is taken back. How does this benefit The Gambia in terms of
> developing its human resources? How does this help to reduce
> unemployment in The Gambia if even unskilled labourers are brought in?
> How does this encourage industry in The Gambia if all the money is
> taken back to be invested in Senegal? The transfer of money across the
> border extends to the yearly religious expeditions to Senegal, the
> money spent on Senegalese artistic enterprises by Gambians both at home
> and abroad etc.
>
> After having looked at some of the imbalances within Senegambian
> relations, it would be beneficial to look at the policy follies.
>
> (TO BE CONTINUED)
>
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