"Emmanuel DaCosta",
I thank you for your comments on Gambia-L which you addressed directly to
me.
I should inform you that my sources are people of great integrity, and that
they would never seek to fabricate the truth for the sake of a political
point. My sources put their lives on the line each time they communicate
with us in the Diaspora ( were you aware that some Iranian computer hackers
have recently been brought into The Gambia by Jammeh to try to track down
where the messages are coming from ?
My sources are people who could easily make a comfortable life in the West,
but are putting themselves and their families at risk and sacrificing
themselves for the sake of their country by remaining at home. They even go
to the extent of telephoning me on my mobile phone in the UK, to let me know
that they have posted more messages to my personal mail box: these phone
calls are extremely expensive for them to make from The Gambia. But these
are indications of the importance my sources place on providing up-to-date
information to those of us out of the country.
Equally, I myself have an extremely busy schedule these days, but I am
trying to find time to post on these messages from my sources at home, and
also to provide incisive comment and analysis on issues relating to The
Gambia.
I cannot personally vouch for the accuracy or otherwise of the reports
submitted by my sources: I see it as my role to post on to the List all
relevant materials relating to events submitted by them. Where I can, I
provide additional comment: where I cannot, I send the messages without
comment. It is precisely for Gambians like yourself to decide how much
faith you wish to place in the information being submitted by my sources. I
have to say, in my sources’ defence, that they have usually proved to be
accurate: in the case of this tragedy, time will tell.
The information on the "accident" at the moment is very scanty, and there
are several discrepancies in the current reports: for instance, according
to the story in The Point Newspaper of 9th January 2001, the "accident"
happened because a front tyre burst: yesterday, the Observer Newspaper
(like my source’s e-mail) told of how the "accident" was caused by the
bursting of rear tyres. The Pan African News Agency (PANA) in their report,
say merely that the tyre(s) burst.
At this stage, nobody knows really what happened: one of my sources tells
us that having spoken to two of his contacts in the NIA and the Army, it
seems to him that a grenade was used to cause the "accident". None of those
who survived have yet been able to give first-hand reports on what actually
happened, and on what they feel might have been the cause of the "accident".
Let us therefore wait for the survivors to tell us their accounts of and
opinions on what and how it happened. It will then be the time to undertake
further interpretation, analysis and comment.
You’ll be surprised to hear this, but I myself have been in touch with
friends in Banjul and, interestingly, the grenade theory is very rife there.
Many people genuinely believe that a grenade (or similar sinister device)
was the direct cause of the accident. Anyway, only time will tell, and
there needs to be a thorough investigation of this terrible tragedy.
No-one should be scoring political points from a dreadful event such as this
one.
We all send our condolences and prayers to the families of the bereaved.
Ebrima Ceesay
Birmingham, UK
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