New York.  July 16, 2006
  By Momodou Baldeh 
   
  “We agreed to be equal when we were not.” – Hamat Bah (NRP Leader)
   
  “This place is not hot! You have never been close to the raging fires of hell, have you?” I responded that I could not have been there when I was not even dead and besides, there could be no such place on earth.  The Malian elder looked at me in the eye and said, “Go to Kayes in Mali and you’ll know what I’m talking about.”  I responded that I did not intend to visit hell, not even in the very near future.  He brushed off my remark with his left hand, looked at what was remaining of his mango, and buried his face into the juicy part.  I walked away from the man with the belief that somewhere, far beyond the plains of Basse, a land exists whose people lived close to jahanama.
   
  It was a simmering day in the Big Apple.  The heat was bouncing off New York City in successive waves, but it did not deter Gambians from going to meet Hon. Hamat Bah at the Gambia Society Hall in The Bronx, last Sunday.  As usual, the meeting started late. Three hours after the scheduled time, the program had not kicked off.  Someone said that Mr. Bah was coming from Atlanta where he had had another meeting the previous night.  As we waited, Gambian kora maestro, Papa Suso, entertained the crowd with short renditions of traditional hits.  I was almost lulled into sleep.
   
  When Mr. Bah finally walked up to the podium around 7pm, dressed in a 3-piece white haftan, one could see a sense of relief on the faces of the crowd.  The sweltering heat in the hall had already driven some of them out on to the street.
   
  Amidst the murmurs, some participants confessed that it was their first time seeing the erstwhile National Assembly Member (NAM) of Upper Saloum.  For others, Mr. Bah was a friend, a confidant, and a political leader with whom they had interacted for many years.
   
  After the formal opening remarks with the usual prayer and a short sermon by Imam Sillah, the MC, Demba Sanyang, began handing the microphone to the panelists.  The first speaker, Omar Trawally, stated that since the creation of the UDP/NRP coalition, he had been hearing about Hamat Bah, but had never met him in person.  He said Lawyer Ousainou Darboe had told him that Hon. Hamat Bah decided to ally with the UDP “without any conditions attached.”  He referred to Mr. Bah as a great person who deserves a lot of respect for such a selfless move.  He urged the UDP/NRP militants to rally behind Ousainou and Hamat in order to defeat Jammeh in September.
   
  Mr. Omar Kebba Mass, the former UDP NAM for Kiang West, denounced the appalling human rights record and degrading economic situation in The Gambia under President Jammeh.  He called on the Opposition to unite under a single flag bearer and shun tribalism.
   
  The third speaker, the former NRP NAM for Kiang Central, Mr. Musa Njadoe, said he was elated to see Mr. Bah at the meeting.  He confessed that he owes his personal achievement to three people, namely: God, his parents, and Hamat Bah.  He told the crowd that only a UDP/NRP coalition could remove Jammeh, come September 22.  
   
  Mr. Njadoe said that he could not conclude without saying a word or two about NADD. He disputed the claim that Halifa Sallah, the current NADD flag bearer, is not interested in a leadership position.  “This, he said, “is not true.”  “Otherwise how can one explain that this same person who was once the coordinator of NADD is now its flag-bearer?” he surmised.  He concluded by saying that Halifa has to decide whether he wants to be a player or a referee, but not both at the same, to the applause of some participants.
   
   
  The former Administrative Secretary of the NRP, Mr. Bureh Jawo, in a speech that sounded like a catalog of errors, chided the APRC government and its predecessor, the AFPRC, for its poor performance since coming to power in 1994.  He lamented the deteriorating security and economic situation in The Gambia and the general suffering of the people. 
   
  Recalling the promises made by the junta on July 22, 1994, he said it is now evident that none of them has been kept.  He urged Gambians to wake up to the challenge by supporting the Opposition to unseat Jammeh’s government at the forthcoming presidential elections.
   
  The next speaker, Mr. Saihou Mballow, the former UDP candidate for Jimara in the 1997 parliamentary elections, equally denounced the Jammeh government for its poor human rights record, citing the arbitrary arrests and detention without trial of Gambian citizens and the persistent muzzling of the press.
   
  Mballow went on to say that as democracy is about numbers, he thinks it is justified that the Gambian Opposition should rally behind the party with the largest following, alluding to the UDP.  “Democracy is about numbers,” he emphasized.  He finalized by introducing the executive members of the UDP/NRP coalition support group, based in New York.
   
  Other speakers included Mr. Bakary Sawaneh of the Gambia Society of New York. According to Mr. Sawaneh, the resources of the hall are made available to all Gambians irrespective of political affiliation.  He said the Society is apolitical and therefore does not discriminate in hosting any political group, even the APRC.
   
  Mr. Bakusa Dukuray, an elder from the Sarahule community, urged the Opposition to work together.  He said it is only by uniting their forces that the Opposition can win the elections.
   
  In a brief speech, Ms. Mariama Darboe pointed out that her support for the UDP/NRP coalition had nothing to do with her family relationship with the UDP leader, Lawyer Darboe.  “However, I agree that democracy is about numbers.  Even in the US, the bigger states such as New York have more electoral votes than other states,” she added.
   
  Ms. Tuku Jallow, a UDP stalwart, reminisced about the ‘good old days’ under the Jawara government.  She strongly denounced Jammeh’s human rights performance. Ms. Jallow passionately expressed her unflinching support for the UDP leader and his new ally, Hamat Bah, who she jokingly referred to as “talkative”.  She encouraged them to work together in defeating Jammeh at the polls.  
   
  When Hamat Bah stood up to take the floor, his speech was briefly interrupted by praise singing from the griots present at the meeting.  After apologizing to the gathering for coming late due to previous engagements in Atlanta, Hamat did not waste any time in pointing out that he thinks some mistakes had been made at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on January 17, 2004 that led to the creation of the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD).  “We agreed to be equal when we were not equal,” he quipped.  He pointed out that examples abound in Africa where the largest opposition party always led the coalition, citing neighboring Senegal as one such case.  He therefore could not understand why the Opposition in The Gambia could be any different.  
   
  He added that differences also arose over the issue of leadership and deplored the idea that some members of NADD had also wanted them to sort out the issue of power sharing before even a government was in place.  “They wanted us to split the cake before even it was baked,” he said, occasionally wiping off the sweat from his face.
   
  According to the NRP strongman, it was in reaction to this conflict of interests that he decided to join forces with the UDP rather than remain in NADD.  He was quick to point out that in the course of his US tour he has heard a general call from Gambians for the unity of the Opposition.  
  “Although I think that the UDP/NRP alliance can defeat Jammeh, we can do it better with the assistance of the other opposition parties,” he admitted.  He said that plans were already under way to achieve that objective by August 15.  In a combative tone, Mr. Bah did not mince his words for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and its Chairman, Mr. Ndondi Njie.  “I don’t even refer to the IEC as the Independent Electoral Commission, just the Electoral Commission,” said Bah.  He condemned the fraudulent voter registration that has been taking place in The Gambia under the watchful eyes of Ndondi Njie.
   
  Mr. Bah told the gathering that the population of the Gambia has decreased due to the mass exit of Gambians and non-Gambians alike. He said that the recent tax levies on foreigners has forced certain nationalities such as Senegalese and Guineans to flee the country. According to Bah, Senegalese in Farafenni have gone across the border to Keur Ayip to escape the high taxes.  He referred to Farafenni and Bureng as ghost towns, which once used to have vibrant economic activities.
   
  In his closing remarks, Mr. Bah went into a tirade against what he referred to as Gambians who are hiding behind pseudo names in cyber space to spread malicious lies about other people.  He exhorted Gambians to use the internet positively for dialogue rather than engage in insults and character assassination.  Finally, he encouraged Gambians, especially the youth to pursue higher education.  “You can contribute better to national development if you go home with a degree,” he said.  He closed his speech by advising Gambian families not to forget about their positive culture and inculcate the same values in their children.
   
  Different questions were raised from the floor.  One recurring question was what the UDP/NRP leadership would do if President Jammeh should fail to honor an Opposition victory.  Mr. Bah responded that the UDP/NRP alliance would respect the rule of law and resort to legal action, if necessary.  When pressed further about such a possibility, he said the Opposition was not sleeping and they will take the appropriate action.  When asked why he has now decided to ally with a party that he had referred to as a party of thieves during a TV interview in 1996, he responded that the thieves and criminals had since left the UDP.  The NRP leader cautioned journalist Lamin Keita to make sure that he quotes him correctly.  “Someone misquoted me by saying that I referred to diasporans as liars.  I did not say all diasporans. What I said was some diasporans, some… are liars.”
   
  As the meeting wore on, the intense heat was taking its toll on Mr. Darboe’s running mate and the dwindling crowd in the hall.  During his intervention, Mr. Lamin Taal (a.k.a. Mboge) made a poignant remark about fundraising for the Opposition.  He reminded the crowd that despite the large presence of Gambians in such gatherings they are usually nowhere to be found when it comes to raising funds.
   
  As I stepped out of the hall, a gust of hot wind brushed against my face.  I thought about the Gambian farmer who, as Hamat Bah had said, is yet to be paid for last year’s produce and the countless people suffering as a result.  Indeed somewhere, on a tiny piece of land, some people are living close to hell.
   
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