Hi Ebrima,
As you clearly stated in the first part of your response to the silly
insinuations by the Independent Editors, it is true that"our views are as
pertinent and as vital as anyone else's", regardless of where we are-be it
at home or abroad.

  It seems Baba Galleh is harbouring some form of complex against those of
us who are living in the West. This is rather sad for as you stated, living
in the West could even be harder.  Some of us do all kinds of jobs to
survive.  We face all kind of difficulties-racism etc yet we take it in our
stride, all in the name of 'jomm'. We carry a much heavier responsibility
for we are always afraid of failing. Ebrima, Baba Galleh carries a 'chip' on
his shoulder.  He never impressed me.

  Ebrima, at least Baba Galleh was lucky enough to be sponsored by the
Gambian tax payer to go to FBC.  You and many of us never had the luxury.
Ebrima, history shall be the judge of the truth.  Let Baba delude himself in
assuming that his battle is nobler just because he happens to be on the
'ground'.

Rather than debating in an informed manner that befits a genuine journalist,
he took things personal. THe 10 points you stated are simply the truth.

Keep up the good work. Waiting anxiously for the second part of your
response to the Independent.

Cherno Baba Jallow:Bravo for the good work.  Keep it up. Is this the same
Cherno Baba Jallow who wrote that excellent article for the NEW AFRICAN
magazine some time ago?

Let us focus our energies on our common enemy-Buffoon Y. Jammeh.  Baba you
are welcome on board.  Did they shake you with the citizenship thing for
you to become a praise singer for the APRC?  Maybe the Independent should
dedicate an issue to the plight of our brother DUMO SAHO and others?

May peace and prosperity befall my beloveth Gambia and Africa,
Long live the truth.

Mboge





>From: Ebrima Ceesay <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Independent editorial: A reply (Part 1)
>Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 11:03:39 GMT
>
>Note: Because of a very bad "Flu" which has forced me into bed since Sunday
>evening, I was unable to browse the Internet yesterday being Monday.
>Therefore, for the first time, I am seeing yesterday's nasty editorial of
>the Independent newspaper, in which they unjustifiably attacked me and
>Cherno Baba Jallow simply because we took issue with them on their earlier
>editorial entitled: "Time for a Re-think."
>
>Anyway, having just finished reading the Independent editorial, it was my
>wish to take some quality time and work on a more sober, a more appropriate
>and a more comprehensive response; but after a second thought, I felt
>obliged to send a quick reply NOW in a bid to set the record straight. So
>take note that this is part one of my response, but please do watch for
>part
>two as well.
>
>********************************************************************
>
>Dear Editors:
>
>Re: Disappointing Rejoinders
>
>I beg to differ with the writer of the Editorial of yesterday's date (17th
>July) that my rejoinder to the Independent's earlier editorial (10-13th
>July) was in any way disappointing or sour. All of us in the public eye,
>whether we are the President of the country, one of the Editorial Board of
>a
>Gambian-based Newspaper or an independent and exiled opponent of the
>current
>regime like myself, are used to being criticised, held to account for our
>views and recipients of a range of public approbation or disapprobation.
>
>The whole of my rejoinder to the first of the Independents' editorials was
>made in good faith, and I strongly object to any suggestion that this was
>not the case.
>
>In my rejoinder, I responded to 10 specific issues which were raised by the
>editorial: namely:
>
>1. The origin of power of the AFPRC/ now the APRC.
>2. The supposed civilian nature of the current regime.
>3. The nature of the so-called "successes" of the APRC regime.
>4. The poor state of our Health Service.
>5. The state of our roads.
>6. The state of our electricity supply.
>7. The state of our Judiciary.
>8. The harassment of individuals and groups and the murder of    innocents
>in our country.
>9. The economic decline of our nation.
>10. The questionable state of our national media services.
>
>You could argue that my ten responses as outlined above, gave backbone to
>my
>disappointment with the political regime in The Gambia, but it is totally
>unfair to claim that my rejoinder was a disappointing one: it was a
>considered, carefully-researched piece backed by a wealth of evidence from
>both my sources in The Gambia and the "public voice" of Gambian citizens.
>
>I have not ANY hesitation in admitting that I feel a degree of "sourness"
>in
>my heart, intellect and spirit, when I consider how the APRC regime has
>brought my country to its current desperate straits. Of course, I feel sour
>and despondent as well as angry, because my country has been brought to its
>knees. There is no dispute about the results of six years of misrule by a
>military band of thugs. But let there be no mistake: my "sourness" is
>directed towards Yahya Jammeh and his minions: it is not aimed at people
>who
>are also playing a part on the stage of life in today's Gambia: nor does it
>epitomise any "lack of good faith" on my part.
>
>I am a journalist/reporter who, in December 1996, had to leave his homeland
>for three reasons: to enhance my intellect; to avoid trumped-up charges of
>treason against the government being brought before me; and, more
>importantly, to protect my family who were increasingly the subject of
>threats and intimidation.
>
>Yes, Mr editors, I left the Gambia for the UK, but let us not be under ANY
>misapprehensions about my (or any other person's condition in the UK or in
>the Diaspora). Life here in the West (without a financially sound sponsor)
>is infinitely harder than at home: In fact, in my case, I even made more
>money while I was in the Gambia than here. As a BBC correspondent in the
>Gambia during the transition period, I made - apart from being paid an
>annual retainer fee - about £50 pounds each time I sent a report which
>would
>not even last for fives minutes.
>
>And, Mr editors, here in the UK, like many Gambians abroad, I am also not
>cushioned by my extended family in my struggle for survival: in the West,
>Mr
>editors, I am totally on my own. I do not claim Social Security payments
>from the UK government. I am attempting to survive independently on a small
>salary, and I am doing the best that I can to maintain an effective
>Oppositional voice to the current despotic Gambian leadership.
>
>Dear editors, please note that I AM NOT SITTING OUT HERE IN AN IVORY TOWER:
>my lifestyle is anything but that. I struggle to maintain e-mail contact
>with The Gambia List and my sources in The Gambia, and I am doing this at
>my
>own expense, without a personal computer linked to the internet. (My
>personal computer is still not connected to the Net).
>
>You claim that I am speaking in "extremely irrational" terms with a mindset
>aimed at destroying the Independent Newspaper's credibility.  Nothing could
>be further from the truth. I try to couch all my postings to Gambia-L in
>non-prevocative, impartial and unemotional language. I am not out to seek
>to
>destroy anyone's credibility. I am merely trying to speak the truth as it
>impacts on Gambian life and institutions at present.
>
>I certainly grant you that I am a dedicated opponent of Jammeh and his
>policies, but that does not mean, as you imply, that I am "casting
>aspersions on others suffering hell on the ground". I am in the UK because
>I
>put myself on the line: I seek only to report the truth as it comes to me
>from my many sources and contacts in The Gambia. Why should you think that
>I
>do not empathise and sympathise with those Gambians who have been able to
>stay safely in The Gambia ? My sources are putting themselves at incredible
>risk by posting their messages to me electronically and on regular
>telephone
>lines. They are the ones who report to me about the "hell on the ground"
>that characterises The Gambia in July 2000.
>
>My dearest wish is to return to the country of my birth, where my family
>lives: How can you chastise me in your newspaper and imply that I am not
>coming home right now to "fight the battle on the ground"? I am doing my
>best as an honest and a true concerned Gambian citizen abroad so as to put
>forward a credible opposition to the thugs who are ruling our nation.
>
>If I came home now, what realistically would be my personal fate? For sure,
>within a very short time, I should be at best be languishing in one of our
>prisons awaiting trial for treason (like so many fellow Gambians): at worst
>I should be dead/murdered. Dear editors, I am not an idealistic fool: I am
>rather an informed pragmatist. I am not going to be the rotting corpse
>whose
>resting place was known only to the perpetrators of my murder. I will not
>compromise my ideals for short-term gain: my aims are longer term, and my
>mind-set is on putting our wonderful country back on the right track as
>soon
>as possible.
>
>Mr editors, my postings on Gambia-L over the last three years have been
>characterised by rationality, good faith and honesty: ABOVE ALL, HONESTY. I
>have never, ever in my life been accused of "cowardice" or "dishonesty" and
>I take great exception to this editorial which implies both these things in
>my personality and actions. Where are your grounds for these accusations ??
>I have never been anything but an honest and forthright critic of the
>current political regime. I have never been anything but a supporter of
>those who have been unfairly criticised, implicated or charged. I am a
>supporter of truth, justice and impartiality.
>
>My cynicism is in direct relation to the inequities of the APRC regime.
>Make
>no mistake about this: my arguments and opposition relate to Mr Jammeh and
>his policies, and not to any Editor of any newspaper or media interest.
>
>I have never posted any article on electronic mail which was less than
>honest, less than representative of The Gambian majority point of view. I
>make my postings to The Gambia List in good faith, and I never claim
>ownership of the postings: they are not mine; they belong to those
>concerned
>and anxious fellow citizens who feel it necessary to speak their truth to
>the international community through my auspices.  I attempt to avoid
>cynicism because our country needs realists and pragmatists in these early
>days of democratisation.
>
>As a "rational and honest reader of your editorial policy", I am fully able
>to appreciate the nature of your editorial policy: however, I remain deeply
>suspicious of your comments and pronouncements, because I do not fully
>understand "where you are coming from". The Editorial Board of the
>Independent Newspaper either supports the Jammeh regime, or it does not.
>Your editorials have been equivocal in nature. Where  exactly do you stand
>?? Mr editors, believe me, Gambians are no fools!
>
>You made some pertinent negative comments about the Jammeh regime in the
>editorial of 10-13th July, but the overall tenor of your opinion column (as
>perceived by your wide readership both at home in The Gambia and abroad)
>was
>pro-Jammeh. There was an overtone of "you scratch my back".
>
>In the light of your comment that "their (mine and Cherno's) motives,
>though
>carefully couched in the language of healthy debate, are absolutely clear
>to
>us", I would ask you, in all honesty, to delineate which of my motives or
>language were not in the best interests of the future of our Gambian nation
>?
>
>Mr editors, I am not afraid to engage in debate about any issue, nor do I
>seek to close any doors of communication on my differences of opinion with
>the Independent's leader writers. I remain open to any genuine debate on
>issues which affect my country.
>
>Mr editors, I wish I had the resources or the backing to start up my own
>independent newspaper in the west: it is a fine dream, and I endeavour in
>my
>daily life to make it a reality. However, I remain a realist: I shall
>continue to do the best that I can for my country with the small resources
>that are available to me.
>
>I urge the editorial writers of the Independent to continue their debates
>and communications with all Gambians who feel the need to speak on behalf
>of
>their country. Please do not try to silence our voice because we are not
>based in The Gambia. Our views are as pertinent and as vital as anyone
>else's.
>
>We Gambians who have been forced to flee our native land have "urgent and
>serious matters of national concern to attend to".
>
>
>Ebrima Ceesay
>Birmingham UK
>
>
>Postscript:
>
>Baba Galleh!! Why did you address your posting on the List to me on
>Wednesday 12th July in these terms ????:
>
>"Sir Coach,
>
>"Thanks for your brilliant rejoinder. We respect your right to your opinion
>and do not expect that you will like everything that we write".
>
>Baba Galleh - what has gone wrong that the tenor of your postings to me
>(and
>to Cherno Baba) have changed so much in substance in four days?? You know
>the reasons for my being abroad better than most: you also know that I have
>never been a "minimalist" in my commentaries on Gambian realities. You of
>all people know that I am not "parsimonious with the truth". I am exerting
>myself in the UK to inform The Gambian people as fully as I can.
>
>My matters, in terms of peace and restoration of democracy in The Gambia,
>are as urgent and serious as yours.
>
>Why would you refuse to enter into any further debate or communication with
>me or Cherno? We write what we are led to believe by our sources in The
>Gambia (as well as from our own convictions). What "serious matters of
>national concern" do you need to attend to, which are in any way different
>from mine or Cherno's ??
>
>Anyway, in part two of my reply, I'll outline the lessons you need to learn
>if you TRULY call yourself an editor of an "Independent" newspaper.
>
>
>
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