Dear Saul,

I recognize your frustration at what appears to be a slowness of
movement regarding issues that critical to the life and survival of
Gambians, yet I must point out several issues.

First and foremost...THIS IS AMERICA!  AMERICA does not care about
Africa, its people and its stability any more than any other European
Nation.  To think otherwise is to remain quite deluded.

Second... the AFRICAN-American representatives that you often contact,
whether they are legislative representatives, the heads of
organizations, and institutions, are in their respective positions by
the very fact that they are viewed as middle-class participants in the
system and thus non-threatening to the larger American system of
operation.  These men and women too often serve as the middle men
between the Rulers of Society and the Oppressed.  Remember the majority
of these men and women do not come from grass roots backgrounds and are
quite comfortable with their new founded status in society, even if
that status is based on supposedly articulating the needs of "the
downtrodden, the poor and the oppressed."

AFRICAN-Americans (men, women and children) die every day and too often
at the hands of the system.  If these very same representatives are not
going to stop their planned meetings, conferences over the death of
their own in America, what makes you think that they will cancel or
change the venue of a planned trip, conference, etc. over the death of
their African brethren?  Remember American entered into an Aviation
Agreement with The Gambia immediately after the death of the students!
Where is our outrage over this deal and other deals that America is
quietly entering into with the government of The Gambia?  That is where
the real horror lies, not with some mis-guided and ineffective
AFRICAN-Americans with no real weight!

Third... do we really want AFRICAN-Americans to stop going to The
Gambia.  Don't we need some to go to possibly see first-hand what is
going on, so that they can bring the message back?  Are we also ready
to demand that Dr. Mary Mbsowa and Dr. Maat cancel their yearly summer
abroad student trip to The Gambia this May until the deposing of Jammeh
after the upcoming Presidential Election?  All deposits have already
been sent into the Gambia for these trips.  Are we ready to ask these
student to not come home to Africa as planned (a life-long dream for so
many); students who have worked arduously to save the money for this
trip? Do we have the power to demand the immediate cessation of The
Roots (Show and Tell) Festival as well?  How do we decide what
countries in Africa are permissible for visitation by AFRICAN-Americans
and other concern persons if we are trying to set up an arbitrary
travel ban for AFRICA?  Based on the present dis-stabilization and
atrocities taking place throughout the continent of AFRICA, there is
almost no country that would remain on the list for visitation.  Do we
take a stance that basically says "Stay Away From Africa" and allow the
dictators and their cohorts to finish the job of killing and maiming
all opposition to their reigns of tyranny?  Or do we work at developing
multiple strategies to educate and achieve the needed change without
causing further isolation and danger to those already at risk?

I understand the frustration, and commend the vigor and commitment to
effect change in The Gambia, but we must look at the whole picture as
we develop and revise our ongoing strategies.

Peace.

                              Jamila

_______________________________________________________________________




Unfortunately their removal from the evironment of those less fortunate





--- saul khan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> All,
>
> I have spoken to Rep. Ford three times in as many days. I have to say
> that
> those who expressed scepticism about my approach to him are probably
> right.
> The gentleman is beginning to really annoy me. He kept telling me
> that our
> concerns "are noted" and that "they (WCM) won't be used by the (APRC)
> govt,"
> but when I pointed out to him that holding the meeting in The Gambia
> would
> be a psychological victory for the govt -a coup de grace, so to
> speak, he
> ignores that. Also his secretary (I believe at his behest) was
> playing silly
> games with me.
>
> First, she told me they never received the email I sent last Friday.
> That I
> should send it again. I did that through my private account and got
> (an
> electronic) receipt that the mail was delivered while I was still on
> the
> line with the lady. But when I asked her if they've received the
> re-send,
> she answered in the negative. When I pointed out to her that they
> have IN
> FACT received the mail as I have the delivery confirmation, she
> started
> saying that maybe their system was the problem. That she can't find
> the
> mail. It was then that Rep. Ford came on the line to tell me that
> they were
> having a "system problem," and I should fax in the docs. I did. The
> fax # he
> gave me is: 334-727-4010.
>
> I told the gentleman that I simply fail to see how HE doesn't
> understand how
> holding the meeting in Banjul and having Yaya Jammeh address them,
> won't be
> a victory for that rogue govt? Even the UN - I told him, is
> considering
> sanctions against this bunch of crooks -as we speak. That their
> criminality
> now goes beyond the geographical realm and boundary of tiny Gambia.
> The
> Brother muttered something un-intelligible, and started patronizing
> me:
>
> "don't worry about a thing. We're not gonna do anything untoward down
> there.
> We know the Jammeh types, and we won't be used by them. All we want
> to do is
> help The Gambia. We've voted last October to go there this coming
> June.
> We'll be there during the Roots Homecoming festival. You see I'm not
> really
> the main man in the WCM. Our prez is John xxx, mayor of Saginaw (MI.)
> Rest
> assured that I'll forward the materials you've supplied me to the
> board. I'm
> totally taken aback about what you've sent me. I had no idea all this
> is
> going on. We're really non-political. When we went to Gabon, the
> mayor was
> running for prez without our knowledge. We had to clear that up with
> the
> prez so he doesn't hold anything against us. What we like to do is
> help
> cities and municipalities. were currently on the verge of training
> 700
> mayors from Nigeria. That's what we do. so..."
>
> I almost blurted out Bullshit! But because I'm at work, I can't
> afford that
> luxury. So I told the man to do me a favor and read ALL the material
> I've
> sent him and will send him later this week. If after reading these
> materials, he still thinks he'll "help" the Gambia by associating
> with a
> band of common criminals, then most Gambians' opinion of his movement
> will
> be in the same light as the Jammeh govt, I told him.
>
> But tentatively, this is where I stand: I'm withdrawing my
> reservations
> about us sending Rep. Ford tons of email/material on the rogue regime
> back
> home. Based on my conversations with the gentleman today and the past
> two
> days, and my short chat with his secretary minutes ago, I'm beginning
> to
> have serious doubts about the man's sincerity. At the very least, he
> isn't
> as naive as he led me on when we initially spoke. The vibes I'm
> getting from
> Tuskegee seem to indicate to me that my reliance on Mr. Ford's good
> faith
> may be misplaced. So if for nothing else, I don't want to be conned
> by the
> Brother's sweet talk. As far as I'm concern, the onus (for sincerity
> and a
> desire to see justice done,) are on him. I'm simply a lot less
> optimistic
> about him than I was last Friday.
>
> I've managed to fax him an assortment of articles in the G-L
> archives: two
> of Ebrima's "My message to all Gambians", arson attack on Radio One,
> the
> murder of school children, the recent murder of three un-armed
> Gambians at
> border posts. This afternoon, I'll comb the G-L archives and
> "allafrica.com"'s to print and fax Mr. Ford some of the "colorful"
> things
> that his good friend, the drooling, gypsy-looking, parrot-headed
> mayor of
> Banjul, Samba Faal's party is doing to the Gambia. We'll see what
> effect
> this will have.
>
> In any case, if we're not getting anywhere with Mr. Ford, all is not
> lost
> yet. Other participants like the NAACP will be put on notice. I've
> left a
> message for Saleh Booker, the Executive Director of the Africa Policy
> Info
> Center to call me, so I can broach the subject with him. I believe
> Saleh can
> help make many of these organizations listen. He's got credibility on
> African issues. We'll just have to hope for the best...
>
> On Joseph Joof
>
> I believe it was Dec 1986 that I first saw Joe Joof in court with a
> friend.
> I was in the Sixth Form then, and we were browsing through the
> miscellaneous
> ware that petty merchants had on display along Wellington Street.
> When we
> got to The Court House, we went in to listen to proceedings (the case
> didn't
> matter.) I've always believed that you can tell a lot about a society
> by the
> type of cases that make it to court. Also, some of the most humurous
> events
> take place in courts. Thus the reason for my choice of past time.
>
> When we entered the first court room, guess who we saw in the dock?
> M.C.
> Cham! At the time, MC was a Cabinet Minister. The guy grilling him,
> who I
> didn't recognize at all was Joe Joof- young, and handsome. Justice
> Wallace
> Grante was presiding. We thought we were in for some fun. It wasn't
> every
> day that one sees a Cabinet member in the dock. So we quickly sat
> down.
>
> From the exchange, we established that MC had "hit" Joe's car near
> the BJL
> Post Office and left the scene without waiting for the cops. Joe
> called a
> police officer to arrest Cham, but the officer won't budge. (He
> called the
> officer as a witness.) He presented some receipts showing that he had
> paid a
> hundred plus Dalasi to repair his car. He was seeking compensation.
> MC Cham
> (represented by Ousainu Dabo) for his part, kept saying that the case
> wasn't
> about his car "tapping" Joof's car. He insisted it was personal and
> political. MC said that he had a problem with Joe's brother, and he
> believes
> that has something to do with the case. Joe of course dismissed those
> allegations because he's a "professional man." I clearly remember
> this case,
> 'cause Joe was the youngest Gambian lawyer I had seen in action up to
> that
> point, and he had a good command of the English language. My favorite
> line
> in their exchange was when Joe trying to dismiss Cham's allegations
> looked
> at Grante, and said -icily- words to the effect that the gentleman's
> petulance was the reason why they were going through "all this
> dilly-dally."
> I loved it.
>
> Fast forward to yesterday 1/30/2001. When I heard about Joe Joof
> taking over
> from the pompous, unctuous and ineffably ungrateful Pap Cheyassin
> Secka, I
> flashed back to that court drama with MC Cham. Could it be that like
> his
> predecessor, Joof is bent on avenging some personal slights that he
> felt at
> the hands of the ancien PPP regime.
>
> You see, what many of us fail to grasp is the extent to which some
> people
>
=== message truncated ===





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