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Subject:
From:
Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:51:38 EDT
Content-Type:
text/plain
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This is remarkable Bailo and I commend you for it. I am sure you understand  
what I shared. It is not distrust of you neither was it a lure for you to  
present your address or phone numbers. Those will not be valuable especially in  
the Gambian climate.
 
Now that you have shared the location of the arson which was already  
available to the GTA if indeed they torched it. I will not need to ascertain the  
crime. This helps inform Yahya of the incident and possible crime should  Kebba 
find it impossible to reach obtain Yahya's audience. You must agree with  me 
that I must do due-diligence whenever a story is shared with me to at least  
establish generic veracity. Plunging headlong into yielding relief is  
ill-advised. Again, my knowledge of your address and telephone number would not  do 
Yahya any good for he will never find those out from me atleast. That will go  
with me to my deathbed unless you give me express verifiable permission to  
afford it to other. I am convinced Yahya does not need it either for we are  
pleading with him to yield his fellow citizen relief from crime supposedly  
perpetrated by a department in his government.
 
I will attempt to call Yahya's offices, which is the same number/s you  have 
or can have. (Public record). I do not have anyother more direct line to  
Yahya than you can or may have Bailo. to seek audience with him. If  successful, I 
will share the story of Kebba with him if he is not already aware  of it..
 
Most sincerely, Haruna. I think GTA is fully aware of all these details and  
more.
 
In a message dated 8/27/2008 4:06:32 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

Dear  Haruna,

My identity is public knowledge. I am not using a  pen-name. The Gambian 
State knows both my residential and work address here in  The Gambia. So it would 
therefore be very self-degrading and also grossly  self-incriminating for me 
to share a story with the whole world while knowing  it to be unsubstantiated 
or false. I can assure you that as a matter of  policy, I do not peddle rumours 
or false assertions against any person or  authority. This is simply because 
I believe in the Golden Rule of not doing on  to anyone what I would not like 
done to me by someone else. This is what  I try to implement and follow as a 
guiding light in my relationship  with all; be they rich or poor, strong or 
weak, male or female, friend or foe.  Though, no one is perfect!

The whole story about my friend Kebba  is TRUE; so help me God. Kebba is also 
his real name and Bojang is his  surname. Kebba's garden is just next to 
Jerma Beach Hotel. When the Libyan  owners of the Hotel were prospecting for a 
suitable place to build their  Hotel, they met Kebba in his garden and were 
supposedly highly impressed with  his industriousness. Kebba welcomed them and even 
worked as a brick layer for  them. Now you have got the location address, I 
hope you will verify the  truth of my previous submissions on this matter and 
share your true findings  with us. I hereby STAND BY everything about my friend 
Kebba's distress that I  shared with the membership of this forum and am 
likwise prepared to do so at  any other forum.

As far as I am concerned as well as Kebba, the  bottom line of the issue is 
not what the GTA did to his property but how they  did it. NO NOTICE! This is 
arson, pure and simple and the GTA's leadership  should be held accountable. No 
one should be above the law, not even President  Jammeh. Please use your 
direct line to State House and tell him that I said  so. You have my full work 
address and telephne number as well just in case he  needs it.

Finally, I continue to put my trust in God and believe  in the ultimate 
triumph of truth over falsehood and Good over evil and pray  that I die ultimately 
with such faith and in the strive for  justice. 

Bailo



--- On Tue, 26/8/08,  Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Haruna Darbo  <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: My friend Bailo - My friend  Kebba's distress!
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Tuesday, 26  August, 2008, 10:28 AM

Hello my friend Bailo, hope you are  well.

I almost placed a call to statehouse when a sixth sense advised  me  
otherwise. I rely on my training and experience in security to do  some 
investigation.

I was moved by the story of your friend "Kebba"  that you shared with
us a  
week ago. Upon further investigation, I  neither found the incident to have  
occured as you shared it with us  nor was I able to associate a
"Kebba" with an  
arson incident by  officers of GTA. It could very well be that "Kebba"
did not  
tell  you a true story or that there are no traces of the arson. I understood 
  
that "Kebba" may not be the proper name for your aversed friend  for
your desire 
to protect his identity in a lawless state like Gambia  but you will agree 
with  me that if the GTA indeed torched a  bird-watching station belonging to 
Kebba,  then the GTA will have  been aware of his identity. So no cover for 
him
in 
name  is a  deterrent to his further aversion by GTA.

In order not to go into too  much detail, I wish to inform you that I,  
Haruna, now retire sine  die from the issue of your "Kebba" until I
see proof  either 
by  the Daily observer carrying an arson incident or pictures of a torched   
bird-watching station.

I generally am given to philanthropy and  empathy easily, but thanx to my  
training and experiences I study my  engagements carefully. I encourage you 
to  
verify your "Kebba's"  claims to satisfy yourself. If you have
concrete evidence  
of this  infringement by the GTA, I shall do what I can to ameliorate  
"Kebba's"  misfortune.

I thank you for bringing what you  thought was a friend's plight to our  
attention. Perhaps another of  our friends here is aware of the incident and 
can

assist  "Kebba".

Most sincerely,
Haruna.


In a message dated  8/25/2008 7:07:01 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
[log in to unmask]  writes:

Bailo, I  was informed today from Gambia that the GTA is  trying to endear   
itself to Yahya's treatment programme perhaps  in an attempt to pre-empt  
Yahya's  
knowledge of their  crimes against Gambian citizens like your  friend Kebba. 
I  

encourage Kebba to still, EXPRESSLY or via  counsel,consider  soliciting 
audience  with Yahya.

Just a  heads-up.  Haruna. You must never underestimate genuine citizen   
action.  


In a message dated 8/24/2008 9:09:37 P.M. Eastern  Daylight  Time,  
[log in to unmask]   writes:


Bailo,

Forgive me for the tarry. Thank you for   the  information on your friend  
Kebba's plight and angst. It  is  now clear  to me that Kebba must plead 
directly   
with Yahya  either by counsel or  letter. What that does is that  it makes  
Yahya  
aware of the aversion  and it is never  too late for  Presidents to at least 
be 

made aware of   crimes committed in  their name even if we think Yahya is 
aware  
of   
all these  crimes. May be, just maybe, your  revelation of the crime was the  
 
first  Yahya heard or  knew about the incident. If nothing else,  Kebba  
could 
be   
comforted that Yahya was not responsible  for the  destruction  of his 
property.  
And if Yahya cannot  do anything  about  it, it is beyond his means to 
ameliorate   Kebba's  current condition  for goodness sakes.

I would love to  hear  what Kebba decides to do and  whether he has any hope  
for   relief after making Yahya aware of his    situation.

Haruna.

In a message dated 8/22/2008 2:38:12   P.M.  Mountain Daylight Time,   
[log in to unmask]   writes:

Haruna,

Thanks  for your concern about Kebba, hence   your  enquiry about the  
ownership 
of his previous shelter which  was  arsoned by  the  GTA. The land on which 
he 
built his shelter  and   engages in agriculture and  eco-tourism is now part 
of 
the   
Tourism  Development Area, meaning that it  is land owned by  the  State and  
supposed to be managed by the GTA in the   interest of  promoting the  growth 
of the 
tourism industry.  Over the  years,  Kebba had made  several attempts to have 
 
his productive  activities on the land   recognised by the  Tourism 
Authorities  
but 
have always been given a    cold shoulder by the latter.  The least Kebba 
expected from the GTA  was  that he  would be  issued with a reasonable quit 
or  
eviction notice  period as and   when they want him out of  the place for 
whatever  
reason.  Unfortunately and   rather typical of them, they resorted to   
arsoning 
him  
out of his shelter in  the middle of the Gambia's  rainy   season. They have

again 
shown themselves to  be  peoples  with  no
respect or regards whatsover for their   fellow   Gambians.

Bailo

--- On Thu, 14/8/08,  Haruna  Darbo   <[log in to unmask]>  wrote:

From: Haruna  Darbo    <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: My friend   Kebba's   distress!
To:  [log in to unmask]
Date:  Thursday, 14  August,   2008, 8:02 PM


Bailo,

I  share your concern for   your friend  Kebba. I am more touched by  your  
resignation  that  Yahya cannot or  will not do  anything to correct  Kebba's

misfortune  
at the hands of   overzealous  and clueless GTA officers. I want  to  see 
whether   
your  sharing of the story could yield  considered relief  by  Yahya.  And I 
will  
try to focus on   this  event.

The one-storey wooden house that was  torched by  the   GTA, do you know if  
Kebba was the owner or whether  he   was  settled there legally? This 
question,  

whatever the  answer,  only  serves in considered  remediation and is not in  
itself
a  
determinant   factor bearing in mind Kebba's  value to the nation. I  will   

appreciate it if you can  share the answer with   us.

Kebba seems to  be an upstanding  citizen and was  actively  contributing to  
Yahya's  larger  goals of  poverty  reduction/alleviation and Back to the
farm 


initiative. In  addition, I think Kebba is indirectly   contributing to  the  
health
of 
the tourist industry  by  developing a bird-watching  stage.  Indeed, the GTA 
  
will  have been best advised to help  Kebba develop  the  stage and  
associated  
sanctuary to  incorporate it in  their grand   design for enhancing the 
tourist 

industry  or eco-tourism. The  GTA  has been under pressure to perform   by 
Yahya, 
and  
it could be that they  view their  heartless and  destructive  action to  
demonstrate to  Yahya  that they are doing   something when in fact they  are
cutting  
their  throats  to  spite their faces.  And Yahya will not be pleased with 
this 


counterproductive  activity of the culprit officers of the GTA.   

1.   Whenever the GTA or other authority envisages destruction  of   real   
property, the eminent domain is guided more by   their  expected use of that  
property 
against the  current  use. So  Kebba's tenure on the property  (which  had   
improvements) is  secondary in the regime of  eminent  domain.  Not that that 
 
is
not   
significant but only becomes  issue  when the primary  estoppel  is  
thoroughly 
considered  and   justified.

2. When the  estoppel is justified, there  must be  time  certain of   
notification for adverse action.   This notification is  delivered to  the   
current
owner  of 
said property and copy afforded   to  the current resident  if  different 
from 
the   
titledeed-holder.

Kebba's other agricultural engagements  and   value  to Gambia is added 
counsel 
for Yahya's  consideration  but  is not under  the purview of the GTA or  the


destroyers.

Thirdly, but not  the least, is  the schedule  of  GTA's proposed
development 
of 
the  site.  That should  be  considered by the GTA when it issued  the proper 
  

notice to  vacate. The illegal occupation  of property in itself, even  if  
the 

property exisits in  a designated TDA, is beyond  the jurisdiction  of  the 
GTA  
if 

there are no imminent  development plans for the  site.  I  am informed that 
Yahya  

likes development  for Gambia but he  insists on  judicious  development.  
And  
most of these  trespassing or  impoundment  of  citizen rights are  completed
without   
his prior  approval. Some  are done with  his tacit approval but  the  trick 
is 
to 
identify which ones  do  not bear his   signature. Yahya could help  in 
coralling errant     directors who fail to issue proper guidelines to their   
clueless   
officers and agents. What I wish to share is  that  some officers  and   
directors 
wish to give  the  impression that Yahya is to  blame whenever   they   
demonstrate 
idiocy.

I encourage  Kebba to  share his   aversion with Yahya directly or through    
counsel and urge  Yahya's  consideration. He must not give up  because  he  
will

inadvertently  contribute to the  sometimes malignant  view  and presumed
negligence  of   
Yahya. We can help  Yahya  understand where disdain for him  is    generated.

Here's to  urging Yahya's due  consideration of  Kebba's  dilemma.
For
it is    
Kebba today, it may be  Modou  tomorrow.

Haruna.  

In a  message dated  8/13/2008 9:17:30 P.M.  Mountain  Daylight Time,    
[log in to unmask]   writes:

Last  Friday,  Kebba's  life took an unexpected  turn for the  worst. His  
struggles for   a dignified  existence for himself  withinThe  Gambia was 
rudely   

shattered by the Gambia  Tourism Authority (GTA).  The   one-storey  wooden  
house
that 
had served as Kebbas  sheltered   from the  elements  and doubled as his  
bird-watching vantage point   was  set ablaze without  a  day's notice by
officials of the   
Gambia   Tourism  Authority.


I first met Kebba in  late  1994  at the  Black  & White Beach Bar  &
Restaurant   
where he used to  work part-time as a   cook. Kebba is in  his mid  40's and

carries the  dreadlock  hairstyle  so  fashionable with  Gambian youths 
working   
on
the  
beach. He is an  easy-going  person  who  likes minding his own business  and 
 
making ends  meet   through his own hardwork: sweating and  toiling  on  the 
land
and  
under  the sun. Kebba was borned in   Sukuta, Kombo  North  from a family of
Islamic 
scholars where  he  studied Arabic  and  Islam. He also attained  
western-type  

education from  primary up to  secondary  school level. In spite  of  the 
basic  
level of his  formal  education, Kebba speaks and  write  better   English 
than 

many

university graduates. He   uses a  rich and varied choice  of  vocabulary in 
the   
English  Language when explaning to me of his   travel   experiences around 
the 

sub-region. He is an  authority of the   peoples and  cultures  within the  
West
Africa 
sub-region. He  is  also fluent  in
French  as  a result of living and  working in  Senegal,  Ivory Cost and  
Guinea 
Conakry.   Kebba  arrived on the Gambian beach  scene in  1993 to be a   
different 
class  among perceived bumsters. A    bumster  in Gambian-speak is generally  
referred to as a  youth   whose  main pre-occupation is to meet and   befriend
Western   
tourists for  the prospects of  obtaining a better  life  for  himself and 
his  
family.  
Kebba is a bird-watching   enthusiast.   There is a hardly a bird  species 
within  
the  Gambia  whose feeding and  breeding habits he  doen't  know.  Among  his
many 
friends are European  tourists   who  visit the Gambia  annually just for 
bird-watching.   Kebba  describes  himself as an  eco-tourist guide but  
because  
of
his 
self-respect  and   dignity  he avoids hanging  on the beach in order not be
harassed    
or be  subjected  to detentions by some overzealous beach   security  guards. 
 
Instead  of wandering along the beach  scouting  for  tourist  friends, Kebba
decided 
to clear  the shrubs a few   hundred meters from  the beach sand  that  
dominated  
the  lansdcape, single-handedly dug  a  well sand started  farming  and  
gardening. He  explained to me that  back in  1993 when he told some of  his  
friends about 
his plans to   cultivate crops and vegetables  in  the area,  most were  
sceptical 
and  a few  thought that he  was confused from from  his  travels within  
West  
Africa. His  garden consists  of
tomatoes, a  variety  of peppers,  aubergine,  lettuce,  Banana and  crops 
such 
as 
cassava and  corn. He  has  a  small  poultry which is exlusively for his own 
consumptions      needs. He maintains a breath-taking and captivating scenery 
of   
a

variety of beautiful flowers. Some market women living in   the   Kololi  
area 
acquire their supply of vegetables  from  his garden at  a  very  favourable 
price
to  
them.  Kebba often tells me  that he  obtains great   self-fulfilment  and a 
feeling of  providing service to   the community  from  his produce that end 
up 

at
the  
Serekunda  market. I often  tell him  that he is  one  of my inspirations. 
I was   therefore very much saddened  to   the point of crying when he told  
me 
on   
the phone that his abode  was set on  fire  without any  prior notice by  
officials of the  GTA escorted by a   heavy  paramilitary escort. Just  
before 

the
rains,   
he had completed some renovation  work on his   shelter  to  render it rain 
proof 
costing him thousands of    Dalasis.  .  He is currently homeless and getting 
hopeless. The  place   he  called  his home for 15 years was set ablaze  and  
completely  destroyed  within  5 minutes by  persons acting  on behalf of  the
Gambian 
State.  Kebba   is not a naive  person but out of  desperation, he  wants the 
opportunity   to  complain directly to   Yahya Jammeh about his ordeal and   
the
injustice 
meted  out   him by the GTA. I advised him not  to  bother. The  GTA and Yahya
Jammeh  
are  on the same  side: For  Big  Business and Hotel Financiers.  

I   thought  you should know about  the ordeal of my friend  Kebba, a   very  
hard-working Gambian whose  hopes has been    shattered. He has almost giving 
up 
hope 
and wants to   travel  out  of the Kombos. I am urging him to wait till  he   
atleast  harvest  his    corn.

Bailo




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