Dear Dr. Stovall:
I am a Gambian living in Greensboro, NC. I wish to request that you allow
me to address the student body of Rust College on Friday, January 12, 2001.
I want my speech to coincide with the misinformation session that puppets
Tombong Saidy and Yankuba Touray are scheduled to have at your great
institution.
As I drive through the delta, I will be reminded of the footsteps of the
late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. I will also be reminded of the great
strive that historically black institutions have played in educating
African Americans and many Gambian students. We appreciate the plights of
the buffalo soldiers and the underground railroad in fighting for the
rights of African Americans. We are, therefore indebted to the voice of a
lonely African American woman in the cotton fields of Mississippi. We
remember the peanut farms of Georgia, the tobacco fields of the Carolinas
and the hot summer days of Alabama, where our ancestors were forced into
inhumane treatments.
On behalf of Gambia-L audience, the United Democratic Party, The National
Reconciliation Party, PDOIS, political decedents of The Gambia, and the
silent majority, I want to appeal that you grant me this request. Gambians
around the globe and friends of our great country are fighting endlessly
for a peaceful transition to democracy. Since July 22, 1994, our country
has gradually turned for the worst. As we revisit the very political
doctrines that you teach your students, we are alarmed that a man of your
caliber can be misled by a military styled dictator that is bent on lies
and deceit.
On April 11, 2000 the paramilitary police fired on innocent Gambian
students demonstrating peaceful for rights inherent in the constitutions of
The Gambia and the United States. After this senseless attack, about 14
students died, including an innocent Red Cross volunteer tending to the
wounded.
Sometime around the middle of last summer, the United Democratic Party was
attacked by the July 22 Movement bandits. As I write this appeal to you,
the Gambian dictator is proposing a Sharia law in The Gambia that will have
negative consequences on the minority Christian population. As you go to
church this Sunday, I would like for you to do some soul-searching on your
right to freedom of religion.
On the economic front, The Gambian currency continues to decline. The
culprit is lack of convincing economic policy that is unable to sustain our
country even into a mere economic equilibrium. If I may borrow a page from
your political doctrine: "there can be no economic growth without political
freedom."
Your interest in The Gambian should be commended, but we cannot tolerate
your nearsightedness in not understanding the plight of Gambians. While we
respect your right of choice, we are adamantly alarmed at your
inconsistency. You must realize that we are united for a common cause in
fighting a principle that is so truly protected in the Bill of Rights.
The Gambia is our country, and therefore, we are obliged to come to Rust
College to plead our case. I hope you consider my request.
Sincerely,
Muhammad Lamine Jassey-Conteh
Greensboro, NC
Home: 336-854-3019
Work: 1800-678-8009(5)
Mobile: 336-708-2682
--- Lamine Conteh
--- [log in to unmask]
--- EarthLink: It's your Internet.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
