Hi!
     The very serious situation in our dear Senegambia has prompted me
to once again break my silence and throw in a few bututs. I was
completely shocked when I heard reports of the situation back home.
This just brings to the fore the superficial boundary between
fraternity and misplaced patriotism and the situation requires cool
heads rather than  inflated egos and boiling hearts. The authorities
on both sides of the border need to act in a mature and decisive
manner to arrest the situation before it further deteriorates. They
should look at the underlying causes and try to deal with them so as
to reduce the tension that has been brewing beneath the surface for
the past months and years. Authorities on both sides of the border
should realise that Senegambia is greater than them, preceded them and
shall outlive them. During moments such as these, common sense takes a
back seat and destructive acts, with difficult to remedy implications,
take to the fore as a manifestation of frustrations that have long
simmered beneath the surface waiting for a catalyst to explode. Among
the reasons for the simmering tensions between the two countries  in
the recent past and the causes of the crisis are the following.

First, the increase in alien taxes that was recently imposed by the
Gambia Government on foreigners in The Gambia. Many Senegalese were
deeply affected and critical and some went as far as to return to
Senegal after numerous appeals for a review of the fees were not
heeded. The disillusionment of Senegalese who have spent many years of
their lives in The Gambia having to pack up and leave so abruptly,
resulted in their directing their frustrations at Gambians in general
and not the authorities who imposed the taxes as can be gleaned from
interviews with Senegalese returnees or those living in The Gambia
struggling to meet the tariffs.

Second, the recent transport imbroglio involving the countries has
contributed immensely to the souring of relations. When the Gambian
authorities doubled the ferry fares for non-Gambian vehicles whilst
exempting Gambian vehicles, this angered many Senegalese drivers and
they reacted by  preventing vehicles from entering or leaving Senegal.
Another transport issues was the negotiation of national transport
quotas during the Transgambia Highway talks. Difficulties in reaching
a balanced licensing scheme for commercial vehicles angered Senegalese
drivers who chose to boycott the route resulting in Gambian road
traders' frustrations. The Senegalese had dominated commercial
transport between the two countries and the Gambians' attempts to
remedy this drew anger from Senegalese drivers and their union.

The Casamance issue also added to tensions between the two countries.
Senegalese perceptions that Gambian authorities side with the rebels
and are somehow meddling in the conflict angered both the Senegalese
Government and its population. This added to the already simmering
tension and public officials made comments in the Senegalese media to
that effect. The recent report that Gambia expelled Senegalese
refugees from Casamance was negatively received and reported in
Senegal.

The nationalistic approach to the problems between the countries by
the Senegalese media is a major contributor to deepening negative
perceptions of Gambians in Senegal. A major source that springs to
mind is Wal Fadjri. During a commentary earlier today, a journalist
was outlining the reasons for the problems between Gambia-Senegal and
Senegal-Mauritania and his commentary was so shallow. He boiled downed
the reason for the problems between Senegal and her two neighbours to
Senegal being an established democracy and Gambia and Mauretania being
military dictatorships. As such, Senegalese leaders are accustomed to
acting in a democratic manner whilst Gambian and Mauritanian leaders
have military tendencies. The report apportioned all blame for the
crises between Senegal and her neighbours on the neighbours with
Senegal the innocent, aggrieved party. This is simply wrong. Senegal
and Gambia have had problems when Jawara was president and Jawara's
regime was not a military dictatorship. The Senegalese Government has
a constitutional responsibility to look after the interests of Senegal
whilst the Gambia Government is constitutionally mandated to look
after the interests of The Gambia. During negotiations on issues
affecting the two countries, each side tries as much as possible to
look after the interests of its people. This is the universal mode of
negotiation and to sensationalise issues does not help matters.
Journalist on both sides of the border should be responsible and try
to refrain from whipping up emotions. When the Casamance refugees were
allegedly deported from The Gambia, Couthia, the Senegalese comedian,
who briefly hosted a show on Wal Fadjri, commented that
Gambians “gorre wunyu”. The way he said was funny at the time and I
laughed so much but in retrospect, I can see the negative impact of
such jokes.

Another reason for the tension is the Senegalese perception that
Gambians have used and  betrayed them more than once. The Foday Kabbah
talks and the Senegambia Confederation are examples. There was so much
resentment when the Senegalese intervened to restore Jawara after the
1981 attempted coup, got into the Confederation only to have Gambia
dissolve the Confederation after Jawara consolidated his grip on
power. The Senegalese felt betrayed and used and this frustration is
still there. Jawara hastily entered into the Senegambia Confederation
as a junior partner and against the wishes of many of his citizens
only to withdraw from it before the Senegalese could realise their
goals. Many Senegalese felt duped.

 The cultural domination of Gambia by Senegal and the relative success
of Senegalese professionals and  artisans in The Gambia is another
factor. Senegal has for a long time dominated Gambia in terms of
religion, music, sport, dress, theater and many other aspects. Many
Gambian preachers, in order to sound knowledgeable imitate the
Senegalese accent. Many singers also try to sound Senegalese in order
to prove their professionalism. This has created a big brother
mentality and has left some Senegalese arrogant in their relations
with Gambians. Gambians on the other hand try to prove that they are
worthy compatriots and many a time do not consider niceties when
proving the Senegalese wrong.

The Gambian economic situation is another factor. These are trying
times in The Gambia with many people frustrated about their inability
to deal with rising prices, falling Dalasi, unemployment etc. The only
thing that was missing in the recipe for disaster was a spark. This
spark was provided when they saw Gambian fans being beaten by
Senegalese security personal and heard the rumour that some Gambians
were killed in Dakar. All the pent up anger and frustrations were
vented at innocent Senegalese residing in The Gambia.

Another reason for the frustrations is the rhetoric before the match
by both sides. It is not only Elhadj Diouf who is the culprit. I
listened to a Gambian official being interviewed in Dakar and he was
truly upping the ante. The rhetoric on both sides helped to add to the
tensions and it is no surprise that emotions got out of control.

Another reason for the crisis is the ineptitude of the Senegalese
security forces in dealing with the initial outbreak of violence and
the inability of the Senegalese authorities responsible for stadium
seating to anticipate and make arrangements. The two sets of fans
should have been separated in such away that contact between them
would not be possible entering, watching the game and leaving the
stadium. The security services should have acted neutral and not be
seen attacking Gambian supporters. As professionals, they should have
handled the situation differently.

Finally, the failure of the Gambian authorities to take decisive
action and security forces to nip the violence in the bud played an
important role in the escalation of the crisis. The security services
should have contemplated the violence after scenes of Gambians being
beaten were shown on tv. They should have been on standby to deploy as
soon as violence started. The Gambian authorities should have made
decisive pronouncements of zero tolerance for violence and vandalism
the moment they learnt about what was going on.

Now that we have looked at the causes of the crisis, the next question
is the current situation. The fraternal relations between Senegal and
Gambia have been dented. The unimaginable has happened. Gambians have
been beaten in Senegal and when some ran into compounds to seek
refuge, they were turned away and pushed into the arms of angry mobs.
Senegalese have been beaten and one unfortunately killed in The
Gambia. Their properties have been looted and destroyed. Years of hard
work have just melted. Barbarism akin to that experienced in Rwanda
and other areas where raw human emotion, nationalism and misplaced
pride were allowed to rule over common sense has happened in
Senegambia and the result is devastating. Gen. Niang is currently in
The Gambia after a request by some 200 Senegalese citizens to be
repatriated to Senegal was received. The situation is serious. What
will happen if these people are repatriated? Will they vent their
anger on Gambians living in Senegal? How will their stories be
reported in Senegal? Will they be reported in such a way that anti-
Gambian feelings will run high in Senegal? Will Gambians in Senegal
then be attacked? Will Gambians take revenge on Senegalese in Gambia?
These are indeed serious times and the silence of Jammeh and Wade is
deafening! This is probably why Musa Ngum, the Gambian musician, in an
interview on Sud FM, Dakar, before the match in Banjul said the two
countries should not play against each other. The interviewer told him
that it was just football but he said that such competitions have a
tendency to bring problems and such problems were not desired in
Senegambia.

What happens next? The two governments should issue a joint
declaration condemning the violence in both countries. An inquiry
should be carried into the causes of the violence and the reasons for
the ineptitude of the security services in both countries in dealing
with the problem. The two governments should try to deal with the
thorny issues that are slowly poisoning relations between the two
countries. They should work on policies and programs that would
harmonise the relations between Gambians and Senegalese on both
official and citizen levels. The media on both sides of the border
should refrain from fanning the fires of discord. These are just a few
recommendations. I will just conclude by stating that I am truly
saddened by the turn of events because never in my life have I
imagined that Gambians can turn on Senegalese and vice versa. The
bonds that have defined Senegambia preceded any living Senegalese or
Gambian and will outlive us all. We should therefore condemn in the
strongest terms violence by either side on the other and work toward
harmonising and making better our relationship for no country on earth
is more related and similar to Gambia than Senegal and vice versa.
Thank you.

                                                Buharry.

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