Gambia-L:

The story below, sent to me by one of my sources in the Gambia, has been
culled from the Sunday Observer, May 28, 2000, for me to read. Again, I
apologise to you all if it was already sent to the L, or posted to Quantum
Web page.

Ebrima Ceesay
Birmingham, UK.

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          THE TALE OF THE TWO FATOUS
          (By Sainey Camara Banjul)

I want to tell you the tale of the two Fatous.  The two Fatous who accompany
the young president of The Gambia wherever he goes. They shower him with
praises or jump blindly to his defence any time his name is mentioned.  One
Fatou is old enough to be his mother and the other, a much, much older
sister.

For the sake of this piece I will call the elder one Fatou the first, and
the younger one, Fatou the second. I am amazed by the servile and cringing
flattery of the two Fatous.  Their basely, obsequious, fawning, differential
and sycophantic behaviour.

These are characteristics that were normally attributed to younger people
who had crush for people they regarded as heroes or heroines. In the normal
hierarchy of living, it was always the young who kow-towed to adults.

The adults took on an advisory, authoritative or leading position.  The
young looked up to the adults for proper guidance and advice.  Sometimes,
that was mis-placed.

Now, the roles have been reversed. The two Fatous have gone haywire.  They
have turned the world upside down. Intent only to please the object of their
admiration who they misinform, deceive and abuse at will. They do not base
their statements on empirical evidence.

Let me start with Fatou the first. She claims that President Yahya AJJ
Jammeh is the best president that the Gambia will ever have. What is she
basing this assessment on?  So far, The Gambia has only two
presidents. That is Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, president of the First
Republic and Alhaji Dr. Yahya AJJ Jammeh, president of the Second Republic
of The Gambia.

By asserting that President Jammeh is the most patriotic president Gambia
will have (Daily Observer, May 22, 2000), does she know something that other
Gambians don’t? Is the second president going to be the last president of
The Gambia? If the world does not come to an end during his tenure of
office, surely there will be other presidents.

How then can Fatou the first assess the performance of someone who has
not yet taken office? Fatou the first is not only a sycophant but a shadow
as well.  Like a shadow, she follows the president in and out.  Similarly,
she followed President Jawara wherever he went. Like a shadow, she was there
before him and was just behind him.

Of what use was she to the former president and of what use is she to this
one? Hangers-on are only parasites; they take but never give in return. Like
leeches, they live on others, suck their blood and then look for someone
else to live on.

Fatou the first sang Jawara’s praises. She described him as the father of
women. The man who respected women so much that he “elevated her, an
illiterate woman to the position of chairman PPP women’s wing with a member
of the National Women’s Council.”

She, like Sir Dawda’s shadow, was constantly beside him. If he was as bad
and useless as she is making him out to be she was an accomplice, an
accessory to the crime. She saw, witnessed, influenced and took
part in all the activities of the former PPP regime. She was a close
confidante of the president and had direct access to him.

She and the rest of the cohort who “shed crocodile tears” (Saptieu Jobe
1992) when Jawara said he was retiring led to his downfall. Now that the PPP
Government is no more, she had switched to the new one.  Better watch it
APRC, the shadow that is stalking your leader is not a faithful one.

She will desert as soon as trouble is nigh. Our elders say, “a person who is
about to die does not have a shadow.” They are right. Shadows are deserters;
they are never there when you look for them.

Fatou the second avers “that those who wish to see President Jammeh drown
would decompose at the bottom of the sea first.” What does a newspaper
publication on the President taking sick leave have to do with her heaping
curses on all and sundry? Does Fatou the second know that “kene leg la borom
a cha njaka fanan.” Directly translated, it means, “A wish is like a house.
The owner sleeps in it first.”

This Fatou is so servile that she is willing to be “the maid of President
Jammeh.” She will serve him in whatever capacity she claims.  How
extraordinary! Another shadow of the former regime. This one did not stalk
the former president. She followed his first wife.

“Mama Chilel” as she endearingly called the first lady. Like the good
servant that she is, she was constantly at her side bowing down to her every
whim and fancy. She and others like her brought discord into the household.

They brought divisions between the two wives of the erstwhile President.
Just as she abandoned Tuti Faal Jammeh, she will also switch her allegiance
if another first lady comes along.

Both Fatous claim that they speak for all women from Banjul to Kartong and
from Kartong to Koina. Do they? I am among the women that they do not
definitely speak for. As far as I know, there are women within
the ranks of the UDP, NRP and PDOIS and some women who cannot even be
bothered.

These women should do their homework before they speak. Some female members
of the APRC have changed positions since the events of April 10 and 11.
Unlike these two Fatous, these are women of conscience.
Women who empathise with their fellow women on the assault, rape and deaths
of their children of their peers.

Alas, these Fatous have no heart. They have sold their souls to position,
privilege and power. The three P’s that made them adherents of the former
PPP when they assessed their situation at the end of the
day and found they had neither, they continue to look for it elsewhere. Do
they think the APRC will give it to them?

Praise signing in The Gambia is a role for the griots. In traditional
Gambia, roles were clearly delineated. It was the griots who sang praises to
their lords and patrons. They reminded them of the great deeds of their
ancestors, therefore urging them to emulate the
same. In times of war they walked ahead, urging them to heroic deeds.

However, they also spoke the truth and informed the leaders when things were
going wrong. They did not mislead the rulers for jesters were there to
counter what they were saying.  They were also serious
reprisals when the truth came out. Don’t worry dear Fatous the truth will
come out one day when you will have no place to hide. For while you cannot
expect a leopard to change its skin, you can expect that wolves in sheep’s
clothing will be discovered.

What is most nauseating is that it occurs even in places where it should
not. Can you imagine going all the way to Mecca to perform the Hajj where
all attention should be on Allah your Maker and repentance
of your sins and yet, you have time for praises? Praises for man?

For both Fatous, that was not their first Hajj. One would be overwhelmed if
this was your first. It was not however not the reason for the euphoria? For
Fatou the first, at least, one of her pilgrimages was paid for by the former
PPP Government. She has a short memory, of course, maybe, has forgotten.

She also has forgotten that in the 30 years that the PPP was in power they
allocated her with land several times. One was even in Banjul. Fatou the
first and Fatou the second, while it is your right to belong to any party
you want, don’t forget that you were among the most vocal and the most
visible women members of the PPP. Just like flies, you
rest only where it is wet. Remember, life in The Gambia is made up of the
wet season and the dry season.

The dry will come for you one day.
(Culled from the Weekend Observer)

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