Jabou & Sidibeh,
Thank you very much, for the time you have in reviewing the past Tam Tam
Program. Let me just clarify this portion in your debate


" He would not charge us anything but wanted us  to make a monthly
contribution of a minimum
  sum of money, $200, to  offset earnings he would have made from
advertisements
  and we agreed  to pay that sum between us."


Modibo has NEVER, EVER ask for money, neither has he NEVER, EVER proposed
anything about payments for advertisements.
It was I EHAJJ MUSTAPHA FYE, who proposed compensating him from my own
pocket and he flatly rejected taking a single Kronor / Dollar or anything
from me.

Keep up your valuable debate!

Thanks
Elhadj.

PS.
Sidibeh, Abdou Jawla my next door neighbour told me in my house yesterday
that you visited him in Uppsala some days back.








----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, December 18, 2005 9:44 PM
Subject: Re: Tam Tam prog. etc / Brother Modou Sidibeh



Brother Sidibeh,

No sibling quarrel ever between us, and you can count on that. Even if  we
disagree vehemently, I hope it serves as a lesson to others that having
differing view points does not have to translate to hatred and civil
discourse
between those with differing view points is in-fact what can give birth to
great
ideas.

You are exactly right, the tam tam program was something I saw as the  next
step in the effort to unseat the regime because it accorded us an
international venue on the airwaves to inform the World of what was
transpiring  in our
homeland so we can win public support, as well as to reach Gambians all
over
the World and on the ground, to provide hope and encourage their imput  and
for
those who could not call in or even tune into the radio program, we had  the
idea to tape and distribute each program to Gambians on the ground at  our
own
cost.

So when Elhadj Fye, who was the one who knew Modi and had already been a
regular caller to his program introduced me to Modi and told me that Modi
had
offered a spot on his program to discuss Gambians issues,  and asked if I
wanted
to assist in organizing the effort, I  plunged in without reservation
because
I saw it as one fantastic avenue to bring  our plight to the World. After
the
first two programs, we were making efforts to  get some journalists involved
in the effort, and the idea was to have them  do some of the interviews and
suggest potential interviewees because Modi had  actually told me that he
would
let us headline our own program where he would  not be involved, but where
interviewers, interviewees and commentators  would all be Gambians. He would
not
charge us anything but wanted us  to make a monthly contribution of a
minimum
sum of money, $200, to  offset earnings he would have made from
advertisements
and we agreed  to pay that sum between us.

I  can do research and gather information to present like some of  the
information we presented in those few programs, but I  thought that
journalists were
much better and would be much more  effective at the interviewing game than
any of us if we could get them to get  involved.  So the general idea was
that
we would organize a  powerful Gambian public presence on the airwaves by
bringing in other  players as time went by, and by getting everyone to
participate
by calling  in with their stories, information or comments, and also to
eventually  provide a venue for the opposition politicians to be interviewed
on a
regular basis and in turns to enable them to talk to our people on the
ground
and in the diaspora (hence the tapes we were going to pay to distribute  in
The Gambia) since the APRC regime has always denied them access to the
media
through which to reach the people all over the country and they  simply do
not
have the resources to travel to every corner of the country  and where they
have tried, sometimes they are way lid by the APRC bandits and  the Ousainou
Darboe affair is a living example of those nasty experiences. I  know that
would
have been one powerful vehicle in this effort had not the green  eyed
monster
reared it's ugly head once more.

Alas! in Africa, we always shoot the messengers with good intentions or
oftentimes, some of us unfortunately have this strange notion that any
effort to
help our people has to be a personal mission, a personal  success story to
be
rewarded and so  their own  success becomes tied to discrediting someone
else.
My involvement in this  effort has never been for personal gain or personal
agrandizement. Rather, you  can say I was thrust into it inadvertently by my
big mouth.

I wonder who we would have been propagandizing ourselves to with the tam
tam
effort.

Among the other things I heard were that we were agents for the Senegalese
and some said we were tribalists because we spoke only in Wollof and
English.
A simple email or communication to consider  adding other Gambian languages
would have been welcomed as a great  idea but again, I guess  that would
have
been seen as contributing to  someone else's efforts, as opposed to seeing
it as
a joint effort in  which contributions from many can be gathered to reach a
goal that  will benefit everyone.  Infact, as we progressed, we were making
the
 effort to add Mandinka and Fula translators of the broadcast, as well  as
other Gambian dialects later because there sure are a  lot of our
compatriots
who do not necessarily understand  those languages and the idea was to reach
all
Gambians first, and then the  rest of the World.

Doing the program in one or two languages was a task in itself and adding
the other languages was a challenge we were brainstorming on, and trying to
figure out just how we would accomplish that in the time allotted and have
it
proceed smoothly. It is something that definitely needed a lot of time and
effort and the imput of people who knew a thing or two about radio
programming
and I would have worked to find them  and find a  way believe me. You cannot
believe how involved organizing that program was  with many long hours of
planning and international phone calls etc, but all  involved were happy to
make that
contribution. Modi paid for the calls to do the  overseas interviews and we
resolved to compensate him because we did not want  him to think have to do
that.

Every effort needs people to spearhead and organize it, but  unfortunately
in
Africa, because we have always seen only the pursuit of self  interest in
those who show any interest in political affairs, or in any  organizational
effort, and because the majority of politicians in Africa  have used
political
power as an avenue to enrich themselves and their relatives  and supporters,
those
who aspire to political positions for the same  purposes see it as a
territory to protect and the rest as well as those who  are represented see
any effort
by anyone as a quest for personal gain on the  part of those making the
effort. This is evidenced by the fact that  the few exceptions there are;
those who
have proven themselves beyond a  reasonable doubt to be selfless in their
involvement in politics and who  have made the sacrifices over time not to
join
the dishonesty and thievery are  often mocked at by the same people on whose
behalf they made the sacrifice.  You will not believe some of the stupid
and
belittling comments about  Halifa Sallah, such as modest clothing he wears
for
example that I have heard  over the years and from supposedly intelligent
people. So, if he can be  villified brother mine, I am not troubled by such
commentary.

The only thing it does is that it has killed my zest and  enthusiasms
because
in order to make any effort work for the  betterment of all, all those
involved must have good and honest intentions and  unfortunately, my
observations
have led me to the conclusion that even when one  has good intentions, if
others
around you work to undermine you as  opposed to cooperating with you, you
can
not get anywhere. Any silence on  my part or abandonment of any effort is
due
to a deep sense of disappointment in  people I had great hopes in.
This sort of negative behaviour is what consumes the better part of our
creative energies so that where genuine selfless cooperation could have
produced
tangible results, the resolve to destroy even if it that destruction
consumes
the destroyer is an atmosphere that prevails. Nothing and no one can succeed
in  such an atmosphere.

Brother Modou Sidibeh, I am always amused when there are allegations that a
quest for political power is what motivates my actions because politics has
never been my cup of tea. Now entrepreneurship is another matter altogether
and
 I do not have to seek or depend on the attainment of political office to
feel  fulfilled in life. While I am busy pursuing my interests and goals, I
speak
out  because simply because I am sick of dishonest people taking advantage
of
and  keeping our people at a disadvantage so they can continue to pursue
their  own agenda. I want something better for our people and not a thing
more. I
see advocacy for the people as something that far surpasses the attainment
of
 political office because in Africa, time and experience have proven  that
if your purpose is to  really and truly do something for the  people, it is
not
through politics which is rife with self interest and  when there have been
people in the political arena who are genuine in their  efforts, those who
seek
to fulfil only self interest  have succeeded in  undermining them every time
and it goes on, with succeeding generations of  like mind self interest
seekers bringing up the rear in this evil game.  Then the very same people
will
point  fingers, levelling accusations   of abandoning the people or not
doing
enough, it is all a well orchestrated  game. All hands and hearts on deck
must be
clean, and all intentions  truly selfless and sincere or we get nowhere, but
the interest of the people is  not really what drives the political process
on
the continent of Africa despite  all the hypocritical pronouncements.

It is only through education and advocacy, preparing the people so  they are
not vulnerable to the would be political gangsters that real  change can
occur. People need opportunities, education and jobs so they can  first feel
free
to really choose competent people to represent them as  opposed to being
coerced or forced by circumstance or any other affiliation  to choose those
for whom
the plight of the people is their last thought priority  really. Only then
can we hold politicians accountable for  delivering on the work they are
entrusted with in much the same way that a  corporation holds their
employees to the
task of meeting the requirements  for the job and being competent in order
to
maintain their positions by  putting in a performance that delivers on the
aims and objectives of the  company, and if not, for people to be able to
tell
these rogues to go  to hell. (pardon my french)

When people are poor, hungry and vulnerable, it is easy to exploit and
control them and that is the number one tool used by politicians on the
continent.
Africa is rutting away because that process of inactivity itself  is the
best
asset of the corrupt politicians. If they do their jobs and the  people
prosper, they will not have anyone left to exploit and rogues,
opportunists, self
interest seekers and incompetent people will not be able  to force their way
into political office and then proceed to do all kinds of  illegal acts to
stay
there. They will not be able to keep people ignorant by  controlling access
to the media so the people cannot communicate with each  other, they will
not
be able to block access to education and economic  opportunity so that
people
cannot better themselves, and they will not be able  buy or coerce the votes
from poor people who are forced by their  circumstance to do anything to put
food on the table.

Even getting to school is a nightmare for some of our children in The
Gambia, with some kids only hope of getting to school being thumbing rides
and I
still remember as far back as when I was a student at Gambia High school and
how
 some of the kids who lived in the Kombos would still be there at 5 and  6
PM, long after I had gone home and returned for my studies, and they  were
still
 there at that roundabout, hoping to catch a ride home  after school.
Things have not changed because I still find kids, younger ones in
elementary and junior high school now,  thumbing rides at various corners
hoping to
get to school or hoping to get home long after school has let out. How  is
such
a child supposed to concentrate on their studies when their biggest  worry
on
a daily basis is how will I ever get to school or get back  home? How can
they
do their homework, do chores and go out to play with  their friends in the
neighbourhood, be part of their community and just be   children? Has school
not
become a monumental burden for such a child? And this  is just the tip of
the
iceberg when one considers the daily torture that the  ordinary Gambian is
subject to just to get through one day.In the meantime,  those who spend all
the
resources on themselves and their own have no conscience  whatsoever.

No, if our problems are assessed by the politicians and our meager
resources
utilized to solve these problems as opposed to being made the personal
properties of dictators and their collaborators and under-studies, then our
corrupt politicians will not be able to create a false elite by  providing
opportunities only to their children and those of their cohorts while  the
rest are
left to fend for themselves and which has resulted in most of our  children
being
scattered all over the World in search of education, opportunity  and jobs,
forced to spend the better part  and prime of their  lives in foreign lands
where people are not always kind to them and resulting in  separating
mothers
from their children and grandchildren being born and growing  up without
ever
seeing or knowing their grandparents. Destroying the family unit  on the
African
continent and depriving people of the pleasure of passing one's  life in the
bossom of your family and extended family. All direct  consequences of the
greed and dishonesty of a few people holding everyone  hostage because they
create
situations that allow them to continue to do  so.

I am always filled with such a sense of sadness when I go to African
gatherings because I tend to see this deeper tragedy in the faces I watch
because I
am a mother too.
What cruelty those who seek and hold political office in Africa exact  on
the
people and how do human beings come to be like this?

All those who know me well will tell you that I am such a driven  person
that
if politics was my pursuit, I would have been deep in the melee  long, long
ago. If love of position without regard to the plight of my fellow  human
beings was what drives me, or if the desire not to offend those  close to me
would
prevent me from speaking up for truth and justice, then  those same
variables
would have been in place from the beginning and would  have prevented me
from
opening my mouth in the first place.
My deep sense of disdain for injustice and dishonesty are what led me to
start speaking up against this regime, and indeed, I am one of those people
who
hang my head in shame when people say that you cannot remove yourself from
involvement in political issues because I had done that for so long.

You see for years, almost all the years that the PPP government was in
power, I lived outside The Gambia and was not really aware of, involved or
interested in what was going on in the country. I had simply given up all
hope. I
would come home almost every year, and would spend my time catching  up with
family and friends and just enjoying being home, enjoying my  mom, until it
was
time to go back to Southern Africa or to the States,  wherever we happened
to
be at the time. As you can see, I got the  Eku Mahoney affair mixed up with
the
attempted coup of 1981. I knew nothing  about MOJA or the fact that there
were any opposition parties in the country  such as PDOIS that had not given
up
and joined the PPP  regime or forced to go defunct as a lot of them did. I
assumed that the situation was completely hopeless and that the PPP regime
had a
formula to win every election to stay in power and that as far as The Gambia
was  concerned, elections were a joke, they simply went through the motions
and  continued to rule year after year. The legacy is being continued, kept
alive by the current regime, by the guy who said he had staged a coup  to
save us
from corruption, nepotism etc, but instead, he tasted  power and has since
enlisted his own mafia, a host of people who think that  material gain
warrants
the abandonment of all moral obligation and who have also  foolishly
forgotten
that there is always a tomorrow, people who will do anything  to be part of
,
remain part of or to re-enter the circle of deceit and  cruelty.

During the PPP era, I was aware of the dilapidated public structures around
the country, dilapidated schools that had not seen a coat of paint for many
years, lack of school supplies (I remember when we used to be supplied with
note  books and pencils, text books etc at Gunjur school) and the fact that
kids
had to now buy their own desks to use in school when my mom told me about
how
 she had to buy one for my nephew,  the lack of medication in the hospitals
and the fact that half of all prescriptions filled for patients in the RVH
pharmacy were stolen by the staff to be sold to private pharmacies because I
had
 first hand experience of this happening to me once, and the general  decay
of the country which seemed to get worse with each year. The lack of  jobs
for
our youth and the resultant discouragement that eroded their self
confidence
and made some drug addicts and others to compromise themselves in  order to
be
able to leave the country in search of opportunity, any opportunity,  the
cronyism that seemed to prevail because people saw that as the only way to
catch
the crumbs that fell from the table of those who called the shots at the
time. The PPP regime did not fire weapons to murder Gambians in broad
daylight
like the Jammeh regime, but they had their ways and the APRC regime has
graduated to more "in your face" murder in the street, and they also  have
another
different strategy, build structures to impress the people  but which are
still
empty, just facades to fool the gullible or  ignorant.

I would visit places like Gunjur and Jangjangbureh and see ghost towns
where
there was economic vibrancy when I lived in those places in my youth, and
the case for Jangjangbureh was especially disheartening since the time I
was
there was during my infancy up to age 9 and the latter part of the colonial
era
and the idea that it fared better both economically and otherwise  during
that time as opposed to a time when we had been supposedly  independent from
our
colonial masters for some years was not something easy to  accept.

I had a terrible time getting a plot of land through the Lands office
because I assumed that all it took was for me to go there and complete an
application. I had lived in America too long I guess.  I also had a
terrible time each
time I wanted to renew a passport or get some other  government document but
I would persist until they gave it to me. My mom would  tell me that they
wanted a bribe and that was the reason that nonsensical things  I could not
understand were going on, but I was determined not to pay anyone a  bribe,
so I
guess in the end they considered me either a clueless fool or  decided that
my
continued presence in their respective offices in pursuit of the  same
documents
day after day may give away their efforts to squeeze people for  bribes so
they gave me whatever document I was seeking to get rid of  me.

I had also had my encounters with my grandmother who was a "Mere" for the
PPP and who had made attempt after attempt to register me and my  siblings
to
vote for the PPP of course, to no avail.
I had great respect for my grandmother and in our family,as in many a
Gambian family, respect for elders is not taken  lightly, especially respect
for a
grandmother, but I remember that  this was the first and only time that she
had
harsh words for me and declared me  as lacking respect because I had told
her
that I would register to vote only if  I saw a party that was fit to vote
for
when she had once more approached me  about registering me for the PPP.

So for most of my life, I have been pursuing my interests which lie
elsewhere other than the political arena, and it is only my outrage at  the
atrocities of the APRC regime, our having jumped from the frying pan  into
the actual
fire that led me to start speaking out at a time when most  people were
sending
me private emails cautioning me against doing it., but I  could not help
myself, I  was outraged and felt a moral obligation to speak  out in much
the same
way I have always done whenever and wherever I have come  across injustice.

 In the process, I came to find that my resolve to speak  out against this
regime has led some people to have the expectation for me  to continue this
effort, that there was a need for organization and organizers  and although
this
was not my intention at all, I also began to feel that I  did not have the
heart to disappoint people. The fact that I tend to be a  take charge kind
of
person does not help the situation either.

However, over time and after some experiences that have  helped me to make
some assessments and put some things into perspective, I  sadly arrive at
some
conclusions since I am also someone who does not  believe in banging my head
against a brick wall. However, I had not shared  these conclusions with
anyone
for fear of discouraging others.

No decent, God fearing human being who has a sense of right and  wrong and
who cares about their fellow human beings would ever be for sale nor  would
they
ever find it possible to close their eyes to injustice and compromise  their
decency by joining the mischief makers on the face of this earth.  That is a
virtue that does not change with time or circumstance,  it is part of one's
make up.

I understand that there is programming by some Gambians on tam tam, as well
as other efforts involving radio programs by other Gambians and I hope  that
all of them will be successful in  their endeavors and perhaps when they
read
this, it will inspire them  to incorporate some of these ideas we had into
their efforts. I have not  spoken to Modi because I did not want to give the
impression of trying to  tarnish anyone's image or to give him the
impression of
the existence of  any discord  amongst us, nor relay my dissappointment in
anyone lest that  has any negative effect. I simply moved on and that, among
other
things has  been the reason I have not had any presence on the L up to the
time of  these recent posts. I continue to hear, through friends, various
reasons
for my  silence given by speculators and I can only pray that God will grace
us  with clean hearts because otherwise, we are in real trouble, and that
they
will  have faith that there are some of us who really mean what we say and
say what we  mean.

Brother Momodou Sidibeh, I know you are busy, and no response is  necessary.
This has also given me a chance to clarify some things, and  that is enough.
Please extend my warm regards to the family.

Sister Jabou Joh



In a message dated 12/17/2005 2:14:45 P.M. Central Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

Sister  Jabou Joh,

Let me begin again by reiterating my statement that I am  extremely glad
to have dragged you into the mud. Your wisdom and clarity is  much needed
here. And between you an me there will be no sibling quarrel.  But
please, Sis, all I wrote about the Tam-Tam show was:

..."  Naturally, believing  that Senegal should contemplate coming to  our
rescue - a theme alluded to  implicitly in especially the Tam-Tam  show
Mr. Fye and yourself  helped  arrange - is almost naive, to  put it
mildly".


I am unable to understand why you think I meant  it was you who thought or
said Senegal should come to our aid? I have NO  misconceptions whatsoever
about
the Tam-Tam show. Some callers-in to the  program said things that implied
they hoped or wished Senegal should come to  our rescue. It was not a
realistic
wish; but equally it was infact not  important. I mentioned it in passing
just
to corroborate your earlier view  that we should not expect Senegal to act
order than in pursuit of its  calculated interests.

On the other hand, it is perhaps just as well  that your brought it up in
this manner. For the record, let me state  categorically that the Tam-Tam
show
that Mr. Elhajj Mustafa Fye and yourself  helped organise was a fantastic
show!
(And I think I said that before).
It  was simply superb, and you were fabulous. It was fantastic to here you
systematically breakdown our Gambian political, social, and economic misery
in
so impeccable Wollof; the kind of Wollof that melts ones heart; and I
remember  you even mentioning all the  human rights abuses in precise
chronological
order. That single Tam-Tam show was more powerful (for me, i.e) than acres
of
sterile debates we have been churning on the net for years. If there turned
out to be people who accused you or any other person for selfishness, then
they needed a look into their heads. [Koto Elhajj burnt the entire show on
CD
for me and I have been so proud lending out to sisters and brothers here
listen to you all who were so good on that show. That was a great day for
our
community of dissent].

I am disappointed though that both Mr. Fye and  yourself shelved the
opportunity for more powerful propaganda because some  knuckleheads thought
you were
propagandising yourselves. Come on, you know  that good people have stones
thrown at them for standing up for progress and  decency and truth; and so
given
what now obtains at home, I think Elhajj and  yourself should reinvigorate
the
communication lines with Radio Tam-tam online  once again.

Cheers,
Brother Modou

P.S You know I no longer  have much spare time on my hands, but I think the
discussion on NADD needs to  continue.
M





[log in to unmask]  skrev:

>
>Brother Modou Sidibeh,
>
>I stand  corrected. I was not in Gambia when the incident you speak of
>occurred,  the Eku Mahoney affair, so I got it all mixed up with the
attempted
>coup.My mistake. So I really cannot speak to  that.
>However, regarding Senegalese troops having killed Gambians  during the
>attempted coup of 1981, I am sure that happened and given  the
>circumstances
  where
>
>

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
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