Hamjatta, Even if Lamin Ceesay is Essa Bokar Sey, why bring his family and broken marriage into the picture? For God's sake engage the guy like a man and not stoop this low to make your point. Have a good day, Gassa. >From: Hamjatta Kanteh <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: Attn: ESSA BOKARI SEY >Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 08:39:29 EDT > >Prince, > >Of course, "Lamin Ceesay" or "Lams Ceesay" is the new nom de guerre of Essa >Bokarr Sey - our newly DEMOTED Ambassador to Taiwan. Unbeknownst to Essa, i >deliberately paraded his DEMOTION just to kick him in the guts so he will >resort to mouthing obscenities and the rest of the mumbo jumbo he is so >fond >of rambling when he is feeling psychotic. You see of all the APRC >operatives, >Essa, arguably, has the worst form of ACUTE INFERIORITY COMPLEX >psychiatrists >would ever prescribe for anyone. Perhaps the only individual that can rival >him for that crown would have to be Jammeh himself. That in itself should >help explain why Essa and Jammeh are such close buddies....birds of the >same >feather, as the adage goes, will invariably stick together! Thus i >calculated >in my mind that if i dared make mention of Essa's DEMOTION - from being >Gambia's Ambassador to France to the lowly post of Ambassador to Taipei - >he >would go beserk and say things that will ultimately unmask him. And boy did >my calculation get it so right! > >Most importantly, his reaction merely helped confirm to me a story of >friend >mine once told me about Essa Bokarr Sey. This friend of mine - as it >happens, >a distant relative of Essa's - told me that subsequent to Essa's >appointment >as Gambia's new ambassador to France, the first thing he did was to divorce >his first wife of many years with whom he had some children. What was this >poor woman's crime - if any? Her crime, as it happened, turned out to be >one >of perception: that she wasn't of the right pedigree or stock to partner an >ambassador. See, Essa reckoned that this woman is an unrefined commoner who >wouldn't fit into the role of an ambassador's wife and or properly help him >carry out his ambassadorial chores which, of course, includes entertaining >the creme de la creme of your host nation and the diplomatic corps of that >country. In a nutshell, Essa thought that his old wife is what we would >call >in Gambian slang a "local" - any Gambian knows how socially condescending >and >dismissive this social parlance can be, especially as it relates to "class" >and status in society. How this woman could be an unrefined commoner >without >class, i never fully fathomed. Or rather, i never bothered to ask my >friend. > >A speculation, therefore, is well in order. It may well be the case that >Essa's first marriage was a traditionally arranged one with a native of >Kuntaya who in his imagination doesn't fit into the class category of >sophistication and refinement; qualities he seemed to believe an ambassador >couldn't do without in a wife. But i suspect - gauging by Essa's behaviour >and utterances here and elsewhere - that there is more to this than our >nouveau elite or "joegbu ess" told his friends and family. Perhaps, Essa >was >merely trying to short-cut or hide his OWN shortcomings as a "local" who >would find it difficult to mingle in the sophisticated milieu of French >diplomatic and social life? Anyone familiar with French hauteur, snooty >elitism and snobbery, especially as they relate to their so-called >sophistication in food and wine, would perhaps understand "local" boy >Essa's >fidgety apprehensions about life in France as an ambassador without the >"proper" companion to groom him. In the event, Essa divorced this poor >woman >and went head-hunting for a more refined and sophisticated woman to help >him >socialise and organise his new life as ambassador of the Gambia to the >Champs >D' Elyss. Essa i can confirm has found his refined and sophisticated new >woman and they are happily married. I wonder whether our Essa is now paying >the appropriate alimony to the "local" woman he left for the refined and >sophisticated woman he is currently with. > >We pause here to speculate whether with the new Madam Sey in attendance, >Essa >had succeeded in waltzing or fox-trotting his way into French society and >its >diplomatic corps? Whether now our "joegbu ess" or nouveau elite can hum >Chopin's "Nocturne" or Rameau's "Castor et Pollux" or Claude Debussy's >"Preludes" as he reads his daily "Le Figaro", whilst the cultured Madame >Sey >hones her French cuisine skills in the kitchen? Whether Essa has now been >taught the "proper" table manners, social etiquettes and how to >appropriately >toast his hosts? In short, has Essa's new acquisition "civilised" him >enough >to call himself a refined and sophisticated gentleman? I pray this is the >case. For if you can abruptly end a long term relationship on the stupid >premise that the woman who mothered your children is an unrefined commoner, >then to that individual, women are mere acquisitions to be purchased and >sold >when they are past their use. Perhaps, the Sisterhood, in light of my >revelations, would want to take Essa to task? > >More to the point, those who know Essa well shouldn't have been caught >aback >when he ditched his "local" woman for one with social status. I learn that >soon after the AFPRC took over and Essa was rewarded for being a comedian >in >residence at the Jammeh State House, first thing he pondered about was to >move to the Fajarahome from his modest LatriKunda. Now, he thought moving >to >the Fajara from his modest home in LatriKunda would enhance his social >status >because he is one of those class obsessed Gambians who seem to think that >anyone living in Fajara is high up in the social ladder. Thus our Essa went >to live in Fajara and nowadays, he seems to imagine and indeed, persuading >himself that he is a different Essa now. So in his mind, he is no longer >the >"local" boy from Kuntaya. In his dreams - maybe. > >I repeat this sad story of Essa's not out of malice but to tell a moral >narrative in the AFPRC/APRC story which we take for granted: the extent to >which inferiority complex and class warfare were, amongst others, a factor >in >the July 22nd Coup. In essence, this story is a reminder to all and sundry >how a group of low-lives stole power in the Gambia in name of rectifying >past >wrongs only to institutionalise such wrongs; and helped worsen such wrongs >and in effect made them a way of life in the Gambia by wasting our scarce >resources on profligacies that they think will help them square with >imagined >class status. We tend to under-estimate the ripples of class obsession, >warfare and rhetoric inherent in the so-called July 22nd "revolution". Then >again, we ignore the class strands of July 22nd at our own perils. > >Essa Bokarr Sey: > >As per your comment that Taipei has more geopolitical clout than Paris, >only >the uninitiated in geopolitics would utter such nonsense. Perhaps, in the >cheque-book diplomacy - that is the cornerstone of your gov't's foreign >policy - Taipei carries more geopolitical weight than Paris by virtue of >the >fact that Taipei is trying to buy herself international recognition whereas >Paris has no such clamouring. But in the real world of the teutonic shifts >of >geopolitical manouevring and out-manouevring, Taipei is a poodle compared >to >Paris' Rottweiler stature. I hope i have helped you with your ignorant >query. > >Essa, mouth as many obscenities as you can as it will never corrode this >fundamental moral truth: you will always be an oaf afflicted with acute >inferiority complex. Buying yourself a house in Fajara or marrying into a >family you think has the right social status will never corrode this truth. >I >will, however, concede that try is all you can do. So keep trying ole boy. >Just remember that you will always be the same Essa Bokarr Sey from >Kuntaya. >No amount of social and artificial grooming and ill-gotten gains can alter >this fact. There is simply no corner too dark for you to hide from >yourself. > >Hamjatta Kanteh > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >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. >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------