Students' Plight Enters Sixth Month, Ambassador Under Fire The Independent (Banjul) September 7, 2001 Posted to the web September 7, 2001 Banjul, the Gambia Fifteen Gambians still stranded in Sudan following a problem between the Sudanese government and West African students in the International University of Africa have again sought to attract government attention to their plight which they said is getting harsh and more unbearable daily. They have since blamed Mangum Ceesay the Gambia's ambassador to Saudi Arabia for dashing their hope to return home after he allegedly reneged on his promise to secure plane tickets for them. Nine students said to be stranded there are identified as Lamin Drammeh, Mohammed Lamin Kujabi, Kalifa Darboe, Foday Sonko, Sering Jobe, Yahya Ceesay, Alasana Kanyi Salmata Jallow, Fatmata Nyang and a two-year-old child. The luckless Gambians who said they are being accommodated in a non-hygienic part of a town many kilometres from the Capital Khartoum, said they were assured by The Gambia's ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mangum Ceesay who had visited them in July to learn firsthand about their strenuous life in Sudan bereft of proper food or shelter. They said he had promised to evacuate them within a few days of leaving but reneged on his promise. They said as a result they have been thrown into a protracted period of uncertainty as Mangum was quoted as telling them that he had never made any promise to them. They said after three telephone calls to Mr. Ceesay reminding him of his promise to send them air tickets without delay the Gambian ambassador to Saudi Arabia had caused much disappointment to them. "Every time he came up with a different story and lastly denied having promised us anything. We are Gambians with full citizenship rights and so if we are in problems it is the responsibility of our government to save us" they wrote to The Independent. "Other governments have already helped their students by sending them special planes or air tickets like the Senegalese and Malians" they noted. Meanwhile the students who have since abandoned classes as result of the crisis explained that since their hold-up in Sudan in March 2001 the only story to tell has been one of hunger, anger and frustration over the way they are being treated, left on their own without any help. They said some of them are already contracting illnesses caused because of living in an unhealthy environment. They said they along with some few Burkinabes and Guineans are the only ones left stranded since other nationals have been evacuated in the first few months of the crisis which began when West African students of the International University of Africa clashed with the Sudanese security personnel over what was described as the racially-motivated treatment of one West African student. Despite the lack of response from the government to calls for their evacuation the stranded Gambian students said they still trust that the government, has the ability to save them from further problem. Meanwhile two other students were also stranded in Bangladesh as a result of a situation whose details were still sketchy as we went to press. _________________________________________________________________ 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------