Ngorr I talked to Chongan on my way to Gambia. He was offered a job at the home office in London. Part of is job will be dealing with immigrants. I am suppose to call him today and then i will give you a detail information on what his job is about. His wife is now attending the university in London Talk to you soon Matarr >From: Ngorr Ciise <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: TODAY'S QUOTE -- Ebrima Ismaila Chongan >Date: Wed, 15 May 2002 14:55:32 +0000 > >In today's quote, Brother Sanusi Owens wrote: > ><<"Contrary to the intentions of the military, every >detention against me strengthens my resolve. Every act >of persecution through police cell or criminal charges >advances the cause I fight for. Anytime I am arrested >and taken to the police cell or to the prisons, I am >not sad and I don't feel inconvenienced simply because >I am not there because of myself fighting my own >cause." > > > > >Chief Gani Fawehini. Nigeria's Human Rights Crusader. > > > >This quote is dedicated to all political activists who >were unlawfully detained in The Gambia during the >First and Second Republic.>> > >Brother Sanusi, with your kind permission, can i be more specific and >single >out the brave, heroic and patriotic stance of a Brother, who not only >selflessly defended constitutionality on July 22nd. 1994 but, most >importantly, defiantly defended his actions on that fateful day, and paid >the price of being illegally detained for said stance? The Brother in >question is Ebrima Ismaila - formerly of the Gambia Police Force. But >before >i proceed to say why i think Chongan is worthy of my deepest amiration and >respect, let me cull yestesday's quote, which you provided, and the >appropriateness of this exercise would have a better context: > ><<"It is not the duty of the army to rule or govern >because it has no political mandate...... If the >national interest compels the armed forces to >intervene, then immediately after the intervention the >army must hand over to a new civilian government >elected by the people and enjoying the people's >mandate under a constitution accepted by them. If the >army failed to do this , then it has betrayed the >people and the national interest. " > >Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's First President and Founding >member of the Pan Africanist Movement>> > >When i read this quote yesterday, the mouse that ran in the attic of my >memory was how this quote aptly described the stance Chongan and his men >took against the mutineering soldiers, who by quirk twist of fates ended up >with an unintended "coup d'etat" in their hands. Imbued by the admirable >ideals of constitutionality, Rule of Law and a grand sense duty, Chongan >and >his men valiantly defended first Denton Bridge from the onslaught of the >mutineers, and when the tide went against him and his small band of loyal >patriots, they took the fight all the way to Radio Syd. It was only upon >the >realisation of the futility of further exchanges with the mutineers, and >the >young Gambian lives that could invariably have gone that Chongan -- with >dignity and his integrity intact -- asked his men to lay their arms downs >and negotiated a compromise. > >For this stance, Chongan and every right thinking individual amongst his >small band of patriots were illegally detained for months; they tortured, >harrassed and intimidated relentlessly by such sadists like Sanna Sabally >et >al. During those emotionally trying and perplexing times, Chongan stoically >persisted with the ideals that imbued him to take his heroic stance against >the banditry of Yaya et al. He never wavered in his belief that the >position >he staked on July 22nd. 1994 was the right one, and wholly defensible. Much >froth and nonsense has been written -- especially on Gambia-L last year -- >about Chongan's motives on that fateful day, to the effect it had been >erroneously and nastily insinuated that the reason why he defended >constitutionality on that fateful day was because he (Chongan) was a mere >PPP operative. This is nonsense on stilts: not only has Chongan taken an >astringently liberal slant in the course of executing his duties, >especially >the executing of the conditionalities of granting permits for political >rallies in the First Republic, but, most importantly, he had granted such >then radical groupings like PDOIS permits as and when they applied for one. >These liberal interpretations and executions of conditionalities for >permits >didn't go down well with the PPP establishment; but Chongan was a >conscientious PUBLIC SERVANT, serving the STATE and NOT any other political >grouping -- be it the PPP, NCP or PDOIS. It was his understanding of his >duties as an employee of the State which proplled him to interpret and >execute his duties as he had sworn to do so when he joined the Services >decades ago. > >Much to the AFPRC/APRC's chagrin, the case they tried to build against >Chongan failed; and they were forced to release him. As it happened, >Chongan's resolve, principles, integrity and conscience was further tested >by the APRC when he was released: he was offered a job by Yaya, and Chongan >turned down the offer. Chongan knew then, as now, that men of conscience, >principles and impregnable integrity are incapable of a worthy relationship >with Yaya's. But unbeknownst to him, by refusing this job offer on grounds >of incompatible principles with the APRC, this stance was to be used >against >him when he left the Gambia for the UK, and sought political asylum there. >Indeed, the job offer was used as anecdotal evidence to the effect that if >his life were under threaten by the APRC, he would not have been offered a >job the APRC. Luckily for him, his one-time boss in the police and former >Mile Two detainee, Pa Sallah Jagne, who did accept jobs from Yaya with >disastrous consequences, defected from the APRC and bolted before the >stable >doors were locked on him. Signally, Jagne's fall from grace in the scheme >of >APRC politics, and subsequent defection to the US rendered obsolete any >such >claims that Chongan will ever be safe in a Gambia under the tyranny of Yaya > >Even in the UK, life was never as easy as he may have anticipated. With >much >brio and principles, Chongan literally went through countless setbacks, >seemingly never-ending trials and tribulations that invariably comes with >migrations, especially migrants migrating with a young family. An instance >of Chongan's self discipline, hard work and sheer knack for sticking to >principles under considerable strain was how he got his first degree. The >Brother paid his first year through university from his own pockets, whilst >weathering the emotional and financial storms of bringing up a young family >on his own in an alien country by working full time at night and studying >full time during the day for his degree. As with stories of perseverance >and >dignified struggle against the odds, Chongan's trials and tribulations paid >off handsomely: he's now got his LLB Honours Degree under his belt; a new >career in the British Civil Service; and a family integrating with him in >their host society -- a society that has shown time and again that it is >relatively tolerant, fair-minded and rewards hard work and self-discipline. > >I hope that by going this far to commemorate the dignified trials and >tribulations of such an admirable and inestimable fellow like Chongan, >others who know of specific individuals -- who stood against the tide of >tyranny in the Gambia -- will name names and deeds. > >Finally, i wish Chongan and his young family all the best in the new >Odyssey >they've embarked upon in the UK. I have no doubt in my mind at all that his >life from July 22nd. 1994 to date is a vindication of the admirable >principles he defended valiantly on that regrettable and fateful day. > > > > > > > >_________________________________________________________________ >Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~