WHO KILLED DEYDA HYDRA?

On the morning of Deyda’s murder, when I got online to see state of affairs back home, I saw outrageous postings by Gambians from all works of life about the brutal act. I then started shedding tears and saw fellow students staring intensely at me, as they felt and knew that something terrible went wrong.

By the time I reached the lobby of our school library, I found a couple of colleagues who are also very keen about developments in The Gambia. I walked towards them with a breathtaking recall of how I was reading the outrageous and angry articles posted by concerned Gambians. I wanted to disbelieve my eyes as they shed tears. It was after making a few calls that I recognized the magnitude of what was happening. I satisfactorily concluded that President Jammeh and his thugs murdered Deyda Hydra.

In many respects my reactions to the events of that morning were no different from those of most people. Like so many Americans and Gambians, I was shocked by the scale of the horrific assault. And I was as grimly intrigued as anyone by the subsequent outpouring of stories about the mind-set of those wicked souls who hijacked Deyda Hydra (May his soul rest in peace). But I quickly discovered that I was often sync with other common reactions to the tragedy. One of my colleagues (a political science major), then asked me: Binneh will you continue writing after such a barbaric act?” It wasn’t any false sense of bravado that prompted me to reply, “of course.” I told him that Jammeh and his thugs on me, even before such a tragedy, instill no sense of vulnerability. Gambians must learn to live with it even if the latter exists.

I found myself somewhat puzzled by the tone in which Gambians posed the most frequently asked question: “ Why does Jammeh hate journalist and human rights activists?” It was one of stunned disbelief, as if the idea of Jammeh’s hatred towards the media and human right activist was a novel one. Although I had been as surprised as everyone by the enormity of such barbaric and inhumane acts, I was hardly surprised that President Jammeh and Edward Singhated could trigger such broad range of emotions that included pathological hatred.

I can only attribute those differences to the fact that I’ve spent part of my life as an army lieutenant who knows Jammeh and Edward and how wicked they are. My experiences with them left no doubt that their act of terrorism isn’t something that happens only to  the media and human rights activists, and that their actions repels much of the rest of the world. While nothing on the scale of such brutalities ever occurred against the media, Gambians are accustomed to frequent warnings by Jammeh’s thugs that they could be targets. Such actions of all sorts are a real fact of life that touched lives close to our families. It succeeded so well that President Jammeh has become a monster, in which his tainting, sickness and inhumanity have grown to appalling dimensions. We must therefore remain committed to the cause, and against one common enemy YAYA JAHANABA. Finally I urge all Gambians to continue writing to their respective Senators and congressmen about state of affairs from 1994 to date. Wishing  you all a merry christmas and a happy new year in advance.

“ Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” (Margaret Mead)