They gather under the huge cashew tree at the Bantaba. It is the meeting place for the young elites. They aspire to take over from the old politicians whose response to politics they deem not enthusiastic enough. They want to change the climate of apathy and silence that characterized the politics of the day. They are the future leaders. However, the rancor within their midst; the tone and depth of their political arguments, leaves much to the imagination as to what the future holds. At the Bantaba they talk about politics. They argue and defend their partisan posturing. They engage in heated intellectual debates about the economy, democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the state of governance in this tiny African nation, hailed proudly as the Smiling Coast. The most vociferous defender of the human rights campaign is Abdel Kabir. He has a noticeable presence in all the online newspapers. He writes voraciously and decry the wanton disregard of civil liberties, and the abnegation of the fundamental rights that accords dignity and decency to the human being. The most astute advocate of democracy, however, is Mam Latir. He has a polished and artistic delivery style. With a lot of sophistry. No comment of significance escape his scrutiny, and many a time he finds himself embroil in more than one disagreements. Njogu is a gentleman and a scholar. A literary artists. He articulates his disdain and opposition to the hegemony of a political dictatorship, by writing political satires and poems that expose the deficiences and corrruption of the status quo. He always stays above the fray; the acrimonous and bitter exchanges that at most times ensues at the bantaba. There are the other voices too: intelligent, patriotic, measured and forceful. They added to the relevance and importance of the bantaba as a discussion forum. The exchanges and conversations, to a great extend are a micocosm of what obtains in the larger society. The anxiety, the hopelessness, the anger and frustration, of the intractable complexities that bemoan the challenges of a nation. At the heart of the problem is the question of being. What should the nation become? Or conversely, what has the nation became? Rene NB: This is the subject of a play I would want to write reflecting on the myraid voices that has been raised in our discussion forums. Actions Flag Clear flag Create a Filter Print Message Show Message Status View Message Source --------- Move to: IMs Spam Recently Deleted Saved Mail Go to the previous message control+alt+pagedown Go to the next message control+alt+pageup Close message escape © 2010 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved Standard VersionTerms of ServicePrivacy PolicyContext Sensitive Shortcuts [log in to unmask] Actions Flag Clear flag Print Message Show Message Status View Message Source --------- Move to: IMs Recently Deleted Saved Mail Go to the next message control+alt+pageup Close message escape © 2010 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved Standard VersionTerms of ServicePrivacy PolicyContext Sensitive Shortcuts ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤