Gainako Newspaper

On a sunny morning in July 1981, the young Watchman woke up to
an astounding array of noise and what he presumed to be fireworks.
He was confused because there were no holidays to celebrate this
time of the year in Banjul. From his vantage point, the house window,
he could see people running for cover and screaming for kids to stay
inside compounds. He knew something was terribly wrong and no
sooner had he come to that conclusion than he heard family members
talking about a coup to oust President Jawara from power. Gambian
society up to that time was relatively �blissful.� Underneath this peace
however was a powder keg of dissatisfaction waiting to explode.

In dissecting the real life character that is Famara the rebel, the Watchman aims to show how despite
all the brouhaha about who has what or who gets what, the common denominator for success in
relatively still young African states is development. In his 1998 Nobel Peace winning work,
Development as Freedom, Amartya Sen, the Indian economist, outlined the idea that development is
the key to unlocking the greatest economic and social potential that has eluded the less endowed
entities that could be found in mostly Africa, Asia and South America.

In the years before the coup attempt in The Gambia, the route to getting work was petty feudal and
connection driven. One entered the Field Force with inside help, one got to work at GPMB through
personal links, one got to be an employee of Banjul Breweries with the assistance of an insider and
one definitely had to know a person of influence to land a place in the civil service that was
headquartered at the Quadrangle opposite McCarthy Square. In Banjul, a lot of compounds were
composed of Wolof, Aku and Hausa landowners who leased quarters to Mandinkas, Fulas,
Manjagos and Serers who were land and house owners back in their hometowns but had no recourse
but to rent once they got to the big towns of Bakau, Serrekunda and so forth.

This melting pot allowed all these different Gambians to see each other�s lives up close and personal
and while there was a mostly very amicable interaction between citizens, the material imbalance
instilled a sense of aspiration and frustration on the part of tenants who lived with their families in
compounds owned by original Banjulians. Famara was one of them. He was the oldest son of a
Mandinka laborer who had an intensely difficult time finding work due to his lack of connections. Now
some might say, Mandinkas were in power and this scenario could not be possible but these simplistic
statements fail to underscore that more so than tribalism, nepotism also occurred frequently and had
an intra-tribe trickle down effect.

Every week, Famara would get into an argument with his parents over the fact he was in his late 20s,
unmarried, unemployed and still lived at home. In return, Famara would lash out saying he had given it
all he had and for some reason he keeps getting told to �come back next week.� He played with his
younger siblings most of the day, went around looking for work, would get an odd job here and then
but he could never make things work on a stable and permanent basis vis-�-vis employment. His 2
sisters were getting an education he did not have, at Mohammedan and Albion primary schools
respectively and seemed to have a brighter future ahead than he had.

There were times when Famara would disappear for days and everyone wondered where he was
holed up. It also became apparent that his favorite social pastime was watching the women dance
during NCP rallies held at the wide street of Sam Jack not far from the seat of government. Famara
liked Sheriff Dibba and later revealed that in addition to really enjoying the women display their artistic
skills during the political events, he really paid attention to the words of the formerly staunch
opposition stalwart.

It didn�t take for us to know what Famara was up to because on that sunny and bloody July morning,
he proudly walked back to his parent�s home with an AK 47 slung over his shoulder. Famara was
now a rebel allied with Kukoi Samba Sanyang , the leader of the uprising. His father asked him if he
had killed anyone and warned that taking a life was not in accordance with family values not to
mention Muslim tenets. Famara couldn�t look at his Dad in the face but with a bowed head said no.
Actually, as the battle raged on in Banjul between loyalists and insurgents, one thing became clear.
Famara didn�t even know how to operate the rifle he wielded in his new found power as a rebel. It
was very darn useful though when it came to looting, because at Maurel Prom, located at Buckle
Street, he was able to bring home a couple of TVs and a small refrigerator simply due to the fact that
he was armed and other looters made way for him. During the chaos of the coup, Famara brought so
many looted items from his forays to downtown Banjul stores, his parent�s small home couldn�t
contain the material windfall. So he started giving the excess goods to friends and neighbors.

One afternoon during the attempted putsch, Famara ran like a scared antelope being chased by
ferocious cheetahs and headed straight home. Upon arrival, he screamed at his parents to tell anybody
that bothered to ask that he was nowhere to be found and then proceeded to hide under their bed.
After 6 hours elapsed, he crawled from under his refuge and with bloodshot eyes, proceeded to tell
his family how he had caught a glimpse of the legendary Tambajang and wanted nothing to do with the
defender of The Central Bank and other points of regime functionality. Famara exclaimed that he saw
the look in Tambajang�s eyes and came to the conclusion that the guy was no joke. A decade after
Famara said this about Mr. Tambajang�s eyes, I was a guest at his residence and after looking into his
eyes when he wasn�t smiling I agreed wholeheartedly.

After Famara had stopped shaking in terror due to his unfortunate encounter, the young Watchman
asked him how to operate the AK 47 and Famara just smiled sheepishly. Again, young Watchman
asked him how to operate the weapon and Famara, pretending to know what he was doing, pulled
the gun from safety and accidentally sprayed bullets at his parent�s house. Everyone screamed in
terror and hit the ground, young Watchman included. Young Watchman�s Grandmother limped as fast
as she could, grabbed Famara by the ears and asked him to leave the compound in the name of God.
All the while, Radio Gambia kept uttering the now infamous words of that unfortunate episode in the
country�s history: �Long Live the Revolution!!!� Famara left but came back at night to drop off a
BMX bike he had stolen from a young man at gun point. There was tension between Famara and his
mother because he kept bringing small refrigerators and radios that could only be powered by
electricity and their home had none. He promised to look for a generator but came back with a
motorboat engine instead.

It was obvious Famara�s shenanigans caused a lot of consternation for his family. They did not know
what would happen to them if the coup failed and were unsure what future a Gambia without Dawda
K. Jawara would be live. They lived in agony because as much as their son was part of a movement
that sought to overturn the glaring inequalities that existed in those times and still do to an extent, they
were unsure of who would come out the victor. So they waited and waited and avoided their
neighbors� stares, embarrassed by the fact that they were deemed guilty by association with son who
was complicit in the deaths of many they personally knew. Famara could be heard some night during
the chaos telling his parents he never killed a single soul but was tired of being laughed at and
disrespected by people who labeled him a big loser. He kept shouting �I�m a man!� and �No one
disrespects me!� to anyone who would listen to him.

Upon hearing that Senegalese troops were summoned to aid a Gambian government under duress,
Famara immediately changed his tune. He dumped the AK 47 he couldn�t use and acted as the
guardian of the compound he lived. When some bloodthirsty rebels ventured to his home, he
convinced them everyone inside the structure supported them and persuaded them to move on without
any bloodletting. He led prayers at the local mosque down the street and attended funerals of some
coup victims. This attempt at rehabilitation was short lived, however. People had seen Famara
sauntering down the street with a group of insurgents and had taken note.

The endgame suddenly came with the success of the SAS ( British Special Air Services) in thwarting
the strategy of an utterly amateurish rebel movement and the gallantry of the interventionist Senegalese
troops whose actions led to the establishment of the SeneGambia Confederacy. After the conflict
ended, Famara did not flee like most former subversives and spent most his free time napping. One
after while deep in slumber, he had a rude awakening courtesy of government security forces that
were rounding up all known participants in that debacle of a take over and was detained for a short
period. After the extent of his role became known, Famara was released within 3 months. He was not
tortured, humiliated or had his family harassed. In other words, the Jawara security apparatus treated
him with dignity, unlike the circus workers of the NIA.

After his release, Famara�s father insisted that he go back to the home village in Badibu and think over
what he course he wanted to take in life because the previous path was deadly and God had given him
a second chance. He left Banjul with the help of all his neighbors. His Aku landlord gave him money to
start all over again, his Serer co-tenants gave him groceries to sustain him for the first couple of
months, the Fula shop keepers loaned his parents soap, bags of rice and oil to possess in his quest to
marry and start a family, his Wolof neighbors invited him for a prayer session at their mosque to confer
Allah�s blessing upon him, and one of his friends who was more fortunate and had a great government
job took him to a corner and told him even though their lot in life was different, he still respected and
thought highly of Famara. And so on a misty November morning 1981, Famara left for the car park
located near Grant Street for his journey back home. His mother and sisters cried as his Father held
the hands of his brothers and wished him luck.

And a young Watchman was right there. Watching everything.

Gambiaswatchman@gmail.com

......................................PROSE:
.. A WEEPING STATE
..VENDETTA TO THE POWER THREE!
........................By Essa Bokarr Sey.........................April 20th, 2008

You know�.when popular voices speak consensus should listen!
That�s not the case on our piece of land. Here is a red spot with
reflectors, where none is listening to the deafening silence that is
hovering over our heads. Silence does not always mean peace!
A red spot being called a state. Everything here is about stopping
the signs! Nothing says move! Why all these reflectors on that red
spot? Red plus red doesn�t give a spectrum or the beautiful colours
of a rainbow. Red gives the colour of blood. Isn�t there blood in the
water? There is! Whose blood is it? The cheating servant�s, the sad
serpent�s or the sad servant�s?

All I can say is, I can hear absolute demagogy in this wild arena of vendetta. There is a prism to look
through and see the weeping faces of betrayed servants, the futuristic story of sad servants and
wounded hearts. This prism is where one can see the reddish fangs of crawling adders, or vampires
that are grinding their teeth. What a parade of wild political cats with bloody whiskers! Every cat I see
is ready to spring, hunt and gather for itself. Parade halt!!!

For now no stand-at-ease. Anyway and anywhere just halt! Everything here represents vendetta in
and out of the arena. An arena where spectators are watching �glad-predators� stalking towards
vulnerable preys! Stratified layers of falsehood. Heaps of knots to be tightened! Tightening the knots
of static wheels? Is that not stagnation? Stagnant muddy pools are causing the stench! Brooding near
doom. When will my ear drums hear the word boom? Isn�t that a wan moonlight of doom and gloom?
Sometimes during the silent moments of that soliloquy�no voices are heard. We only hear hearts!
There are predictions that are not products of negativity, they are jumping elements of an
effervescence! Simply put!
Where popularity is combating production. and popular evil riding on the back of unknown good.
Sinning while spinning. Raising the bar of performance in this high tide of rising sins, is like trying to
sink so many shirks with one index finger! Hallucination isn�t enough. Give me more adjectives, put
them in that tin. Is that enough to paint this picture of fairy tales?
Right in that circle of an endless circus of wild cats with bloody whiskers, I can hear plans. Hmmm
their whispers can be deadly too. Once upon a time, I heard �freedom from hunger campaign� What a
banner! Today and tomorrow�.Let us release another banner�.�Freedom from anger campaign�
Anger and hunger divided by danger equals to thundering blunders! What a world of tall walls! What
a castle of cursed causes! How many times shall we see the gates of those gallows sliding back and
forth? Six feet deep! Six sheep for a festival! Six meals for the killers. How can conscience reconcile
this? Urging and forcing? How about merging? Left-right-left-parade halt! History and time are the
commanders of this parade of good versus evil. Both are in the minds of the beholders. Right or
wrong�all I can say is��save the backbone of Cambi
Bolongo� I can hear those eagles of war singing in the thicket. This endless vendetta makes me shiver.
It is where national security itself has become a threat! Factions versus a nation where ration is scarce!
The journey of never mind ends in the city of deep regrets! Who hates who? Who hates what?
Reaping what one showed is an assurance. Sowing the good for a better harvest is an insurance. Is
there any brother�s keeper here? Is there any sister�s keeper here? Do not nudge on that blazing
stone!
Where is conscience? Where is confidence? Do not lose the latter!
Our choices in this noise! Never throw the dice before amateurs�..

............................PROSE:
........The Cruel Crew of
........ "voo-doo science",
....all things not considered...
...............................By Essa Bokarr SEY...................April 20th, 2008

Feelings hitting feelings....a soul reminded me of one single thing again
and again. A book saying "Where there is no doctor". This was a book
istributed by volunteers who served men,women,children,goats,cows
and mules right there in the hinterland of Cambi Bolongo. Once upon a
time I remember staring at the milky way galaxy in Kuntaya village.
there I saw thought flying like a kite. It was flying at night but was not
out of sight.

There in that village I touched the book saying "Where there is no doctor" it taught me and others how
to conserve perishable tomatoes,pumpkins,and salad from the school garden. Thank you minds! you
made us keep what we used to throw away at the back yard. Hello Kuntaya my mango tree is still
there,my lemon tree is still in that thicket called "posteh". There we saw the herbs,there we studied the
herbs,there Uztaaz told me not trust "voo-doo science". Hmmm....satanic saliva is so slippery and
poisonous!
"Kooni Gorko Achu!" there is no more reason to see in this cloud of dusty fabrications. Here we are
again after reaching the boundary. Alright! Unreasobale doubt isn't sanity,neither is it vanity. It causes
mirages in lost illusions! This is where minds are dispersed! Some charge some relax. This is where
sense does not need lenses to see through the thick layers of that demonic nonsense! Disobey every
spiritual threat from Dr "Kufaarak". Take bath at midday,go to bed so late and see if this satanic
demon would come home roaming in the wilderness of time? I swear by the powers of "Rabb
Samaa-waati Wal Ard" Dr "Kufaarak" this one is a non starter. Try another chime and see if time's
huge clock will not stop before your eyes! Just try!. Grrrrrr....sssst... there is a sound coming from
those satanic lips of demon-magnets. A desperate cry from the furious satanic mouth of an associate
of demons. Smoke the den of demons, whip that associate of the demons.

The mark left in my perception is this vast difference between "Where there is no doctor" and the
other book that has been advanced by words and swords. It is book that publisher can put on a
shelve. It a book saying.."Where there is a doctor!" This book is yet to be published,it is the mind of a
doctor. This is doctor "Kufaarak",the doctor of weeping demons and slippery satanic saliva.
Dr "Kufaarak" 'Munna Illa moi bang!" Listen Dr! Listen! Can you hear me? Dr you are in slumber.
Extend our greetings to Alice in wonderland.
God save the bewitched! Spirits falling fits or fists falling on spirits?
Nothing is clear in myth.

......Ebrima Conteh Again
...........................By Karamba Touray...................April 20th, 2008

Dear Sir,
Mr. Conteh has reiterated the same mendacious claims as his previous writing and has attempted to
wrap it up in the guise of accuracy in reporting. He will get no argument from me and I suspect from
almost everyone that the news needs to be accurately reported and corrections need to be swift if the
need arises. Infact the regime of Yahya Jammeh is so manifestly odious that any accurate reporting on
its conduct would rightfully shock the consience of decent people. It is interesting to note that Mr.
Conteh in all of his refrence of the regime does not and cannot dispute the following assertions which
lie at the very heart of our struggle against this evil man and his gov?t:

1-Yahya Jammeh as President has overseen the unlawful murders of dozens of Gambians for which
no one has been held accountable. Some perpetrators have been rewarded, others indemnified and
the rest are just walking the streets. I hold Yahya himself personally responsible for these heinous
crimes.

2-Countless Gambians just as red blooded as Mr. Conteh and I have been plucked from their homes
in the middle of the night by the intelligence and security services and shuffled from one torture
chamber to the other, often denied medical care or proper food. None of these victims are ever been
accused of crimes and even in instances in which their hapless families secure a court order for their
release or actually sees them wobbling in terrible states in clinics escorted by their very abductors
weak and emaciated, they continue to hold these folks.

This is inhuman and absolutely unforgivable. Just so that Mr. Conteh does not conclude that I am just
imagining these atrocities, I will remind folks of the case of Tamba Fofana who I personally know. Mr.
Fofana is a native of Bansang and has spent 25 years as a teacher culminating in his last assignment as
headmaster at a school in Kudang. Politically inactive, this good man was nonetheless picked up by
the NIA after some APRC hack resident in Kudang alleged that Mr. Fofana did not sufficiently
mobilized children from his school and have them stand in the searing sun and heat to wave at the
Presidential motorcade on a provincial tour.

On this flimsy and patently illegal basis, he was abducted from his two wives and children and
transferred from one dingy cell to another all over the length and breadth of the country. Mr. fofana
who is physically disabled was also denied medical care throughout the year plus he was in gov't
custody and was allowed no visits because the gov't kept denying they had him. In one heart
wrenching episode, his family got word that he has languishing in a jail cell at the Fatoto police station
and his wife prepared some food their home in Bansang and took some medicines along and when she
entered the station , there was her husband disheveled and severely weak. They had a brief exchange
before Tamba was hustled back into the cell. The police weren't happy that the lady showed up in
their station and declined to allow Tamba enquire about his children or eat the food his wife cooked
and traveled from Basang to Fatoto to offer .She returned home devastated. Tamba was finally
released after more than a year gov't in sanctioned abduction, sick and emotionally devastated without
being charged. He received no apology, no compensation and no one knows even if the gov't would
pay him the 25 years he put in teaching children. Even the Nazis did not treat their people like this.

3-Yahya Jammeh and his cronies have plundered from the Gambian people Hundreds of millions of
Dalasis to enrich themselves and cater their to basest instincts buying airplanes , limousines, and
palatial homes while ordinary people who are not Mr. Conteh or me or have a MR Conteh or me in
America or Europe to subsidize their living are effectively destitute.

To all these Mr conteh says the following: 'As an independent and progressive minded Gambian I
understand that the APRC is not tolerant to its critics especially journalist but at the same time I will
not condone anyone who misrepresents and make up facts, slander our fellow citizens in the name of
journalism. This approach is totally despicable period!' It is not enough Mr Conteh for you to just
understand that APRC is not tolerant of it's critics. You should not under any circumstances tolerate
any gov't that would use murder, torture , abduction and plunder as instruments of rule. Islam and
common decency does not permit you to shove aside the calamituos impact of a cruel regime because
you aren't personally affected by what you know them to be doing to other people. Yahya Jammeh is
solely reponsible for the awful image of our country not those who accurately strive to expose his
crimes. He is complicit in the murders of people, he has unlawfully approriated our people's resources
and has made himself and by extension our country the laughing stock of the world by his stupid and
outlandish claims of curative powers over AIDS, cancer and nearly every desease category using
Islam as a prop. Why doesn't this constantly bother you? Why wouldn't you make it your duty to
oppose these crimes for the good of your country and people. Why don't you realise that the
opportunies that life as accorded you flourishes in an environment of freedom, justice and the rule of
law. Why do you want to conceed Gambia and it's fate to the ambit of murderers and torturers as
long as you get to visit every now and then and pronounce yourself impressed. Doesn't it occur to you
that the progress and investment you so seem to fancy has a better chance in a Gambia that is
properly led by leaders that are worthy of the people? We are not all out of touch bitter people
opposing the regime just for it's sake. Our concerns are genuine and are based on facts and I
personally operate on the proposition that one should always have a committment to issues larger than
oneself.

Karamba

..............EXTRA-TOUCH WITH
.... MISS FATOU JOME
.....................................By GON...................April 19th, 2008

Emerging beauty pageant Miss Fatou Jome caught up with Gainako for an
interview in Minnesota. Among other things, Miss Jome helped us travel
through the beauty world and the way of reasoning of the 'beauty models
' In her own words, women should be confident about themselves and work
towards making their dreams real. It is not only that, She also recognized
gratefulness to her parents, and one Mr. Pa Njie of "One-Gambia" whose
support for growing artists is a picture of high esteem.

Gainako now brings to you the exclusive interview:

GON: Welcome to Gainako Miss Jome. Briefly introduce your
self to our readers.

Miss JOME: First, I would like to thank Gainako for this
wonderful opportunity. My name is Fatou Jome; I am the
daughter of Dodou Jome, a former MP and Janaiba Jobe, a
former teacher from Bundung primary school. I moved to the
united state with my family in 2001.

Currently, I am completing My AAS in Medical Office
Assistant May 15, 2008 and BS in Mass Communication
upcoming fall. Honor a Business Certificate from the U of M
and also a Reading and learning Associate (CRLA) Master
Tutoring Certificate from tutoring college student in computer
support, from Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

GON: Emerging beauty queens has their likes. Share a little about the Beauty world.

Miss JOME: I like the fact that models can express beauty in many individual ways, ranging all
the way from the high fashion model to the full figured. However, today young women are starving
themselves trying to be beautiful. What they fail to realize is that beauty is not all about been skinny or
slim; it is about who you are and what you think of yourself. The truth is that every woman is beautiful
and talented; some just haven't focused on what makes them stand out.

GON: You also work at a TV station. Can you share with us what you do And why you like doing
it?

Miss JOME: As you know my show is call 'Senegambia TV show.' It is all about promoting
Gambian and Senegalese's music and other cultures as well. The first interview I had on my TV show
was with Freaky Joe aka Singateh during his "Forever in Love Tour" in the United States. I like to
use music as a center piece to bring my fellow brothers and sisters here in the United States to
understand the concept of Africa (The Mother Land.) You can always watch Senegambi TV show
on channel 20 cables or visit www.unclemikeshow.org.

GON: I see different shots of pictures all the time with different styles. What competition is there?

Miss JOME: Competition, there is none! Just joking. Competition is serious because there are
many beautiful models out there trying to make it to the top. Change! Change! Change! That is the
order of the day, from portfolios, to comp-cards you must always keep up with what market
demands. I am always featured by Nite-Life magazine every three months. That you can checkout
around the twin cities area and I also do a commercial for Ispot clothing store every season, which
airs on BET. What keeps me focused is being true to myself which is very important, because the
modeling industry is 90% mental.

GON: What are your life aspirations?

Miss JOME: Each day, from the time I open my eyes, I try to imagine the world as a better place
to live and then I set out to try to make that happen. To make a change to my brothers and sisters
who live back home, to help people with their problem, I want to be a great helper. So when I die I
want people to remember me as a person who made a difference. This beautiful world becomes a
reality every time in my modeling, broadcasting and what I do at my workplace inspires the next
generation.

GON: These young ladies, all beautiful but Mr. Right is not within their vicinity. Jokes!! What is the
clock reading at your end?

Miss JOME: It is hard to find a man who is willing to work with you and your future goals, some
men think that beautiful women focus more on themselves than anything else, which is not the issue.
The issue is that some men have problems with women who make more money than them, thinking
that there will be no respect for them. There is no house-Wife in my dictionary. As for me, Currently,
I'm single and I'm using my spare time to focus on my education, career and I spend lot of time with
my family.

GON: Gainako believes in promoting promising people like your self, but until we know how to
help, we just keep guessing. What is your Special call today?

Miss JOME: I want to be known as an inspiration to the youth, and not just looked at as a model
or a TV host, but a role model. I am planning on traveling to Sweden this summer to work with Pa
Njie, -the own of OneGambia.com. Mr. Njie is a great man and he helped a lot of Gambian Artists
through their music career. I will be doing TV projects whilst there and there will be more to come. I
am praying to God that one day I can be able to open a big center that will benefit and help all the
youths.

GON: In Minnesota, we are blessed with yourself, DJ Lamin Bless Jagne and Amie Dibba. How
much do you interact with them?

Miss JOME: DJ Bless always plays great music. Amie Dibba is a talented, Gambian R& B Diva.
Lately she had been busy promoting her music and I plan to interview her soon. As far as interacting, I
talk to both Amie and Bless every now and then and we tend to share ideals.

GON: What is your message to others struggling on the low?

Miss JOME: First, Never ever give-up. Always take negative comments and turn into positive
and stay positive. Don't let anybody, anybody tell you what you can or can't do. Believe in yourself
and believe in God.

GON: Thank you for talking to Gainako. We will see you soon again.

Miss JOME: My pleasure. Thank you for this opportunity and I want to thank my mom and dad
for everything.

We must all realize that what's goes up must come down and that what ever started out low will one
day rise up. It's true that life is a struggle, so we must do the best we can to make it. Poverty is not
like a disease which can't be cure. God has a plan for all of us. It's a matter for time. I want everybody
to make it; we are family, Mary-Ndiaye sing it and Njie B say in his Music "All I want to see is for
my people to make it." But we have to do something in order to make it happen. We have to support
one another, help one another, care for one another, love one another and respect one another. I love
and care for each and every one of you. Togetherness is the key to success.

Report facts & provide a fair and balance news
.............................By Ebrima Conteh..........................April 19th, 2008

I would like to thank Karamba for the mature tone of his response; hope we
can continue this discussion in such a mature and dignified manner.

I do not have a problem with critics of the Gambian Government, what I think
is despicable is news distortion, reporting false information to the detriment of
our national security. Can you image being in the Gambia and reading on the
internet a false report about an imminent coup. Is this the right way to approach
our problems?

As an independent and progressive minded Gambian I understand that the APRC is not tolerant to its
critics especially journalist but at the same time I will not condone anyone who misrepresents and
make up facts, slander our fellow citizens in the name of journalism. This approach is totally
despicable period!

If the overriding goal of the critics of the APRC administration is to see a mature functioning
democratic system in the Gambia then the way they are going about it is wrong. The Gambia is more
that the APRC administration, the Charles Taylor School of though "opposing a regime at all cost and
advocating for regime change by any means necessary" is what lead to what we now know as Liberia.

The Diaspora's dislike of the APRC administration should not be at the expense of the Gambia and its
average citizen. Who do you think is affected by the negative image of our motherland? It is the
everyday day citizen, who is deprived from a hotel job because tourists choose to stay away from the
Gambia due to unfounded reports. This is not funny! These unfounded reports have serious
consequences that affect lives of the people you claim to care so much about.

If and when some of us in the Diaspora come back to earth we will realize that the APRC
administration does not care about the nonsensical reports publish online on a daily basis, most of
these stories are baseless and childish and out right malicious. Sitting in our comfy bedrooms in the
Diaspora and writing about The Gambia is proving to be futile. The energy and resources used to
criticize the current Government can and should be put better use.

The Diaspora cannot blame anyone but its self, if the Diaspora is truly tired of the APRC regime then
as the segment of the society that is keeping the economy of the Gambia afloat we should join forces
and provide an alternative to APRC and convince our mother, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts and
uncles not to vote for APRC. This is what democracy is all about, and the way mature people act; the
Diaspora cannot compensate for its collective failures by destroying the image and threatening the
national security of our beloved country.

The problem in the Gambia is lack of an alternative to the APRC; this is what the Diaspora ought to
focus on.

I can be reached at ebrima114@hotmail.com or 706-593-5625

........................Exclusive on:
... ISMAIL K. SAMBOU
...............................By The Watchman��..April 18th, 2008

A while ago, I put out an extensive examination of Crispin Grey Johnson,
Yahya Jammeh�s former Secretary of State of Foreign affairs now
relegated to the portfolio of Higher Education, Research and Technology.
While it was obvious SOS Johnson�s machinations were based more on
self promotion than patriotism, Ismail K. Sambou is a more complex
composition.

The honorable minister cannot be easily pigeonholed even though he is a
member of a despicable regime. He�s no lightweight like Fatim Badjie
who�s had no baptism of fire in life. He�s no propagandist like Yankuba
Touray who�s in the cabinet to ensure material survival, and he�s no
clown like Ousman Sonko who will get his comeuppance in an international court of justice for aiding
and abetting NIA goons as overseer of the Interior Secretariat. Here�s why.

In assailing the virtues, or lack thereof, of a dysfunctional junta that is the APRC or another other
stunted �government� in Africa, one should take a nuanced approach not only to avoid self- righteous
overkill but also to ably dissect a structure in order to effectively and clinically render it inoperable. Let
me begin by saying Ismail K. Sambou for the most part is an honorable individual. Yes, he is in the
company of wolves but remember a lot of Hitler�s inner circle was admirable men who in the end
were exonerated from severe judgment either in death or after the Third Reich�s demise.

To understand the plight of Ismail K. Sambou, one should take a deeper look at the state of class in
The Gambia pre-1994. The inept Jawara regime that had been given the rein of power since 1965
was tone deaf to the severe but mostly below the radar resentments other classes (I prefer to use the
term class because tribe is semantically simplistic and does the inter-twined workings of Gambian and
African relations no justice) had towards the state of inequality that was and still is prevalent in the
republic. Just before July 22nd 1994, Watchman visited State House and observed that even though
the guards performed the duties required of them, they did so with an edginess and anger that slipped
pass the eyes of the resident VIPs they supposedly were protecting. President Jawara was very
pleasant and dignified but one could see how he was a sitting duck. A few months later, he was out of
power.

Continuing on the class motif in The Gambia, it could be said that there was a segment of that nation�s
populace that was intentionally and insidiously marginalized by the PPP regime and its cohorts. The
honorable Ismail K. Sambou was one of them. Now, his resume says that he was a manager and ILO
adjunct at the Gambia Cooperative Union from 1984 to 1988 but Mr. Sambou was effective at his
job up to the first 6 months of 1987. By that time, he had been hounded and conspired against by
members of another class (and tribes) that disagreed with his policies. A lot of reasons had been given
for his dissociation with the cooperative but they are mostly smoke and mirrors. Mr. Sambou was the
target of all kinds of rumors and innuendo manufactured to justify why he was ousted from a job his
rivals did not want him to possess.

In 1987, the Honorable Ismail K. Sambou lived at Pignard Street in Banjul. Together with his wife at
the time and 3 kids, one adopted, they occupied a second floor 2 bedroom apartment on a street that
was a reflection of the glorious melting pot that was Banjul in those days. Mandinkas, Akus, Jolas,
Fulas and foreigners of all stripes lived side by side with little or no tension. The average age of
parents in families was 32, relecting a surge of baby boomers who were striking out on their own to
establish their mark on Gambian society. Mr. Sambou�s wife was Mandinka and the polar opposite of
her pensive and thoughtful husband. She was competitive, pompous, charming, and downright
unpredictable. In a nutshell, she was a handful. The kids were 2 girls and a painfully shy boy who
won�t be named out of respect for their privacy and who, I think due to their father�s example, were
immensely well behaved.

After the loss of his tenure at Gambia�s Cooperative Union in 1987, the family went through a psychic
and financial upheaval. Mrs. Sambou worked very hard as the sole bread winner at the time and
Ismail K. Sambou contributed what he could via his other intellectual and contractual endeavors. Most
noticeably, since he was out of a job, Mr. Sambou stayed home all the time. It could have been very
easy for any man in these dire straits to lose it and become extremely bitter but Mr. Sambou had an
inner compass and composure that acted as ballasts to his extreme personal turmoil.

To expound further, Mr. Sambou diligently prayed 5 times every day. He was discreet, kind,
unassuming, humble and low key. He did his best to put out the fires his wife ignited whether be it in
dealing with her in-laws or disciplining their kids. But underpinning all the noble efforts and
self-restraint was a rage, justifiable in my humble view, that he was wronged. With this rage on Mr.
Sambou�s part, came an attitude of heavily suppressed but visible hostility towards other members of
society he deemed elitist and beneficiaries of a corrupt system: Regime Mandikas, PPP Fulas,
Serahule businessmen in cahoots with a finance sector that favored the connected few, personified by
the late Ousainou Njie, late son of legendary Gambian tycoon, Momodou Musa Njie, and Aku snobs.

Mr. Sambou had an inner existential conflict that pitted his contempt for all those who benefited from
the slimy PPP regime against his conscience which realized that people for the most part are decent
but coerced at times to commit acts they normally would not condone if they had control. His
neighbors found him an enigma but respected him and his enemies were gleeful that they had broken
his will. They were wrong. The point here is that a conscious effort at equity for all Gambians was not
embarked upon by the previous regime that was the People�s Progressive Party. No national
undertaking was launched to dent the damage a colonial and feudal social construct that was inherited
since independence. The biggest impact on the economic and social fissures that marked the Gambia
those days was imposed upo n by international bodies, the most commonly known being the
Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) of the 1980s initiated by the Bretton Woods Institutions, IMF
et al.

This is not to throw the Jammeh circus� ignoble deeds under the rug and absolve them from
accountability in the name of the social and economic aspirations they claim to have undertaken due to
the Jawara government�s gross neglect. This is not to say that Mandikas were/are tribalist. These
ruminations go to the heart of an issue that is hyper sensitive to Gambians namely: how one group
perceives the resources allotted to another, the conventional definition of politics. The truth is: ALL
Gambians are elitist when given a chance to do so and no one group should point fingers of accusation
at another.

Here�s a little secret: Do Gambians want to know why elitism, tribalism and discriminations are
effective in such a small nation and has the propensity for great inflammation between the peace loving
neighbors that live in tolerance up to a point?

It is this: Most Gambians are not exposed to the most basic material luxuries that their privileged
compatriots have. For example, China with a 1.5 billion people had a population that commuted on
bikes prior to the economic boom ushered by Deng Xiaoping�s liberal economic policies. This was in
the early 1980s. How many Gambians ( a much smaller populace) had bikes 20 years ago? Is it not
true that a bike was a huge deal back then, second only in status to a car? Exactly.

To that point, any shift in resources to one Gambian group is very much noticed because there was
little there to begin in the first place. President Jammeh�s harangues against the inequalities of the past
in Gambian history are accurate to a degree. One should not be fooled however by the tactics he has
taken to remedy the social ill. On the one hand, he is pro-development, pro-investment and pro-law
and order. On the other hand, and I bet he does not know this or chooses to ignore it, the heavy
handed mechanisms he has co-opted in his desire to move the nation forward are stunting the potential
for growth, laissez faire in the economic sector and respect for independent institutions and individual
liberties which are hallmarks of prosperous societies. If the Jammeh regime eases its stranglehold on
the overall running of the country it will foster a flow of economic and social benefits to everybody and
that will neutralize his ability to control the flow of largesse to targeted groups as a means of wielding
power. Does he really want this? The answer is a forgone conclusion.

The Honorable Ismail K. Sambou is in the Jammeh cabinet due to a combination of tribal grievances,
personal redemption and belief in his ability to do a lot of good for his country. He is compensating for
all the wasted afternoon and mornings he had to contend with during the during Jawara�s reign. He is
in the cabinet not to capitalize on an opportunity to amass personal wealth or acquire titles but due to
his firm belief that he is as able as any Mandinka, Fula, Aku, Jola, or Serahule, who could have had or
will have the position of power he now presides over. In that conviction he is absolutely right.
Gambians should only be judged on their ability not filial or kinship associations.

Honorable Ismail K. Sambou might be the architect of policies some who oppose Jammeh�s regime
might criticize but these commentators should hold their horses. The man is more layered than meets
the eye and realizes the need to tow the party line for the sake of the common good. President
Jammeh might come across this article and keep a suspicious eye on Mr. Sambou but he shouldn�t
worry. He is an asset. For him, the only personal motivation he has as a member of Jammeh�s regime
is a shot at professional redemption. He should be given the chance.

Gambiaswatchman@gmail.com

................................Breaking News
......Yaya Bajinka Released
B............................y Yero Jallow��..April 17th, 2008

Information reaching Gainako reveals that, Yaya Bajinka one time NIA employee, until his arrest and
brother to former ADC Major Khalifa Bajinka has been released from custody. The source of the
information who happens to be a neighbor to the Bajinka's further added that "Yaya is fit and
healthy"

Yaya's arrest came in the wake of a botched attemp to arrest his brother former Major Khalifa
Bajinka by a detachment of Millitary and NIA personel shortly after he arrived in the Gambia from a
military training course in Nigeria. Major Bajinka, helter-skelter, succeeded in escaping leaving the
arrest bug of raid on his family. -the Bajinkas.

At one point, it was speculated by some that Yaya was tortured to death while in custody. Although
this specualation was refuted by many sources including his brother Sidi-Lamin Bajinka, a resident of
Wisconsin, USA

It is also stated that former Major Bajinka now resides in Boston, Massachussetes.

Gainako in an effort to verify the said story spoke with friends of Yaya under conditions of
anonymosity who received the news with high regards though they couldn't confirm the story. Until
press time, efforts to reach his brother Sidi-Lamin for a comment proved futile.

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