Gainako Newspaper

All Praise is for Allah, and peace and blessings of Allah be upon His beloved Messenger
Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

We are grateful to Allah subhana wa ta'ala for giving us the opportunity to sit in His remembrance. For
truly it is a great favour indeed that despite all worldly distractions He has brought us to His House
(mosque). Then sat us in His dhikr. And by sitting in His dhikr Allah subhana wa ta'ala helps us to get
closer to Him and for every Muslim the true goal in life is to attain the pleasure of Allah subhana wa
ta'ala.

Apart from that we all have a common interest, that we would all like to love Allah subhana wa ta'ala
and we ourselves would like to be loved by our Lord Most High.

Now is it not strange that a person has a certain desire or goal in life but doesn't make any effort to
achieve it?

Surely it is a basic rule in this world that when a person has a particular interest or hobby, he does not
waste any time. He spends most of his time in an activity that will help him achieve his goal. For
example if a person wants to be good at a particular sport, he would play that sport very regularly and
often spend a lot of money and time on trying to achieve his objective.

So truly if our objective in life is to be loved by Allah, and we also know that this can happen through
doing His dhikr in abundance, then why is it that we not make ourselves busy in His remembrance?

The formula for achieving this is straightforward, Allah subhana wa ta'ala has stated in the Qur'an
'Fadhkurooni adhkurkum' (Remember Me and I will remember you). It is stated in a Hadeeth that
Allah remembers His servant as soon as he remembers Allah.

Subhanallah, can you imagine the Lord Most High, The creator of the Heavens and the Earth
remembering you? Indeed that is great thing. And this method for achieving our objective is so easy
that it almost defies belief.

In a Hadeeth transmitted by Bukhari it is stated that Abu Hurayrah radhiallah anhu narrated that
Allah's Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said "Allah Almighty says, 'I am towards My servant as
he is towards Me. I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me alone, I remember
him alone. If he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than it."

...CHELSEA REJOINDER
.............................By Omar Jallow.........................May22nd, 2008
EDITOR,

I will be sending CHERNO BABA JALLOW a VICTORY PARTY
INVITATION and I hope that he is ready to hop the next flight to Raleigh,
because this is going to be a DOUBLE for MAN UTD .We know who
the real champions are in ENGLAND and sure will be the EUROPEAN
CHAMPIONS too.

ROMAN ABRAHAMOVIC did really change the game in the PREMIERSHIP by splashing money
buy the best players in the planet, but you cannot buy a championship, I have to be determination not
where by own team mates are fighting for a FREEKICK (BALLACK & DROGBA)who are one of
the best in the game does not look good for CHELSEA.

The only players I am most concern of are MICHAEL ESSIEN and CLAUDE MAKELELE,
because if they get their ridim they will neutralize the midfield and that is going to be the main factor in
the game.For RONALDO chelsea have to chopped him off to stop him,because everyone is saying
that he does not perform on big games and he has to prove everyone wrong ,because it could not be
bigger than the CHAMSPIONS LEAGUE,so lets go RED DEVILS, put the icing on the cake and
lets tell ROMAN ABRAHAMOVIC that he cannot dictate the ball ,when the whistle is blown for
ninety minutes.Prediction 2-1 RED DEVILS.....

OMAR JALLOW
OMARR29@AOL.COM
919 539 2463

..................................Commentary
......To Chelsea, With Love
................................By Cherno Baba Jallow..........................May 21st, 2008

I don�t know what the cumulative effect is, but the antipathy in England
towards the Chelsea football club is confounding. Whenever I visit England
and I am discovered to be a Chelsea fan, it is like I have violated a taboo.
Some people look at me as if I were an alien descended, say, from Pluto.
And I am astonished. It is hard understanding it.

This attitude towards Chelsea is something between unfathomable hostility and
total jealousy. Perhaps it has to do with the paradox of success: It encourages
untrammeled competitiveness but also breeds resentment and nibbles away the
sympathy of under-dog status. Chelsea, under the ownership of the Russian
billionaire Roman Abramovich, is a successful football club, at least from the
standpoint of entrepreneurial nimbleness.

Chelsea has gone through cyclical changes and in the language of business
cycles, the team, now encamped in Moscow for the European Championship
League final, is on the verge of reaching its peak, its summit of competitive
international accomplishments. This is the team�s first ever appearance in a
Champions League final. �In September, when Jose Mourinho left and Avram
took over, we never would have imagined that we would be where we are
now,� Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck told soccernet.com recently.

Of course, Chelsea over the years, had to, in fits and starts, emerge out of the doldrums of football
lethargy. Until 1996, Chelsea�s record was less than stellar both in local and foreign tournaments.
Financial crisis and relegations threatened the team�s fortunes and standing in English football. When
the former Dutch international striker Ruud Gullit took over as player-manager, Chelsea was finally
put on the road to capacity-building. The team rebounded with a 1997 FA Cup victory. Gullit�s
successor Gialunca Viali built on the team�s embryonic successes and won the League Cup and Cup
Winners� Cup in 1998 and the FA Cup in 2000. Viali�s fellow Italian successor Claudia Ranieri had a
less than impressive record but it was more than compensated by the accomplishments of the tetchy
yet determined Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho was a winner, or some would say, whiner, during his coaching stint. He cavorted media
attention and by dint of his loquaciousness, created endless cycles of frenzy and chatter in English
football opinionland. But Mourinho was a doting coach. He remained steadfast in his quest to make
Chelsea a force to reckon with in English football. He dreamed big and cast his sights far and wide.
Under his watch, Chelsea won the League Cup in 2005 and again in 2006. And in 2007, Chelsea
won both the FA Cup and the League Cup. It was his wish to take Chelsea to the European
Championship final, a feat now belonging to his successor Avram Grant, formerly Chelsea�s Director
of Football.

Chelsea has continued to record steady and incremental improvements over the years. If its
performance were to be graphed, it would show, save for Ranieri�s brief blemish, the trajectory lines
of a team on the up and up. And in industryspeak, this is buoyancy of managerial efficiency. Of
course, Abramovich�s sloshing funds, perhaps the envy of Arsenal�s stingy Arsene Wenger, have
helped catapult Chelsea to its current prominence. Finances are the antidote for cumbersome
undertakings, whether it is about undiminished visibility on the radar screen of American presidential
campaigns or continued relevance in the English Premier League.

It used to be said, in the distant past, that Chelsea�s style of play was just entertaining; it lacked the
depth to impact English football. I wonder if that holds true today. For Chelsea, with its blend of
international and local talents, has added a great flair to the game and to the pool of resources for
national utilization. Think about the steely resolve of John Terry or the menacing lethality of Frank
Lampard or the colorfulness of Joe Cole � huge assets to the English national team. Or how can
anyone forget the exploits of the jack-rabbit Gianfranco Zola or the tenacious Tore Andre Flo or the
goal-poaching resilient Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. We, Chelsea fans, remember.

Forget the haters. Forget the doubters. And forget those annoying Man U fans. We will ride with the
Blues till the end. Will the real Chelsea fans please stand up? Here we come, Moscow.

To write to the author, please send your comments to: chernobjallow@hotmail.com

................" PACO "
.....A Day in the Life of a Gambian Youth
................................... By Momodou Laama Jallow��..May 20th, 2008
" Every morning after his rigorous exercise Paco would stand facing the sea and gazing at the far distant.
Beyond the horizon he imagines seeing a glimpse of a shoreline, that perhaps forms the outline boundary of a
magical place called "Babylon", and perhaps even the the mythical place "Eldorado", that had made many
dreams possible. "
Six o'clock in the morning, Serekunda West, Paco jumped from bed, stretched
his arms and legs, lay on the floor and did a quick push ups to warm his body.
He then washed his face and hurriedly dives under the bed and took his running
shoes, a pair of warrior sneakers made by converse. Dawn on his favorite T-shirt,
the words "Who Dares Win" boldly written at the back and start running the 6
miles distant towards the sea.

Once at the beach, Paco would skip 200 times; run a couple 40 yards dash, 200 pushups in different
variation, and squat 3 sets of 12 each. This is the routine that has become Paco's regiment for the last
three months. This rigorous and intensive training was employed a month ago, when Paco met this
stranger. A tourist who saw him exercise observed his routine and thought Paco's technique and style
rather mediocre. This man, an Ex-British soldier gave Paco some new techniques in how best to
condition his body, even gave him a T-shirt as gift. Since then his body's response to this new
technique has been immediate and Paco now more confident than before has embarked on this
training with an added zeal.

His chess, now more defined, his waist a little bit trimmer, and his arms and biceps more muscular. Of
late he has started walking on his toes with his chess slightly in an upward position. His friends used to
joke that Paco's new walking style "inhaling" as they dubbed it is more an act of intimidation than
anything else. Of late many of his neighborhood peers (A neighborhood the boys dubbed "South")
have started leaving for distant places. At first, it was just a few, and then it seems every month
someone is leaving. Eventually it reached a point such even the astute Paco could not keep tab on the
exodus.

Paco knows that he is not stupid, even though he drop out of high school, but he is certain that he is
smarter than many people realized. Even though he does not have the papers to prove it, but who
cares about certificates these days anyway he muttered to himself when all that matters is success.
They seem to prove nothing especially in this age of laissez-faire Gambian liberalism. Who knows!
He wonders maybe the educational system he went through is somehow flawed in some aspects, but
he could not point to any specific area.

Ever since leaving school, he has embarked on some serious reading. He had read Neocolonialism-
the last stage of capitalism by Kwame Nkrumah, "Das Kapital" by Karl Max, even memorize the
"Communist Manifesto" He has been hanging more often with his favorite uncle Pa. A man who
worked for a Greek shipping company in the early 70's sailed throughout out Europe, Asia, and North
America. Uncle Pa even sailed into the Soviet Union on more than one occasion. In his narrations
Paco listened to Uncle Pa's adventures. Places like Antwerp, Cologne, Helsinki, Prague, Leningrad,
Copenhagen, Bremen, and London. and Tokyo seems very alluring. He imagined how beautiful these
places are and in contrasted to his own neighborhood. How different these major cities are compared
to his neighborhood he grew up, the neighborhood " South" he love so dearly much and yet can't
help wanting, the urge, the incremental feeling that maybe his luck lay outside the confines of this
neighborhood, perhaps even outside the boundary of his birth place. This Europe, this beautiful land
endowed with vast opportunities is a place Paco needs to be. This land of a thousand lights is no
doubt the new "Babylon".

Few days ago, Paco has gone to the immigration dept in Banjul to check on the progress of his
passport application, and at Denton Street he ran into an old friend Tam, (a classmate at
Mohammedan Primary school back in the day), just from Denmark, driving a new 190 c-class
Mercedes Benz. He has spent the whole day hanging with him. They even stopped by at Albion Place
to get a copy of DJ Cora's latest reggae selection from Germany before proceeding to Tobacco
Road. He has observed how Tam now more confident, even sound enlightened in his description of
many things about the world. How in his conversations his friend seems to demonstrate a new degree
of intelligence.

Few months ago, his best friend Dave has just entered Switzerland, and has sent him a picture of him
leaning back in the front of a nice car with bright lights all over the place. In fact a Paco thought that
his friend really looks good or rather "Fresh" (to use the parlance of the day) after just a few months
of leaving home. He has gazed into this picture perhaps a thousand times, and each time he saw
something new, something different. Like a consummate artist inspecting a canvas, Paco has
methodically looked at every details of this picture and every minute detail speaks volume to him
about the place, this "magical" he thought to himself is a certainly a place he ought to be.

His had received money from Dave and this enabled him to secure most of his travel documents a
bachelor's certificate, and a certificate of character. All that is left is his passport which he hoped to
get anytime soon. The last two years he has been a keen participant of the neighborhood's
"Naweetan" team. But this year, he has to be excused for Paco is getting ready for the ultimate, and
need both mind and body for his quantum leap into the "Babylon".

So every morning after his rigorous exercise Paco would stand facing the sea and gazing at the far
distant. Beyond the horizon he imagines seeing a glimpse of a shoreline, that perhaps forms the outline
boundary of a magical place called "Babylon", and perhaps even the mythical place Eldorado", that
had many dreams possible.

..............................................NEWS
FINANCIAL SCANDAL AT BASSE AREA
COUNCIL: By Solo, Banjul Correspondent��..May 19th, 2008
Sources close to this reporter reported that Mr. Momodou Lamin Jaiteh, alias M.L. Jaiteh who is
serving as the Director of Finance at the Basse Area Council, is said to have been transferred to the
Mansakonko Area Council with effect from the 10th of May 2008.

The Director of Finance at the MANSAKONKO Area Council was said to have swapped with Mr.
Jaiteh. Mr. Jaiteh was said to have received his transfer letter through a fax message from the CEO
that he was transferred.

What makes the Financial Director's transfer news is that he was said to have refused to sign
expenditures amounting to over 1,750,000 Dalasi that is said to be missing at the Basse Area Council
during the three months period when the management committee was responsible for the management
of the affairs of the council, at a time when he the Director was suspended. It was also alleged that
other officials at the council have also refused to sign the expenditures during the period. This, sources
said is what motivates the Governor to recommend his transfer to Mansakonko Area Council.

The question that now arises is, is there any financial misappropriation at the Basse Area Council
during the three months leading to the 2008 council elections. The state needs to investigate into the
affairs of the finance at the Basse Area council.The people are concerned.

.........WHERE IS RAMBO'S VEHICLE?
...............By Solo, Banjul Correspondent��..May 19th, 2008
Mr. Ousman Jatta alias Rambo, who is councilor of Old Bakau and Cape Point Ward was arrested
and detained for more than 14 months and kept in Police cells in various parts of the country.

Mr Jatta who is an opposition UDP stalwart was later detained at the Sare Ngai police Station in the
Wuli West Constituency and forgotten. By the time of his arrest Rambo's vehicle was also impounded
by the arrestors and parked at the Bakau Police Station.

So since the time of Rambo's release due to his discovery by the personnel of Amnesty International in
collaboration with a Foroyaa reporter some six to seven months ago, his vehicle an Audi brand with
registration No. KM 9371C could still not be given back to him by the police. He said he is informed
that the vehicle was moved to the police intervention unit at Kanifing but the vehicle is now declared
lost or missing as far Rambo is concerned.

According to Rambo as reported by the Foroyaa, he was in possession of his keys throughout his 14
months detention in Sare Ngai and else where. Rambo is reported to be distraught about the whole
thing as he claimed many of his valuable things were left in the vehicle.

There are a lot of speculations about vehicles being impounded by some Security forces and being
used by them and even after the release of the detainee, these people would not relinquish the
properties to their rightful owners.

The police and the NIA should mount an investigation into this matter so that the victim can access his
properties because this reporter receives information that the colour of the vehicle and it's registration
number have been changed to disguise its identity.

....................................Opinion:
...Gambians Hope For Peer Redemption
........................By Suntou Touray.......................May 19th, 2008
If past experience is anything to go by, the only major hope of Gambians
today is to engage each other and expose our stiff-necked leader to
extinction. Power and good use of the online press is crucial to that pursuit.
Gambians both at home and abroad eagerly read the daily dose of news
and commentaries from our brothers and sisters, sharing information and
knowing relevant events happening in our country. The persons responsible
for that continuous information flow are the able and dedicated journalists
who sacrifice immensely in providing us uninterrupted news in our living
rooms.

We respect these gentlemen and women. We adore them and would sing praises of them. They put
themselves on the front line like any infantry soldier knowing fully the repercussions of exposing the
tyranny of our current impatient and reckless president who wishes all his opponents damnation. Yet
these men took up the task. I for one salute them, yes some will question their loyalty and motives but
those questioners are themselves dormant and lacking contribution to the current discuss.

With all the praises and love we have for these media personalities, there is a burning issue worth
expressing here. Our brothers in the press of late have been delving into unhealthy exchanges. We the
bystanders wonder whether the pressure of looking out for much needed information has gotten the
better of them.

It is not necessary to divulge into who is writing what against who and why. What is important is for
the journalists to understand the high expectations we have of them. The leadership and inspirations
they are providing is second to none. Mundane gossips and trivial personal attacks go with being ugly
in the public eyes. Tit for tat has no place in our situation. The key goal will be missed and the tyrant
back home and his cronies will laugh at us all. When one enters into the ring of exposing and
informing, expect the unexpected. Jealous people will come after you, but acting the bigger man and
using the comments of critics as strength is what is most appropriate.

On that note, the call is on the executive leaders of different Gambia Press Union GPU heads to step
into the ring and be counted. When media platforms enters into unhealthy and unhelpful exchanges, the
leaders of the Gambia Press unions in the U.S, in The Gambia, UK or elsewhere, should step-in on
time to calm tensions down. We have been disappointed in the slow involvement of the GPU
leadership in recent months when some online media platforms were under attack. Yes, the media
outlets can defend themselves but the reputation and integrity of the Gambia media fraternity is at
stake. People are talking and making inappropriate comments about the ethics of the online press and
their editors.

The Gambia�s press unions need to reassure readers and well wishers that the brotherhood and
fraternity among our journalist is strong and cordial. There is bound to be rivalry and mutual
competition, this is expected. For our media compatriots, integrity, public trust and confidence are of
paramount importance. You shouldn�t let anything or anybody affect the trust and good bond you
have among yourselves. We have read the commentary by Cherno Baba, and few others. We
sympathise with the media brothers in the front line and also respect comments by those who might
not be active but still desire to see the ethics of the trade maintained and better standards upheld.

For those other contributors outside the media circle, it is normal that there are times when
commentaries don�t fall on comfortable grounds. Editors will be kind enough when they learn to
pardon some unsuitable commentaries from those outside the trade.

Here is a call on the GPU /USA particularly to act its part, monitor and engage the active and able
editors regularly. This will maintain mutual trust and confidence. The public at large will be even
happier and reassured in the ability and dedication of our more sacrificing media compatriots.
Leadership of the media associations; GPU especially, have a redeemer�s role in observing and
harmonising media relations.

Thank you.
Suntou Touray

..The Devil is a Lost Course
.............................By Ebrima Sarr...............May 19th, 2008
I cant help but add a few lines to the watchman's most recent script. His diagnosis of the worm in The
Gambia's gut is spot on and i commend you for printing it even as its not flattering. He is prolific in
expressing his view and for many of us who read the online media, he's a hero. Humbling it is and
most noble of him to laud Fatou jow Manneh for even as she is a woman, she has dared to look in the
devil's eye and so far is living to tell the tale. We all pray for her to come out of her ordeal smelling of
roses and as good will always triumph over evil, victory end of the day will be the peoples'.

The insincerity of the Gambian people and lack of sense of sacrifice for the common good is our main
stumbling block. Heroes are few if any and a sold out elite will forever ensure that the people will
always be under the yoke of this tyrant Jammeh.

I understand the ignorance of the majority and excuse them for believing Jammeh will pave a way for
them across the red sea. An illiterate population is a dictator's toy. However those i can never, for the
life of me forgive is the Judas elite and by God how they are rife! It seems like the more educated the
Gambian gets, the easier he could be bought and the education if it could be called that, is the very
factor that weeds out the morals in him leaving him to be nothing but a robot who is best off
exterminated! I remember in my high school days when i used to think Therese Ndong Jatta was the
best thing to have happened to me. When she gave her sermons from up high every week at
assembly, all i prayed for was a wife like her who'll bring forth daughters like her. It all came to a halt
when the security forces in the country killed innocent students voicing their constitutional rights. She
among the many memebers of the then cabinet had the audacity to look the Gambian people in
the eye and said the shooting emanated from the students! Im not surprised that she has since left for
a better paid job.

There is no shortage of sold out so called educated Gambians, from sarja Taal to Waa Juwara and
there always will be i am sad to say, a long queue waiting to be used and abused by Jammeh. Seems
like the only lesson we learn from our history is we never learn. This is why in my previous letter, i
challenged Ebrima Conteh not to sit on the fence but to come out in support of either Halifa or
Jammeh. One is an angel and the other a demon. Mentioning them in the same breath is a little short of
blasphemy.

Lack of time and space will restrict me to end my script here but i know for certain that whoever has a
basic education in him has ceased to regard Yahya as competent since he announced a cure for
AIDS. I'll appreciate it so much if anyone of his online supporters can give me a sensible reason as to
that declaration of utter lunacy.

I'll be back soon inshallah.

Yours sincerely
Ebrima Sarr

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