Gainako Newspaper

To confess by all stretch of honesty, I was engulfed by
bewilderment and also catapulted to a state of perplexity
when I was lectured on the fast-track extinction of many
minority languages in the world.

Retrogressively, this was during the formative years of my
college education here in the US. It was a sociology class
that centered on the call for a rescue effort in all front by
the UNESO- United Nations Educational and Scientific
Organization to preserve the world's dwindling minor
languages.

Still afresh in mind, I decided to engage myself in a long
protracted mental kids born to Gambian- born parents
cannot speak their parents' mother tongue but English.
The finding is also true of a visit I made to New York
City in 2004 where I attended my cousin sister's baby naming ceremony. During that four-day visit, I
took the opportunity to visit some homes and gymnastics with the aim of finding out the state of
Gambia's major languages amongst diaspora Gambians here in the US.

At the end of a long investigative research using methodologies like telephone interviews with family
members of selected states with high concentration of Gambians, I was able to find out a significant
number of Gambian families have preference for English for their kids than Mandinka, Wollof and
pular being the undisputed major languages spoken in the Gambia.

On the other hand, my investigation also found that there are also a fairly good number of families
whose children are taught these languages and they speak them as fluently as English.

During my numerous visits to many homes and family functions here in my resident in the State of
Minnesota, I positively found that most parents also did engage many young kids in some friendly
conversations. Readers need not o be told that New York has a huge concentration of Gambians and
most of them have established big families there. My biggest surprise was that some of those Gambian
parents who speak English to their kids are themselves never been formally educated and are
functional illiterates struggling to speak good English. Excuse my unreserved apology for being brutally
blunt.

Similarly, I would like to carve a bulwark for myself against being viewed as subjective and bias by
hastening to acknowledge that I have also encountered parents whose kids are as fluent in our
Gambian languages as they are in English because their parents speak to them only in those languages
at their homes.

The point to buttress here is that my inquisitive and subtle investigation with some degree of error in
the methodology and sampling techniques deployed has shown that majority American- born Gambian
children cannot speak their native languages because their parents don't teach or speak those
languages to them.

The multimillion-dollar question that continues to engage my mind is that how those kids born to
Gambian parents can be connected with their native culture and heritage? A language as argued by
sociologists is the building bridge between a person and his or her culture. This argument is a clear
illustration of a cultural clash audiences were told about at the book launching ceremony by a
renowned Gambian educationist Mr. Hassan I Jagne. By contrast though, Latino; Asian and Arab
Americans are on record for being recognized for their unflinching attachment to their culture and
language.

On a similar pleasant positive note, survey findings conducted by reputable research groups also found
that other African immigrant populations in the US such as Nigerians; Ethiopians, Somalis, Guineans,
Senegalese, Ghanaians and the list goes on have a healthy attachment to their culture and languages.
Children born to these immigrant families are also found to be fluent in their parents' native languages
and are as well enlightened on their native cultures.

It is hard to fathom why most Gambian parents prefer their children to speak only English thereby
denying them the opportunity to speak otherwise Mandinka; Wolof, Pular, Jola, Sarahule, Manjako,
and Binunka. Interestingly, Peace corp Americans who I have personally met in the Gambia from
Koina to Kartong will traverse every nook and cranny of the country with an insatiable desire for
learning our culture and speaking our languages. They become almost completely acculturated by the
time their tour of civil duty come to an end. Some will even go for temporal name changes as an easy
way of being gambianised.

In my humble conclusion punctuated by an apologetic fashion, I would like to state very categorically
that this article is not a target of criticism directed at any single Gambian family. It is simply a genuine
concern I intend to raise about a severe threat of extinction of our ethnic languages and cultural
evaporation in the Diaspora. At the same times, I cannot agree more with the need for the
Americanization of Gambians in the US, but we must not be derailed from our own cultural heritage or
identity on this terrain.

As immigrants and naturalized Americans, "we must adopt every bit of the good part of the American
culture, while maintain our own" if I may paraphrase Mr. Jagne during his book launching speech. This
assertion is a tacit clincher to my argument and point of view sarcastically. I hereby rest by case while
not oblivious to the fact that this article may elicit some outbursts from some quarters as my mind
dictates to me.

........................................POEM
........The Biological Clock
..............................By Aisha Saidy Boston, MA.............................August 3rd, 2008
Invincible like a mirage
Yet apparent
Its seconds ticking
Oblivious to our knowledge

In teens we celebrate
The hours in our favor
In full bloom we strut
The glow encapsulated
With full energy
We ride on the twenties

The realities began
We pay less heed
Like the sea wave
The patterns change
Unpredictable as the weather
It strike deadly

Mid thirties surface alopecia
Diabetes and hypertension
Cancers and infertilities
Emotional stress and depression
The many phase of its true colors

Come forty
Surgeons sharpen their knives
Hormones and steroid replacement
Like the colors of rainbow
Symptoms of Menopause and �Andropause�
Becomes radiant

Aaah! The biological clock
The faceless clock
Its battery irreplaceable
Its hours unregulated
The velocity undetermined
A woman�s nightmare
An unsolved myth for the scientists

Aisha Saidy Boston, MA

......................................POEM
...........God, Almighty!
.....................................By Yero Jallow...................August 2nd, 2008
It is You �O God, Almighty
That I humbly called over time
For all protection and guardianship
When I walk around the earth protected
By You �O God, Almighty.

It is You �O God, Most Merciful
That I humbly called over time
For all mercy and love
When I walk around the earth much loved
By You �O God, Almighty.

It is You �O God, Most Beneficent
That I humbly called over time
For all worldly benefits
When I walk around the earth bountifully blessed
By You �O God, Almighty.

You sit on that mighty imaginable throne-The 'Kursi'
Ruling your world to perfection, as it is
Creating souls in millions as you willeth
And taking them back as you willeth
By You �O God, Almighty.

A little tribute from me to You �O God, Almighty
Glory be to You �O God, Almighty
Thanks and praises are due to You
None owns all the beautiful names
But You �O God, Almighty.

...AMERICA AS A CHAMPION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
.THE DETENTION OF JOURNALIST EBRIMA MANNEH
................... .Senator : RICHARD DURBIN
...............................................................................................................................................................................July 30, 2008
Prepared Remarks
Mr./Mme President, America has long been a champion and source
of hope around the world for those suffering human rights violations -
those holed up in dictators' prisons, those fighting for press and political
freedoms, those bravely standing up to tyranny or injustice.

Many of those who have suffered, such as Vaclav Havel and Nelson
Mandela, or continue to suffer this fate, such as Aung San Suu Kyi, are
well-known to us. Sadly, for each one of them, there are many other,
lesser known heroes being detained or harassed all over the world
simply for wanting basic human freedoms.

Through our annual human rights reporting at the State Department, our diplomacy, and steady public
pressure on basic human rights, the U.S. has traditionally been a source of hope for those being
illegally detained or persecuted.

We should never forget what this kind of attention and pressure can accomplish and what kind of
strength it provides for those being detained.

Take for example, Ngawang Sangdrol, a Tibetan nun who was detained and tortured for peacefully
expressing her belief in Tibetan independence. She was freed after 12 years of imprisonment following
immense public pressure. After her release she said,

o "I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support ... I am deeply touched to learn
that many individuals, organizations, and governments ... have worked towards my release. It is very
clear to me that I have been released and allowed to come out to the free world for medical treatment
and to enjoy my freedom because of international concern."

Or, Gurbandurdy Durdykuliev, a political activist from Turkmenistan who in 2004 was seized and
forced into a psychiatric hospital by the country's ruling dictator.

His crime - requesting permission for a peaceful political rally.

He was released a few years later just ten days after 54 members of Congress sent a letter to the
Turkmen government about his case.

We should listen and act upon the appeal made by Aung San Suu Kyi, who has remained under house
arrest in Burma for most of the last 19 years:

o "Those fortunate enough to live in societies where they are entitled to full political rights can reach
out to help the less fortunate in other parts of our troubled planet.... Please use your liberty to promote
ours."

I realize we must also work to address our own recent shortcomings by unequivocally renouncing
torture and by closing the detention facility in Guantanamo - and we will continue to work toward
ending these shameful legacies.

At the same time, we must continue to speak out in support of those imprisoned for advocating basic
freedoms around the world.

Many of us on both sides of the aisle have been arguing that America's strength resonates not only
from its military power but from the power of its ideas and inspiration, the power of its values and
hope, the power of its generosity and diplomacy - its smart power.

Sadly, I worry that a measure of this leadership, of this inspiration, and of this uniquely

American hope has been lost in recent years.

Accordingly, today I want focus the Senate's attention on a tragic story from the small West African
nation of The Gambia.

Chief Ebrima Manneh was a reporter for the Gambian newspaper, the Daily Observer.

He was allegedly detained in July 2006 by plainclothes police officers thought to have been from the
Gambian National Intelligence Agency after he tried to republish a BBC report critical of President
Yahya Jammeh.

He has been held incommunicado, without charge or trial, for two long years. Amnesty

International considers him a prisoner of conscience and has called for his immediate release. I agree.

Recent reports suggest he is being held at the Fatoto Police Station in eastern Gambia. In

July 2007, he was also reportedly escorted by the members of the Gambian Police

Intervention Unit to the Royal Victoria hospital in the capital for high blood pressure treatment.

Yet despite repeated attempts by Manneh's father and fellow journalists, including the

Committee to Protect Journalists, to seek information on Mr. Manneh, the Gambian government
continues to deny any involvement in his arrest or knowledge of his whereabouts.

My direct request to the Gambian Embassy here in Washington has also been met with shameful
silence.

Last month in Nigeria, the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of

West African States declared the arrest and detention of Mr. Manneh illegal and ordered

Gambian officials to release him immediately.

And yet the Gambian government ignored this court's ruling as well - even though this court has
jurisdiction for human rights cases in the Gambia.

Is the Gambian government so afraid of one of its own reporters that it cannot even acknowledge his
detention?

I say to President Jammeh: Release this reporter. Let him return to his family.

Sadly, Mr. Manneh's case is not alone in the Gambia. In December 2004, a critic of

President Jammeh, and press freedom advocate, Deyda Hydara was shot and killed. His murder has
yet to be solved or investigated.

The government has also enacted laws muzzling the press and imposing mandatory prison sentences
for media owners if convicted of publishing defamatory or seditious material - all part of a larger
deterioration of basic freedoms in the Gambia.

Mr./Mme President, the United States needs to be a forceful advocate for these kinds of blatant
human rights abuses. Doing so is not only the right thing to do, but it is the smart thing to do in terms of
our engagement abroad and in demonstrating our American values

............http://cpj.org/blog/2008/07/senator-calls-for-gambian-journalists-release.php

..............................................OPINION:
....Championing Due Process
............................................................( PART II )
................................By Sheriff, NC ��.August 1st, 2008
Why is due process necessary? Why, some might ask, should we
observe so carefully and deliberately, the requirements of due process,
even in cases that seem so cut and dried? Why does Magistrate Njie
worry about the rights of defendants, the supposed bad guys?

Here's why: To maintain trust and confidence in the judicial system while
simultaneously forestalling abuse of power, injustice and victimization.
It sets a uniform standard by which every accused person - rich or poor,
Christian or Muslim, president or Alkalo, Badibunka, Foninka or what
have you - is treated. Due process is the best guarantor of equal
protection of all citizens under the law.

Following the dictates of due process ensures the rule of law - as opposed to rule by the barrel of the
gun. Or the rule of money. Or the rule of the Ceesay's, the Camara's, or the Touray's (you can
substitute surnames with the ones that you own cultural norm allows you to pick on with impunity, but
excuse my digression).

Even innocent citizens do get charged with crimes. It's a human-based system and, as with any human
endeavor, it's error prone. One way to minimize the error that may lead to a citizen being stripped of
liberty, limb or even life (were capital punishment is applicable) is the application of due process
standards.

Any fair legal system aims to avoid the gross injustice of punishing the innocent. That is indeed the
definition of injustice. Due process puts in place the mechanism, the checks and balances to ensure the
gross injustice of punishing the innocent is avoided.

In many respects, it would seem as though even Almighty God, our Creator, is in favor of due process
in its application of the presumption of innocence, for instance; or, its espousal of the defendants' rights
and the caution and restraint it fosters in order to prevent the premature prescription of punishment.
There's evidence -- in both Biblical and Shari a law - to this effect.

The Book of Genesis (18: 23-33) describes God's dealing with the transgressing inhabitants of a
certain notorious city. Despite His wrath over their wrongdoings, He hesitates to bring down
punishment on the innocent, saying: "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare
all the place for their sakes..." From this, some scholars posit, "It is better and more satisfactory to
acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death."

Islamic Shari a law, as well, assumes innocence until proven guilty in many fronts. For instance,
adultery requires four (4) separate, coincidental, non-conspiring eyewitnesses to the actual offense for
a conviction to stand. That standard, one could argue, is even higher than that of secular law's highest
standard, which is "beyond a reasonable doubt".

In similar manner as we examined the question of why due process is necessary, let us examine why
God's law - Biblical or Shari a - grants so much "benefit of the doubt" to the defendant. Why
innocence is presumed.

It's clear, The Almighty knows the guilty and their wrongdoing for He is "the All-knowing, the
All-wise". Why then, one might wonder, does He require, as Shari' a teaches us, four separate,
non-conspiring witnesses for an adultery conviction? He already knows, does He not, who committed
what offense?

The answer is simple: God knows us humans too well. Having created us, he is all too aware of human
nature -- our penchant for abuse and victimization, especially of the powerless, the poor and those at
the lower rungs of social strata. He knows our propensity to mistreat one another based on our own
character fallibilities such as greed, jealousy, lust, gluttony, sloth, wrath and envy -- which are often
referred to as the Seven Deadly Sins.

The strict requirements of God's law, therefore, are meant for protection against our own excesses
towards one another. Much as due process, they are instituted to serve as safeguards against false
accusation and unjust punishment that may stem from any number of motivation or mere ill-intent.

Having created us, God knows we can easily get drunk on power and position so as to get tyrannical
with it. That's just human nature! Give us power and we'll run wild with it.

There's actual proof for this: some doctors for instance, get what is commonly referred to as "God
complex" -- the notion that healing power equates somehow to being "god". In other words, a doctor,
having been empowered with the knowledge to save life or cause death, may tend to feel as though
they are "god" thereby misusing their knowledge of medicine.

Another example of our abuse of power is best illustrated by the "Devine Rights of Kings" the notion
that rulers are representatives of God, and therefore have the right to act like God over their subjects.
Rulers - kings, presidents and governors have become dictators because of excessive political,
economic & military power. Genocide and mass murder has often been the result of such
swollen-headedness.

This simple fact about human tendency to abuse power and position was perhaps best summed up by
the famous Lord Acton quote: Power tends to corrupt; absolutely power tends to corrupt absolutely.

Hence, God in effect doesn't trust -- with good reason, too -- one person or entity with the power to
be judge, jury and executioner. Human history is fraught with instances of abuse of power and
authority when and where power is concentrated on one person or institution rather than decentralized
so that one becomes a check on the excesses of another.

The beauty of due process is that it prevents all of this from happening; it is a deliberative process that
ensures that only the law, rather than individuals, reigns supreme.

Championing due process therefore, as the noble Magistrate of Brikama did, is championing what's
fair, right and just.

If all of the aforementioned does not convince you as to the wisdom of establishing and respecting due
process, you might want to reflect on the following simple question: Would you want the same
treatment that due process calls for -- such as the presumption of innocence, adequate legal
representation, and a speedy trial -- if you were (God forbid!) accused of a crime?

While Magistrate Njie's courageous and principled stand for the constitution, due process and the rule
of law, even in the wake of enormous challenges, may not win him friends in the hallways of power; it
deserves commendation by all freedom-loving and justice-yearning citizens who fall within the
jurisdiction of The Gambia, and even beyond.

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