By Kebba Dampha
Every society has set morals and religious laws that every member of society should abide by. That being the case, it is important for us Gambians to revisit the Independence Day speech of President Jammeh and analyze it carefully. The hottest issue right now is homosexuality, so please allow me to address this matter head on.
First off, I am not gay; I am not an anti-gay activist, nor a homophobic. However, I knew the title will get your attention, and that is my point – homosexuality is not openly discussed or practiced in Gambia. Not saying there is none, but if there is an openly gay Gambian, I have not met one. Absent persecution and discrimination will any gay Gambians come out of the closet? I guess we’ll wait until our society learns to make closets first. Personally, I am indifferent to homosexuality. I am because I belief that everybody has a right to live freely as long as their actions do not affect the man next door. The holy books are full of stories lamenting this human behavior. So the whole homosexual brouhaha is just an old wine in a new bottle. If homosexuality is not an open problem in Gambian society, why the noise Mr. President? Who are you to judge other people on earth when there is a Greater Judge in heaven?
What one would expect from the Independence Day speech was a speech to inspire all Gambians to work together towards the progress of the country. What the school children were waiting to hear from you Mr. President was a promise that they will not go hungry to bed because a parent could not meet the rising cost of living. What the mother attending to her sick child was hoping to hear from you is the assurance that the hospitals will be well equipped and supplied with medicine so that her sick child will not be killed by the next mosquito bite. The unemployed and able-bodied youths on the beaches and the ‘koignes’ were waiting to hear how your government will create the right policy environment for jobs. What the old farmer was expecting to hear in your speech was how to change the mind of the young ones from risking the back way to Europe to escape tribalism, poverty, suppression and the widespread disappearance that is more widespread and worse than homosexuality. Mr. President, these are the confronting challenges that require the urgent attention of Gambians and our development partners. Homosexuality is not our immediate problem. If you believe homosexuality is indeed a problem in Gambian society, let the religious leaders and heads of families deal with that matter. You are not hired to preside over the social lives of Gambians. Take care of the economy and the political mess and get out of people’s bedrooms.
The vermin of Gambia are those ignorant people who detain people without trial. The ones with leprosy are the idiots with gun terrorizing everybody in the country. The ones with gonorrhea are the sugar daddies taking advantage on the young school girls or the adulterers in our society. Mr. President, by your own description of LGBT, the good and responsible homosexual minding his or her own business in society cannot be any worse than those people engaged in the negative activities mentioned above. Gambians will take a good homosexual president any day over a dictator who steals, denies them their rights, humiliates and disrespects neighbors. Please Mr. President let us talk about issues that are important to national development and don’t waste our time talking about issues that you only use to distract Gambians from the real issues at hand. Just remember that Gambians are getting wiser, and your tricks will catch up with you very soon.
The problems in Gambia right now are not because of homosexuality or colonialism. They are because of bad governance and a government ran by half-baked politicians only there to fill their pockets at the disadvantage of the masses. What Gambians were looking forward to from their president was peaceful roadmap to their 50th anniversary of nationhood. Unfortunately, Independence Day was not about Gambia this time, but about settling beef with the outside world when you have problems in your own backyard. This is by no means supporting gay rights in Gambia. Not even close to it, but we are sick and tired of the president putting the petty issues at the forefront and making the urgent issues less important. Get off your gay rant and stop pretending like everything is alright. It is not!