Foroyaa has erred in its Editorial of Friday, October 11, 2013
By Seedy S.Khan
For the benefit of the reader, I will start by stating that Foroyaa is a publication of PDOIS, an acronym for the People’s Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism. PDOIS is a political party in The Gambia. Thus, it is irrefutable to state categorically that Foroyaa is an organ of PDOIS.
In its editorial (The Diaspora should go back to the drawing board) of Friday, October 11, 2013, the paper wrote and I quote “Martin Luther King marched to Washington to prick the conscience of a Nation that is still remembering his immortal words. He did not go to Washington to take over the White House or the Congress. If The Gambia is to have a future, the children of Independence must have greater clarity, maturity and tact than those who were born during the colonial period”.
An editorial, leading article, or leader is an opinion piece written by the senior editorial staff or publisher of a newspaper or magazine or any other written document. Editorials may reflect the opinion of the periodical.
There are guest editorials and there are letters to the editor. In this case in Foroyaa, there is no such mention. What is however evident is that the author of the editorial has been mentioned. Therefore, after establishing a link between Foroyaa and PDOIS, it is safe to use Foroyaa and PDOIS interchangeably.
This may sound surreal to some. But, in just over fifty years ago, segregation of races in public accommodations was still a norm in many parts of the United States, especially in the South. Being sick and tired and tired and sick of such flagrant injustices, in the 1950s and 1960s, Martin Luther King, Jr. and his associates organized several lunch counter sit-ins. These sit-ins galvanized the civil rights movement.
The Birmingham campaign of 1963, lasting about two months, was a strategic effort aimed at ending discriminatory economic policies in the city of Alabama. The efforts here included sit-ins in businesses that hired only whites.
The Selma to Montgomery marches, also known as Bloody Sunday and two marches that followed, were marches and protests held in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. Before all these, there was a bus boycott that went into effect on December 5, 1955. These are historical facts.
MLK, Jr. studied the writings and practices of Henry David Thoreau and Mohandas Gandhi. Thoreau was an American author and a lifelong abolitionist. Gandhi on the other hand was the preeminent leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India. Their teachings advocated for civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance to social injustice.
MLK, Jr. and his associates might not have occupied the White House or the Congress, but, they have occupied public roads, city centers and restaurants through sit-ins and marches. What DUGA (Democratic Union of Gambian Activists) did on Wednesday, October 9, 2013, was precisely a sit-in and/or occupation of The Gambian Embassy in Washington, DC. DUGA’s actions at the Embassy were very peaceful and organized and yes, all indications are that they are extremely determined.
So, based on the above stated and established facts that can be corroborated in historical archives, it is utterly erroneous and perceptually misleading for Foroyaa to postulate that MLK, Jr. did not go to Washington to take over the White House or the Congress. Or, is it an ignorance on their part?
Like many others of my generation, the emergence of PDOIS and Foroyaa in the 1980s was an emotion of great delight. At the time, I personally felt that for the first time in my short/younger memory, here comes an establishment that would inform and educate The Gambian populace and not succumb to the whimsicality of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). So by late 80s, PDOIS’ Information Bureau in Bundung was my Saturday morning/early afternoon destination/hang-out in search of knowledge/information. I remember saving as much change as I could from my school lunch money in order to buy an edition of Foroyaa and yes, sometimes, PDOIS’ recorded tapes. It might be worth mentioning here that my favorite phrases from those tapes that I would throw at anybody that came my way (without any hesitation) that supported the PPP then was: Judu Chi Chono, Maga chi Chono, Dey Chi Chono (Wolof)! This can easily be transliterated (not word for word) to mean that under the PPP reign, one will be born in poverty, grow in poverty and die in poverty. So, why support the PPP? Unfortunately and despicably, nineteen years after the PPP rule, these phrases are still true today. So, in no way, shape, or form will I personally ever attempt to discredit Foroyaa/PDOIS.
That was 1980s. This is 2013. Our time has called for new leadership and new ways and means of addressing the barbaric brutality orchestrated against The Gambian people. This, in my opinion, is where DUGA and other Gambian social and democratic movements like it come into play. It is often said that politics is a numbers-game. I can bet that if a scientific sampling is conducted today, DUGA (though a non-political party) will have more votes than PDOIS. The reason for this is very simple. Gambians have been there and done it the PDOIS way for so long with rare tangibility. I believe, PDOIS has amply done its part by giving The Gambian people the civic and political education that they desperately needed and deserved in order to take charge of their destinies. However, PDOIS lacks the numbers (through elections or otherwise) and the ability to galvanize The Gambian people in order to end the tyranny that they have been subjected to under the APRC rule.
In case PDOIS/Foroyaa doesn’t/don’t know, there is nothing about the political and governance situation in The Gambia that is yet to be written. There is no constitutional rule in The Gambia. There is no rule of law. So, enough with PDOIS’ preaching for God’s sake! The brave men and women who peacefully occupied The Gambian Embassy in DC knew very well what they were doing. They are all learned/conscious men and women who have the courage and fortitude to do what PDOIS and its compatriots fail to do. Do you know how many times MLK and his associates were arrested and jailed? Why don’t you act like he courageous did instead of preaching to The Gambian people about what MLK did/didn’t do?
I tilt my hat to Sir Dawda Jawara and the first generation of Gambian politicians. Just like any other person, or group of persons, they had their shortcomings and challenges. But, they were able to come together and lead us to independence, republicanism and other political milestones.
The Gambia is at crossroads. The country needs a new breed of politicians who will assist us in refraining from building personalities and instead build institutions that will last for future generations. How can you preach term limits to one person, yet you are your party’s standard bearer for several elections? How can one person lead a political party for decades and once that leader is redundant or demised, the party is no more? These and many more are some of the fundamental questions that need to be addressed by upcoming politicians.
So, instead of advising/challenging The Gambians in the Diaspora to go back to the drawing board, it is in fact PDOIS/Foroyaa that needs/need to go back to the drawing board because they are out of touch with The Gambian people and The Gambian reality. In addition, if The Gambia is to have a future, it is PDOIS and their compatriots that need to put their egos aside and drop their astute mentality of all-knowing and my way or the highway and join other forces in salvaging The Gambia from the clutches of tyranny.
I pray and fervently hope for a Gambia where everyone, regardless of the person’s ethnicity, religion, or political persuasion, will be free from discrimination and persecution and live the full meaning of his/her God given potential. I still dream that one day, the rule of law will triumph over impunity in Kambi Bolong.