No hope for change

by PK Jarju

A personality whose only vision is to acquire and retain power and whose only mission is how to acquire and retain power by any means can only sow the seed of political decadence in a nation...Halifa Sallah April 2000.

Last Friday, over 50,000 people from all parts of the globe gathered in London's Hyde Park to celebrate the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela, one of the world's greatest leader.

A record 80 million people are reported to have watched the concert on their television sets. Like these people who were unable to attend the concert, I stayed awake all night with my one-year old son, Jamil, to watch the concert on TV. And being a crazy fan of Mandela, I couldn't hold my tongue. I kept lecturing my son about Mandela's stance against totalitarianism, oppression, fight against HIV/Aids, hunger and most importantly, his fight against apartheid in South Africa even though the poor lad couldn't understand a thing of what I was saying.

Mandela is a man I admire and have great respect for. The man went through hell in defense of his beliefs. He made a lot of sacrifice in the fight against oppression and brutality and despite his old age, he is still playing an active role in the fight against hunger and diseases.

Like, Kofi Annan, former UN secretary General, said: "People always ask me what difference one person can make in the face of injustice, conflict, human right violations, mass poverty and disease. I answer by citing the courage, tenacity, dignity and magnanimity of Nelson Mandela. I cited his lifelong struggle against apartheid, and his steadfast refusal to compromise his beliefs during long years of incarceration."

But despite his achievements, Mandela still believes that the fight is not yet over. And as a wise man, Mandela used the event in London to call on the thousands of people in the park and the millions like me, who were glued on their TV sets at home, work places and cafes to take over the mantle in the fight against oppression, injustice, hunger and diseases.

"As we celebrate," he said to the cheering crowd: "we say tonight, after nearly 90 years of life, it's time for new hands to lift the burdens. It's in your hands now. Even as we celebrate, let us remind ourselves that our work is far from complete. Where there is poverty and sickness, including AIDS, where human beings are being oppressed, there's more work to be done. Our work is for freedom for all."

Everyone in the world accepts the fact that Mandela is very old now and is starting to look weak physically, and there is oppression, brutality, diseases and hunger everywhere in the world, but who will stand up for the oppressed, the hungry and the sick? In the case of my own country, the Gambia, the country is being rule for the past 14 years by a brutal dictator in the person of Yahiya Jammeh, who does not have any respect for the rights and freedoms of the citizenry.

Gross human rights violations are being committed day in-day out by men in uniform with the blessings of the president. People are dying every day from preventable diseases like malaria and the HIV/Aids infection is increasing at an alarming rate. People are starving, suffering and living in a state of fear resulting in a situation where the people are afraid of their ruler instead of the ruler being afraid of the people, who voted for him into power. The very people, whose affairs he claim to be representing.

The situation is pathetic and despite the fact that a large majority of the population are dissatisfied with the current regime as they keep moaning about the regime's lack of interest in their welfare and the sufferings they are going through, only a few people are brave enough to stand up to the dictatorship. Interestingly, these people who refuse to bow down to the dictator by speaking out against his murder happy regime, are branded enemies and stooges of the West, who want to bring instability in the country.

These few men and women who chose to oppose and criticise the regime are often arbitrarily rounded up and held incommunicado for days, weeks, months and years without being charged. The regime in most cases ignore court orders for their unconditional release.

Jammeh is controlling every facet of the Gambian society and as president, he thinks he owns the country and its people. He talks to us any how he wants and as president, he maintains that he has absolute powers to harass, arrest, detain and torture anyone who opposes him and his regime as long as he wants.

Being a nation that is afraid of its leadership, the Gambian people have allowed the government of Yahya Jammeh to snoop into their lives and violate their spaces. There is nothing like free society in the Gambia anymore. We are now a nanny state. We are all being watch by NIA officers and other security agents in and outside the Gambia. Officials of Gambian missions overseas are turned into spies to monitor the activities of Gambians abroad instead of representing their welfare.

As thing are in the Gambia at the moment, it would be difficult if not impossible for the country to have some one like Nelson Mandela. Some one who will stand up and fight for the freedom of Gambians. This is because we have all chosed to ignore the plight of Gambians and the Gambia in order to be in the good books of the regime. None of us wants to be buried six-feet deep or handcuffed in front of his wife and children and tortured in the Gambia's Guantanamo Bay (NIA Headquarters). None of us wants to be jobless. We all want to wake up everyday, do our own thing and ignore the opression and suffering.

We have come to accept the fact that Jammeh have demonds and knows what we are all up to and what is about to happen in 400 years to come. We have accepted the fact that we are a weak people who cannot remove Jammeh through the ballot box. We have all accepted the fact that voting against Jammeh will bring instability to the country. As a weak and powerless people, we have chosed not to speak the truth but to distort in our selfish desire to gain Jammeh's recognition and benevolence. All what we are doing now is cry ourselves to sleep in silence while we pray and wait for the Most Merciful and Ever Living God to rain fire on this brutal ruler and his thugs. Well, lets continue kneeling down and pray then for the next million years.

The Gambian opposition that is supposed to be a government in waiting is not providing an alternative. You log on your computer or open your newspaper everyday hoping to see them selling their party polices and programmes, see them speak against the thuggist regime, the sufferings and hardship of the people among other pertinent issues, but they are nowhere to be seen. All you read is articles by journalists and a few concerned Gambians overseas who want a restoration of democracy and the rule of law in their motherland.

The PDOIS is the only opposition party that is vocal against the dictatorship. Halifa Sallah, Sidia Jatta, Sam Sarr and others are using The Foroyaa to sensitise Gambians as well as talk tough against the Jammeh regime's lack of respect to the rights and freedoms of Gambians, wastage of tax payers money, the need for the respect of the constitution, accountability and transparency and many other things that are in the interest of the Gambia and Gambians.

The leadership of UDP, NDAM, NRP, PPP and other oppositions parties, whose names I cannot even remember are all hiding in their shells. They are yet to recover from the 2006 election defeat and have become so domant to an extend that I sometimes wonder whether they even exist. The more they remain silent and inactive, the more Jammeh is turning the country into a one party state.

The Jammeh regime is at the moment more fearful of the online Gambian media than the opposition. These newspapers are giving him sleepless nights with their editorials and commentaries that expose his regime as corrupt, brutal, totalitarian, incompetent and his lack of interest of the Gambian people at heart.

Taking into consideration the current political situation in the country, I do not habour the slightest hope in my heart that the Jammeh regime will be flushed out of power come 2011 elections. This is because opposition parties that are expected fight Jammeh in the polls are currently idle. And an active opposition that is really interested in getting into power will not remain silent and idle in the face of the current hardship the people are going through. In the meanwhile, lets continue to suffer in silence, starve, die from preventable diseases while the men in power continue to live their flamboyant lifestles at our expense. Lets continue raising our hands to the heavens and wait for miracles to happen.
Peace!