(JollofNews) – General Wellington to his men at the Battle of Waterloo “forward, all over the line”.
“Forward all over the line” too to all of us. Let the incident of Kanilia and the “darkness” that is NAWEC make us forget that we have Jammeh victims who need remembrance, support, solidarity, justice and truth.
They should be at the centre of our agitation; their suffering and hurt the cause of our anger and repulsion; their justice, our justice. They should be the moon around which all other satellites revolve. These victims and survivors cut across party lines, ethno-linguistic affiliations and religious identities.
In them is our commonality, the bond that binds us into one; in their suffering, our rallying cry. We should not forget, not so soon. They should remain our reminder, that our colossal indifference, our monumental inability to hold each other accountable, our eager readiness to engage in distorted rationalisation, our fear of the truth, our hero-worshipping and unconscionable behaviour which makes us lay down our liberties and rights at the feet of one man, our ability to give suppress the good in each to feed the evil brought us the ignominious and ignoble history that was Jammeh.
We should not forget: the snakes are still hissing where the doves are singing. Men and women who borne the highest levels of responsibility for the suffering we went through, the prop of the regime, those who stoke the fire and those who provided intellectual fodder which nourished the Hector are still around. They are as guilty…. We cannot afford to take our eyes off them. They remain a stark reminder to the victims and survivors, to the rest of us, that the evil thrives because they turned a blind, gave public approval, provided the false information, chaired the investigation panels which okayed the trumped-up charges, presided over the kangaroo, whispered the lies in the ears of Jammeh. “Until the bad tooth is removed, the mouth must chew with caution” (The gods are not to blame).
We should not forget. We banded together to fight the dictatorship. Every distinction we cast aside; eyes set on the goal. We marched together to victory, all of us all over the line. We were unified in our vision and purpose. We won the war; the battle lives on. That is not won yet. It is never won; it is a perpetual fight. May be a lot of us have forgotten that; have withdrawn from the trenches; are resting on the laurels. There should be always the horning of the battle cry “the Gambia Has Decided”. We shouldn’t miss the bigger picture: a struggle for dignity.
We should not forget. But we will forget when things that should matter give way to things that should wait; when things that are important and urgent give way to things that are urgent but not important or important but not urgent; when we begin to major in the minors; when the tail begins to wag the head; when we begin to dissipate our energies in unending squabbles and ego conflicts…. We should not forget why we banded and bonded together to banish Yaya.
It is said that those who forget their history are bound to repeat the errors of their past. One does not have to look into the crystal ball to know that the future is what it used to be, or rather to sense that we are beginning to forget. We can forget everything but not the victims and survivors and our commitment to “never again” oath.
“There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood leads into fortune” Shakespeare
If you don’t stand for anything, you will fall for anything…..
Please add the victims of Foni to the list; BTW The Duke of Wellington did not advance far, other than to take the high ground and form battle squares.The English were outnumbered 3 to 1 The outcome was in the balance until the Austrians advanced up Napoleon’s flank late in the day and settled the matter; Though terms were offered, The French soldiers refused. Sadly and bravely they were annihilated by English canon. Emperor Napoleon was transported in an British frigate to the South coast of England where he was given all honours and treated well by The English aristocracy.
In those days the soldier was expendable. The European nobility stuck firmly together.
Rather like African President’s wouldn’t you say?. Jammeh was given terms and left. His victims today to plead for rice.