In an exclusive interview with The Point newspaper, the Consul General of The Gambia (C.G.G) in Angola, Hon. Haggi Jawara, speaks about the new government.
Please
follow the interview in this question and answer format:
The
Point: First of all, can you please tell our readers who you are?
Consular
General: My name is Haggi Jawara, and I am the Consular General of The Gambia
in Angola. I left The Gambia for Kinshasa, Congo, in 1980 and stayed there for
10 years.
Then
in 1990, I moved to Angola, there I started a small business. Gradually as the
years pass by, I became a bigger business tycoon setting up a company called
The Samuga Limited, where I employed many Gambians, Malians, Guineans and
Angolans as well.
By
then, Angola did not have diplomatic relations with The Gambia. So I decided to
call on the Gambians to register and unite under one umbrella to form the
Gambian community in Angola, headed by myself.
We used to contribute to help address the
issues of Gambian expatriates in Angola, especially those who were arrested and
left to languish in detention centers for lack of proper documentation. Some
would even get so sick had we not intervened they would have died there.
In
Angola, if you are arrested for lack of documents, you are usually sent to
detention camps, where you are left to languish for as long as money has to be
put on the table for your repatriation to your home country.
Otherwise,
some years are spent in these prisons with no family or help from anyone. As a
Gambian compatriot, I voluntarily used to contribute my own money together with
the likes of Solo Darboe, Muhammed Jabba, Nchilla, Alagie Foday Jabbi and
Alagie Tamba Jabbi, to negotiate and pay for many Gambians stranded in these
detention camps to be repatriated, rather than to leave them to suffer in those
dire horrible conditions. I still support the Gambians there, and I will
continue to support them.
The
Point: What was the reaction of Gambians in Angola regarding Adama Barrow’s
victory?
Consular
General: Yes, the Gambians in Angola reacted happily upon hearing of the
victory of Adama Barrow. Bulls were slaughtered for a party to celebrate Adama
Barrow’s election victory.
The
Point: What are some of the most pressing issues you would like to see
addressed in the interest of the Gambian community in Angola, with the advent
of the new government?
Consular
General: Yes, that is a very important question. We are appealing to the new
government under President Adama Barrow to write letters to his counterpart,
President Dos Santos, to legalize Gambians in Angola because many are yet to
get residence permit, which is very important.
The
Point: What are some of the problems faced by Gambians in Angola?
Consular
General: Lack of registration. Up to now, I don’t know the number of Gambians
living in Angola because some have not registered. Recently, I had to put in my
own 10,000 dollars single handedly to pay for their registration when they were
caught by police.
The
Point: What businesses are Gambians engaged in in Angola?
Consular
General: They are shop owners, while others are into importing. Myself, I have
a business there, and many people work for me, including Gambians. But with the
new coalition government coupled with the fact I’m a businessman, I have plans
to come and invest in The Gambia, my country. In fact, I already have container
shipped on the way to The Gambia.
The
Point: How did you become the chairman of ECOWAS in Angola?
Consular
General: I used to fight for the liberation of many Gambians and other ECOWAS
expatriates, who were imprisoned for lack documentation. On a daily basis close
to 40 West Africans are arrested for failing to produce documents.
Even
pregnant women are arrested too. Just recently, I had to pay my own 10,000
dollars to rescue some Gambians held in prison. There was a time when 220
Gambians were to be deported by the Angola government to The Gambia. I had to
leave all my work and busy schedule to accompany them, because they are my
people and I have to fight for them.
I
decided to consult with lawyers and wrote several letters to the ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Interior and Office of the President in Angola to voice out my
total disagreement and frustration over these happenings.
My
efforts paid dividends after so many attempts, as the president of Angola, Dos
Santos, in line with my opinion decided to bring a halt to the arrests of
persons with or without documents. I have done a lot for the Gambians and West
Africans in Angola. Consequently, I was offered to be the chairman of ECOWAS in
Angola.
The
Point: Which means you are also calling on the new coalition government to
continue to support you?
Consular
General: Yes., thank you very much! I am also calling on Barrow’s government to
continue to support us even more. That’s why I together with a 35-man
delegation came to pay a courtesy call on President Barrow to show our
solidarity and support to his government. I will also attend his inauguration
on 18 February as our new president, on behalf of the entire Gambian community
in Angola who cannot make it here?
The
Point: What advice do you have for Gambians?
Consular
General: It is to represent and support the new government and abide by the law
and respect for human rights. We should also be careful with too much
democracy. When we say democracy it means to do what’s good and morally
accepted; not use it to commit evil deeds and offences.
The
Point: What advice do you have for the new government?
Consular
General: I appeal to the new government to reduce the price of hajj for
Gambians. The Gambia’s hajj price is relatively more expensive compared to
other countries.
It
is even cheaper to go for hajj in neighbouring countries. The Gambia being a
small country with many poor people, why?
In the name of Allah, I appealed to the Barrow regime to try and see
this problem solved. Maybe the ex-government was doing whatever they wanted,
but this new government should look into it and have sympathy for the greater
poor Gambian people to reduce the hajj price.
The
Point: What are your last words?
Consular
General: We all know The Gambia has suffered for 22 years, but now everything
has changed. I thank God for the new government, and I pray for The Gambia and
the new President Adama Barrow.
As
a Gambian living in Angola, I am very happy for the restoration of peace and
democracy in The Gambia. The will of the people has been respected. The Gambia
has decided! We have to be united, as united we stand and divided we fall. Long
live The Gambia!
