I am writing this from Marlborough’s link community of Gunjur in The Gambia to which I have travelled to share with Gambian friends the return to democracy, peace and harmony after the election on December 1 of President Barrow.
Adama Barrow was elected as leader of a
coalition of opposition parties but then entered a very difficult period of six
weeks during which the defeated past President Yayha Jammeh refused to accept
defeat until finally forced to leave the country on January 20 following the
armed intervention by troops from Senegal representing the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS). This was not before Jammeh had called a state
of emergency, resulting in many people fleeing the country fearing conflict and
violence, and the rapid evacuation of thousands of tourists, well covered in
the international, national and local media.
The violence thankfully never happened, the
troops ‘walked into’ The Gambia in the presence of 3 Heads of State from
surrounding countries and Jammeh was persuaded to leave State House but not
before he had ‘lined his pockets’ with millions of dollars as he had been doing
throughout his Presidency, apparently amassing many of these dollars in Panama,
leaving the country destitute, according to all I spoke to.
He is now in Equatorial Guinea as a ‘guest’ of
the equally notorious dictator who leads that country. Friends tell me that
Jammeh will almost certainly face the International Criminal Court once
sufficient evidence of his many human rights abuses has been gained.
All the signs in The Gambia from the many
people I have spoken to are of relief, peace, joy, true happiness as expressed
in all conversations, and a desire to move forward and forget the past.
The return to freedom of speech and the
ability to talk freely to anyone, expressing views which might be controversial
but in the knowledge that one is not going to be reported to the National
Intelligence Agency is fundamental to everyone’s emotions. One becomes aware
that the breakdown of trust between individuals, permeated every aspect of life
under the Jammeh regime and this is now rapidly dissolving.
President Barrow is clearly gathering around
him a team of Ministers with the right background, experience and
qualifications who arealready guiding him. They include his Chief Justice
Hassan Jallow who lived in Rwanda during the
22 years of the Jammeh regime, while working for the International
Criminal Court having been a senior member of the Government of Sir Dawda
Jawara which was overthrown in 1994 in a military coup by the army led by the
then 27 year old Captain Yayha Jammeh.
Also among the Ministerial team is Dr Isatou Touray who spoke at the 2015 Marlborough Brandt Group AGM in Marlborough Town Hall, on the problem of female genital mutilation, as Director of Gamcotrap, the NGO particularly leading the fight against FGM and who is now the Minister of Trade and Industry. Isatou it was who took a leading role in getting the opposition parties to unite in the form of a coalition, recognising that it was only if they were united in opposition to Yayha Jammeh they had a chance of ousting him.
The UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was on
my flight to Banjul on 14 February and at a meeting I had the following morning
with the British Ambassador, Colin Crokin who had accompanied him to a meeting
with President Barrow the previous evening, he told me that the Foreign
Secretary had expressed the desire of the UK Government to work closely with
The Gambia not least in ensuring that The Gambia is welcomed back into the
Commonwealth at the earliest opportunity. The Gambia was withdrawn by President
Jammeh on a whim some four years ago, probably having taken the decision to
‘jump before he was pushed’ at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting, on account of his appalling human rights record but in resigning,
accusing the Commonwealth of being a “colonial organisation”.
Boris Johnson with President Barrow and
Ambassador Colin Crorkin
While The Gambia is not currently receiving
bilateral aid from the UK’s Department for International Development, aid is
coming from the UK Government through the EU which has promised 65 million
euros, and via other organisations that are supporting development in The
Gambia. The Foreign Secretary singled out education and tourism as a particular
focus for the UK working with the Gambian Government.
In discussions with friends and colleagues on
the impact that the change of regime is likely to have on the flow of migrants
taking ‘the back way’ from The Gambia to Europe it seemed likely that this
would be small, indeed I was told of young men who had left since the
appointment of President Barrow, seeing no future for themselves here. This is
something that the Marlborough Brandt Group is addressing by providing loans
for young entrepreneurs in Gunjur to set up businesses - a highly successful
programme which is creating wealth and employment and which needs to be rolled
out across the country to give young people hope for the future.
At a reception for the new President in the
gardens of the Senegambia Hotel attended by representatives of the Diplomatic
Corps and friends and supporters he came across as a quietly humble man with
great charm and a good sense of humour, hardly believing the great role that
had been thrust upon him.
The following day 19 February his inauguration
took place and the celebration of 52 years of Independence from the British
colonial days, at a nine hour gathering in the National stadium attended by 20
Heads of State representatives of the armed forces from The Gambia and Senegal
who gave an impressive display of armed drill and marching in harmony in front
of a crowd of 25,000 adoring and wildly enthusiastic subjects. One could not
but feel what a privilege it was to be present at this extraordinary turning
point in The Gambia’s history.
It was clear from the atmosphere in the
stadium that there was an overwhelming feeling of relief and optimism and
universal support for President Adama Barrow. In complete contrast to public
occasions I have attended in the past where President Jammeh was surrounded by
vehicles, bristling with armed troops, rifles at the ready, here there was a
singular lack of security.
At the inauguration a particular welcome was
afforded to the President of Senegal for the vital role that he and his
Government had played in hosting Adama Barrow during the state of emergency
when Yayha Jammeh was refusing to accept the result of the election. In addition
when ECOWAS troops crossed into The Gambia to force Jammeh out in a bloodless
intervention, they were led by the Senegalese army.
In an interview with the President of Liberia
she made the point that what had happened in The Gambia where the democratic
process had overthrown a dictator with support from other African countries and
in particular from within The Gambia itself, this was a fine example of Africa
being able to sort out its own problems peacefully, and should be an example to
other dubious regimes in the continent.
Today 21 February, two days after his
inauguration, I had the privilege of a private meeting with President Barrow in
the company of three Gambian friends from Gunjur, Madi Jatta, MankamangTouray
and Nabani Darboe all of whom had received training in Marlborough in early
childhood education and storekeeping in the late 1980s and early 1990s and now
hold senior positions in the Ministry of Education and the National Water and
Electricity Company (NAWEC).
The President was aware of the 34 year
relationship between Marlborough and Gunjur. We were able to describe the
impact that it had had on the two communities not least on those young people
from Marlborough who had lived and worked in Gunjur and I was able to cite the
example of Miranda Armstrong from whom I had received an e mail that morning
and who had taught English to students in the Gunjur Upper Basic School in her
gap year in 1989 and who has subsequently worked for NGOs in Sri Lanka, Burundi, Benin and Senegal and is
currently UNICEF representative in Côte d’Ivoire. Likewise Mankamang Touray
talked about the many young Gambians who had received training under the
auspices of MBG.
The President was full of praise for what had
been achieved and expressed his determination that his government should
support the relationship in whatever way possible.
Likewise, we offered to do all we could to
support the development efforts of his Government in whatever way possible and
also advocate on his country’s behalf for the rapid re entry of The Gambia into
the Commonwealth, through contacts in the Commonwealth Secretariat.
I was able to present the President with
letters of congratulation and good wishes from Marlborough’s MP Claire Perry
who had spent a week in Gunjur in 2013 and from the Mayor of Marlborough,
Councillor Noël Barrett-Morton, with a present from the latter in the form of a
very fine paper weight containing the Marlborough crest.
I
return to Marlborough with a great sense of optimism on behalf of our many
friends in Gunjur and more widely in The Gambia and the hope that the
international community will recognise the new regime and give it all the
support that it deserves after 22 years of cruel dictatorship.
Nick Maurice 21 February 2017
