It has been one (1) year plus since Comrade Brother Modou Gassama passed away, on Sunday, 20th September, 2020. It is a great loss. May his soul rest in peace.
Born on 27th December, 1959 in Sibanor, he later joined his uncle in Sweden and completed his studies. He graduated a soil scientist, at Masters level. What began as a common bond for a common cause, some forty years ago, bonded into comradely brother-hood.
Comrade Modou, a younger brother and bridge between distant lands, fondly became known to some as the agronomist. He too sacrificed the comforts of faraway lands to serve the cause of the people at home, and passed away after a brief illness, in the line of duty. It is important to recognize the sacrifice made, in serving so many and leaving behind a young family.
After the ban on the Movement for Justice in Africa – The Gambia (MOJA-G) was lifted by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) regime, some of its members soon returned in 1993 to continue the organization’s grassroots work in the home-front.
Some of the younger comrades, Brother Modou included, soon followed in those footsteps in September, 1995. A well-trained soil scientist, he soon rose through the ranks of professional staff assignments at the Department of Agriculture. He headed the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)-supported programs, for improved livelihoods in rural and peri-urban areas. Farmers, women and the youth were thus assisted through cooperative and individual initiatives.
Working conditions under the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) regime proved stressful in no small measure, and took a toll on both health and effectiveness. He was thrown into detention with bogus charges. This was the heavy price paid for serving the cause of the people, as a public servant. As Comrade Frantz Fanon has reminded us, “We are nothing here on earth if we are not slaves of a cause, the cause of the people.”
This brave spirit of resistance, and of dedication to public service, is passed on to the next generation. That way his blessed memory lives on. And the relay of struggle in defense of human rights continues, so that all oppressed lives become free. Aluta continua.
Rest in peace, Comrade Brother.
Hamedou Drammeh & M. Sajo Jallow
