By Mathew Jallow

To digress from the nastiness of politics for a moment, this focus, instead, on human nature in Gambia, is a fundamental component of the changes in our cultural landscape. This plunge into the complexity of human nature attempts to contextualize the enormous lapses in judgment to which many Gambians have become willing victims. And, this is not in reference to theoretical psychology, but on the facts of our lives that respond to our moral groundings. It is our lived experience, groomed by society’s norms, and distinguish our capacity to rationalize from the other forces in nature; animals. At one critical level, our countrymen and women’s fickle minds lend themselves to fall into the dreadful entrapment of the promises of power and prestige, but perhaps the most significant motivating factor is the power of economics; the bottom-line.

In short, it is purely an issue of self-preservation dictated by a need for political power and economic self-protection, and over the past eighteen years, it has devalued our concepts of society, but even more importantly, our perception of our fellow countrymen and women is hopelessly entangled between the clearly opposing contradictions of moral obligation and our Darwinian primordial instincts for survival. The most recent intense public castigation campaign and moral marginalization of Nana Grey-Johnson, typify the stark division among Gambians; a division explainable primarily by simple environmental factors. I was tongue-tied, of course, during Nana’s ordeal, not because of an innate desire to protect a friend, but rather because of the awareness of how economic conditions at home provide a powerful force for malleability and utter indifference to moral rationality.

Clearly, Nana Grey-Johnson deserved the loud criticisms too, for failing the moral test, but, with that story now behind us, Nana Grey is not unmindful that he is wedged between the dangerous company of Imperial King, Yahya Jammeh and the unforgiving indignation of the vocal Gambian minority. Today, Gambia is in the grip of an intellectual degradation unlike anything Africa has experienced since the seventies, and the customariness with which many Gambians have fallen victims to Imperial King, Yahya Jammeh’s power and the lure of political status is an object of ongoing debate among Gambians.

The long list of Gambians deserving case studies to provide empirical evidence in understanding the cruelty of Gambian  politics under Imperial King, Yahya Jammeh, include, but is not limited only to; Sarjo Jallow, Nene Macdolle, Fatoumata Tambajang, Nana Grey-Johnson, Bala Garba-Jahumpa and Mbemba Tambedou, all relatives and close friends, among the other eighty cabinet appointments under Yahya Jammeh. But, this failure of moral obligation to Gambians has a religious dimension, further complicating the enormous challenges of moral uprightness.

The fact that so many Gambians choose to disregard the failure of leadership under Imperial King, Yahya Jammeh, is itself stunning, but that so many of them can endure the indignities of arrests, tortures and recycleing back into the system, is mind-blowing and absurd. But, what obsesses the Gambian mind most is the calculations of accepting temporary appointment in any position under Yahya Jammeh even while Gambians continue to be murdered, to disappear and to be reduced in their aspirations and limited in their freedoms.

Intellectual uprightness dictates the assumption of moral superiority in our patriotic obligations to our fellow citizens, but the utter failure to live up to that ideal, will compel my friend Nana Grey-Johnson and all the others to endure the cloud of bitterness and indignant distaste likely to hang over their heads in the coming years. That said, the complete collapse of the moral moorings of fellow citizens back home; from the senior cabinet positions, to civil servants and to other levels of society, more than being tantalizing, is slowly reconfiguring the psyche of our people and changing the values inherited for our noble past. And for now, Gambians still disappear; the murders still escalate; prison once an anathema, is now almost a rite of passage; executions still concealed by the darkness of night, and the terror of a people speaks loudly in its silent eloquence. Still, Gambians, from cabinet appointees to senior civil servants and political activists, remain unbothered by the tremendous criminality of the regime, but most specifically, of Imperial King, Yahya Jammeh.

The unflattering nature of the regime typify a loss of credibility that borders on illegitimacy and the reduction of an entire society into a permanent underclass signals the saturation our endurance and the inevitable need for political change. But, whether Imperial King, Yahya Jammeh will move out by his own freewill or by the devastating force of cold lead through his brain, is another matter altogether. The suffering people of the Gambia have time on their side. For, even the longest nightmare has its day of freedom, and the Gambia is no different. As it is, the new Gambian mindset lacks the basic tenets of morality, and Nana Grey-Johnson, like other who serve Yahya Jammeh, speaks to that moral deficit and that color of betrayal.

Activists prefer initiation to genital mutilation/Gamcotrap

Dr. Touray & Bojang lead the fight against FGM/Gamcotrap

By Sarata Jabbi-Dibba

The massive dropping of knife by circumcisors is a significant development in the fight to eradicate the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This recent development, the fruits of the hard work of the Gambia Committee against Traditional Harmful Practices (GAMCOTRAP), deserves to be celebrated. 

The age old tradition is known to have caused more harm than good to the health and wellbeing of women and girls. It also violates the rights and bodily integrity of women across the world.

Activists – gender and human rights – have been launching an all-out fight against any form of cutting or tampering with the genitalia of women and girls in the Gambia. At the fore front of this campaign is GAMCOTRAP that had created countrywide advocacy and awareness training programs on the effects of FGM, and the negative impact it has had on the sexual and reproductive health of women. Over 2,000 participants, drawn from diverse social backgrounds and ages, have benefited from these trainings. Each of the participants has been tasked with improving the lives of girls and women through sensitization.

Despite counting its successes, GAMCOTRAP would not sit on its laurel until the Gambia becomes FGM-free. It is against this background that the group focused maximum attention on Central River Region (CRR) where the campaign to eradicate FGM is done through the Rights Based Approach and grassroots mobilisation using the cluster approach, and consultations with chiefs, women leaders and office of the governor, and through the training on their capacity building on the health effects of FGM on women and girls. This has brought massive changes resulting to the dropping of knives by 30 women circumciser in CRR.

The latest dropping of the knife is fourth of its kind since GAMCOTRAP started its genuine and tireless struggle aimed at protecting the wellbeing of women and girls in the Gambia.

It could be recalled that in 2007 there was the first dropping of knife at the Independence Stadium where 18 of the women circumcisors publicly vowed not to do the practice. This was followed by a massive one in 2009 where 60 women circumcisors in Upper River Region also joined the fray.  Also 2011 saw the dropping of knives by 20 circumcisors in Lower River Region.

TEENS RETURN BAG OF CASH FOUND IN TRAIN

By Lamin Sabally – Minneapolis, MN

The train that carried a bag of cash in Norway/Yahoo

In what it beautifully and captivatingly calls the latest incident of an epidemic of honesty, Yahoo news reports that a mountain of praises are being heaped on two Norwegian teens for their honesty after returning a bag with its full contents of 467, 200 Norwegian Kroners which is the equivalence of $81,500 to an elderly woman who accidentally left the cash on a train.

According to the detailed account, the teens found what would have been described in Senegambian phraseology as a God-sent fortune in a bag left on a seat of a train that was bound for Oslo from a small town in Southeast section of Norway.

“When I open the bag, the first thing I saw were  wads and wads of bills,” narrated one of the 16-year old teens, who further revealed the bag was discovered with a passport inside belonging to the 70-year old woman.

Beside the Norway story, other instances of honesty were reported in different parts of the world. Here in the US at a Wal-Mart store, an employee reportedly found an envelope stuffed with $23,000 and ungrudgingly gave it back for the owner to collect. In February, a couple came across a camera case stuffed with $11,000 near the Golden Gate Bridge. They tracked down the owner and the money was surrendered without a dime missing.

In a similar honesty story reported last year, a bus driver in Austria was astonished when he came across a bag containing a whopping $510, 000 and also returned it with its complete contents intact to the rightful owner. A few months bag, a casino employee stumbled on $10,000 in a rest room and returned it without hesitation.

In November, it was reported that a taxi driver in Singapore found a jaw-dropping $900,000 in the back seat of his car. He fended off every fiber of dishonesty temptation and bravely returned the gigantic amount of cash.

For this reporter, honesty transcends race, religion, sex, age, and all other differences. These amazing stories that provided excessive inspiration also send a clear reminder that even though we live in a chronically corrupt world with incessant desire for material wealth, the world can still be proud of honest and righteous people. The political and religious worlds may be particularly awash with corrupt and dishonest leaders, but hopes are still rekindling that the two most corruption plagued worlds may still compose of men and women of integrity.

By Musa Camara

President Jammeh condones moral decadence

Irreformable and notorious individuals who commit blatant infractions or heinous crimes are generally isolated, publicly shamed, unequivocally condemned, socially sanctioned and even legally punished both in the interest of justice and for the good of society.

Not the mercurial dictator who demands to be called His Excellency, Doctor, Professor, Sheikh, Alhagie Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh, Nasirudeen, the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the Chief Custodian of the Sacred Constitution of the Republic of the Gambia. For nineteen years on, it doesn’t matter what violations he commits against citizens or the law, he enjoys total impunity thanks to the authoritarian fist he wields over the country. His apologists are always on standby to explain away his incessant and mindless abuses of power with witless excuses to justify putting himself above the law and they never fail to remind friend and foe of the man how popular he remains with the public. Critics, on the other hand, counter that he gets away with his crimes and excesses because he has cowed the nation into submission with a level of brutality seen only in few countries even in Africa.

Nothing shed more light on his erratic mindset about the office he occupies than the events of August 26, 2012. He acted on his chest-beating vow on national television that he was going to start executing prisoners on death-row because he had had enough of murderers and violent criminals on the street. The killing of nine prisoners, it must be underscored, was to all intents and purposes extrajudicial. It was carried out in secret and in the dark of the night, and never officially confirmed until diligent reporters broke the gory news to the world.

While Yahya Jammeh’s contemptuous disregard for the law, democratic norms and the rights of citizens would constitute overwhelming grounds of impeachment from office in normal societies, in The Gambia his every illegal conduct tightens his stranglehold on the nation. With the notable exception of few ferocious voices from the opposition parties, a handful of organized protests by dissident groups outside the country decrying the killing of prisoners, Imam Baba Leigh was the solitary voice, especially among the religious leaders who spoke against the despicable act. Predictably, his minions abducted Baba Leigh and for months now the imam hasn’t been heard from or seen in public or by his family. Whether he is still under illegal detention or worse happened to him is anyone’s guess. No court has issued a habeas corpus to order his release and the rest of the country simply gives in to Jammeh’s latest extralegal fiat with a shrug of helplessness.

The disconcerting killing of prisoners and the cavalier manner this erratic man rides roughshod over the country fill a patriot’s heart with rage. The question that confronts the pondering mind is why? Why is this regime particularly brutal? Why do the Gambian people allow it to lord over them for so long? What is in Yahya Jammeh’s character that makes him so crude and cruel? What is in the Gambian character that makes the nation so receptive to such crudeness and cruelty?

A serious examination of the historic records will establish that even the almighty British Empire could not effectively subjugate the entire population of what is now modern Gambia for more than 64 years. From the beginning of its meddling into the affairs of Gambians in 1588 to having formally annexed Bathurst Colony in 1816, the British failed to establish The Gambia Colony and Protectorate until 1901. The Gambian resilience, for over three hundred years, to British colonial aggressions reached its fineness with the resistance mounted by Burungai Sonko of Nuimi and Musa Molloh Baldeh of Fulladu. These two Gambian stalwarts drew the line in the Sahelian sand for the British when they took the stand with military force to jealously guard the sovereignty of their people and maintain the territorial integrity of their kingdoms before the country was eventually incorporated into the dying British Empire.

No sooner the British were about to enjoy some breathing space after defeating Musa Molloh than Edward Francis Small started to agitate for Independence as early as in 1915. E. F. Small internationalized the struggle for our liberation when he linked it to the total liberation of British West African Colonies in 1920 at the pioneering meeting of the National Congress of British West Africa in Accra, Ghana. Our Founding Father’s struggle for national self-determination culminated in his election in 1947 to the Legislative Assembly, the first representative Gambians elected into office. In roughly eighteen years thereafter, The Gambia gained its independence as a state among the respectable members of the community of nations. This coming July, when Yahya Jammeh is out and about celebrating his coup, will mark the 19^th anniversary of the sad mockery of that glorious day. His ignoble coming to power make all noble sacrifices of the past seem like a pyrrhic victory.

Notwithstanding the admirable achievement heralding a promising future of freedom and equality for all its citizens, in The Gambia now, one man subverts the sovereignty of the people, cheats and lies to them, arrests and detains defenseless citizens, ridicules the extrajudicial murder and assassinations of the innocents, summarily executes prisoners, embezzles the national wealth, runs the country like a personal fiefdom, and grandiosely entertains to arrogate to himself their natural rights. Whereas all these impunities are not new in the history of the world, the incomprehensible is that in this age of postmodernity even his casual supporters celebrate him as a national hero. Admittedly, the gullible among us would be persuaded with the argument that history is replete with many such stories. The worst still and the irony, however, are that there’s no national outrage, condemnation, agitation, or resistance, let alone open rebellion to preserve the imprescriptible rights of Gambians. All that prevail are silent suffering, groaning, moaning, resignation to fate and self-pity. But why is a generation or two just removed from predecessors who overthrew the yoke of colonial rule endure brutalities, suffer humiliations, callous murders, reckless seizure and abductions of their abled-bodied with impunities? —crimes horrendous than those against which our forefathers revolted for the restoration of their dignities or perish with honors of fighting for freedom.

To provide answers to these irrational indulgences and riddle of Gambian history, I suggest we examine the moral compass of Gambian society. Morality is the set of values that embodies a people’s beliefs of right and wrong informed primarily by their understanding of fairness and justice. It’s the reflection of their couth pronouncements, but even more so it’s the projection of their actions and manifestation of their deeds. When actualized at the individual or collective level, morality shapes the ideals and principles that guide the actions of people in their social intercourse, equips them with the knowledge in imperative terms of right and wrong, exulting behaviors that should be justified when perpetrated to the human self or to others. Besides informing people of acceptable behaviors, morality in particular charges individuals with the responsibility that which are immoral or unethical do not become norms of their society while they stand idle. In essence, morality teaches restraints against violation of the autonomy of the vulnerable, but in practice, it ultimately demands actions from the powerful to prevent harm directed at the weak.

The sheer lack of serious literature on the subjects is indicative of the uneasiness among writers to put the Gambian Morality under the microscope. Even when writers attempt an exposition in this barren literal valley, they come out as straightjacket stereotyping. The towering scholar, Edward Said, once argued that the best critics to objectively assess, analyze, evaluate and pass judgment on any society are its outsiders because they are not corrupted by the moral delinquencies of their targets of inquiries. I doubt that the best critics of any society are outsiders alone for they may not have pertinent facts, fully understand the culture, communications, norms, values, folklores, etc. of their subjects under study. Controversial as it maybe, I believe that the best and credible critics of any dispensation are the victims of its injustices, those who pay in blood and treasure the cost of its unrelenting egregious transgressions.

In all over Africa when outsiders to our society attempt to critique us, to hold us accountable to universally cherished values and disregard for standards for which we eviscerated our colonial masters, we too often hide behind old familiar cries of western imposition of their value system on Africa. Now it rightly falls onto us Africans to look at our society with the eye of critics, see ourselves as others perceive us for what we truly appear to be, envisioning images which portray the best we want for our progenies, then cast the unflattering judgment of whether we live up to our responsibilities in building the foundation of a just society for their inheritance. Regardless of the nobility of purpose and validity of criticism, the African critics of their own society risk the charges of a brainwashed western stooge by their compatriots or more familiar but far serious: treason from their government.

I do not see myself as an intellectual, moral or any kind of philosopher, sociologist or psychologist, political or critical theorist, but only as someone who is both an insider and outsider of The Gambian community. I am an insider by virtue of my origin and for having spent most of my formative years in the country; and an outsider not only because I’ve never participated in or directly benefitted from the prevailing political schema of things, but also that my views are in the minority among my fellow citizens. In spite of my claims, neither postulation enhances my credibility on the subject, but rather only illuminates my understanding of the country’s political and social arrangements. Undoubtedly, the premises of my arguments are to pass the test of validity by their proximity to the truth. The truth, I must admit however, I do not know but I am confident in the abilities of plenty of Gambians who are certain in their knowledge of the ultimate truth to remind us to remain cognizant of the consequences anytime we reach the point of diminishing marginal utility. Therefore, naively I hope, my views will not come across to the reader as sanctimonious.

Incontrovertibly, there are many ways to understand the social, institutional and political arrangements of a people, and any method of analyses is not exhaustive to substitute for the Rosetta Stone-like miracle. But even where that is possible, objective facts still leave room for subjective interpretations entitling everyone to formulate strong opinions on contentious issues. Conscious of this truism notwithstanding, any minuscular inadequacy in criticism of ideas or societies is sufficient enough for apologists and nihilists to wallow in the pit latrines of willful denial instead of examining the evidence of probable cause to warrant the reality check of self-evaluation. Therefore, by defying the cynics for who they are, a casual examination of the character of a typical Gambian, operation of the family unit, guild of the religious elites, the adulteration of the dominant intellectual class, and government operatives’ understanding of their functions will open the floodgates into the insight of the morality of these agents and by extension to a large degree The Gambian society. What it will exhibit is not pretty, a collective national morality at its nadir.

By Cherno Omar Barry

Cherno Omar Barry

An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different. He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you.

One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn’t have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by-still nothing in Ling’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.

Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn’t say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But honest about what happened, Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful-in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, “Hey nice try.”

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,” said the emperor. “Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!” All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. “The emperor knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!”

When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. “My name is Ling,” he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, “Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!” Ling couldn’t believe it. Ling couldn’t even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!”

The Prophet taught, “Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to Al-Fajur (i.e. wickedness, evil-doing), and Al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allah, a liar.” [Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 8:116]

Culled from Facebook

Pope Francis 1/Natacha Pisarenko / AP

As white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday and the bells of St. Peter’s tolled, the crowd of thousands that had gathered in the square began cheering the election of a new pope to succeed Benedict. It’s worth knowing 10 fascinating things about Jorge Mario Beroglio who has now become Pope Francis 1.

1. Francis is the first Jesuit to serve as pope. In the U.S., Jesuits are best known for founding colleges and universities, including Boston College, Georgetown and Marquette University.

2. He has only one lung. The other was removed after an infection when he was a teenager.

3. In the 2005 papal election, he was the runner-up, receiving 40 votes on the third ballot and losing to now-Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

4. As the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio gave up his chauffeured limousine, opting to ride the bus to work instead.

5. He unsuccessfully fought Argentina’s legalization of gay marriage in 2010, calling it “a scheme to destroy God’s plan.”

6. In 2005, shortly before the conclave, an Argentinian lawyer filed a complaint, accusing Bergoglio of working with Argentina’s military dictatorship to kidnap two liberal priests in 1976. Bergoglio denied the charge.

7. Last September, he delivered a harsh attack on priests in Argentina who refused to baptize children born out of wedlock, calling them “hypocritical.”

8. He has won praise for showing compassion toward victims of HIV and AIDS. In 2012, Bergoglio visited a hospice, where he kissed and washed the feet of 12 victims.

9. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, his parents were Italian immigrants.

10. Argentine President Cristina Kirchner rebuked him after he argued that adoption by gay and lesbian couples was a form of discrimination against children. Kirchner said Bergoglio’s tone was reminiscent of “medieval times and the Inquisition.

Reactions poured in swiftly from around the world following Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s first appearance as Pope Francis on St. Peter’s balcony.

Pictures of the new pontiff were splashed across the homepages of newspapers in Argentina as he was presented to the world for the first time.

Latin American Catholics thrilled by the election of the cardinal wept and cheered in churches across the region at Bergoglio’s election.

“It’s a huge gift for all of Latin America,” Jose Antonion Cruz, a Franciscan friar in Puerto Rico told the Associated Press. “We waited 20 centuries. It was worth the wait.”

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner hailed the new spiritual leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.

“On my behalf and that of the Argentine government and representing the people of our country, I wish to salute you and express my congratulations on the occasion of having been elected as the new Roman Catholic  pontiff,” Kirchner said in a statement.

President Obama wished the world’s newest leader “warm wishes” as he ascends the Chair of St. Peter.

“As the first pope from the Americas, his selection also speaks to the strength and vitality of a region that is increasingly shaping our world, and alongside millions of Hispanic Americans, those of us in the United States share the joy of this historic day,” Obama said.

Pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio Dmitry Lovetsky / AP

Vice President Joe Biden, who is Catholic, will lead the U.S. delegation to the new pope’s installation ceremonies, an Obama administration official said on Wednesday.

“I’m happy that they were able to come to a choice as quickly as they did,” House Speaker John Boehner, also a Catholic, told NBC News. The selection of a pope from South America is “another big step in the right direction for our church,” Boehner said.

The pontifical Twitter handle came alive Wednesday after a silence that began with the resignation of Benedict XVI. “HABEMUS PAPAM FRANCISCUM,” the pope’s Twitter proclaimed.

British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted that it was a “momentous day for the 1.2 [billion] Catholics around the world,” as Pope Francis was appointed.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said he hoped the new pope would “build on the legacy of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, in the promotion of inter-faith dialogue.”

“I look forward to continuing cooperation between the United Nations and the Holy See, under the wise leadership of His Holiness Pope Francis,” Ban said.

Outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, home to papal contender Cardinal Timothy Dolan, there were no tears that the avuncular archbishop wasn’t elected.

“I think it’s great,” said Sister Lucy Grygorcewicz, who was visiting the cathedral with a group of Felician Sister. “He’s representing a large constituency and it’s new and different.”

“I think this is a moment that I will remember my whole life,” Ana Paula Valacco, a tourist visiting New York City from Buenos Aires, told NBC News. “It was completely unexpected and it’s crazy. Very, very crazy.”

Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, who was also considered a papabile, or contender for the Church’s top position, prayed for “grace and strength” for Francis in a statement.

And while the American contenders did not carry the day, a member of arguably the country’s most prominent Catholic family weighed in.

“Love his calm demeanor,” Maria Shriver tweeted of the serene Holy Father. “It’s a new world … let it begin.”

Edward Egan, the Archbishop Emeritus of New York, told NBC News’ Brian Williams that this was “the moment of Latin America.”

“I can assure you he’s not feeble in any way at 76,” he said.

“Let us pray for Pope Francis!” former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, a Catholic, tweeted on Wednesday.

Excitement was equally high at Boston College, which hosts one of the largest communities of Jesuit priests outside the Vatican.

“As a Jesuit University we’re delighted with the selection of Cardinal Bergoglio as pope,” university spokesman Jack Dunn told NBC News. “He’s a man of great humility and empathy with the poor and those are characteristics that have long been cherished among Jesuit circles.”

Cardinal Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, greeted the election of Pope Francis I as a “great milestone in our church” in a statement released on Wednesday.

“The bishops of the United States thank God for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the inspired choice of the College of Cardinals,” Dolan said in the statement.

By Baba Galleh Jallow

Dr. Baba Galleh Jallow

O you self-righteous judge

Draped in the mantles of heavy justice

Why pass judgment and declare sentence

Slam your hammer and close the case

When all you have is hearsay

Even from the horse’s mouth

When all you have is but one side

Of a case you know little about?

Are you not sworn to uphold justice

To balance the scales of truth before passing judgment?

O you self-righteous judge

Did you see the fire ignited by the plaintiff

In the heart of your guilty defendant?

Did you see your victorious plaintiff

Gleefully add the fuel and gloat

At the cruel cackling of the senseless flames

As they consumed the defendant’s heart?

Were you there

Did you hear your plaintiff call

The defendant’s mother unspeakable names?

Did you see your plaintiff plant

The seeds of discord in the house?

Were you there

Did you see your plaintiff deny

The defendant his rightful share?

Did you see your plaintiff steal

The possible future from the past

By opting for separate ways?

O you self-righteous judge

Draped in the mantles of heavy justice

You are sworn to uphold the sacred law

How then can you self-righteously pass judgment

Deliver sentence with total confidence

When all you have is hearsay

Even from the horse’s mouth

When all you have is but one side

Of a case you know little about?

O you self-righteous judge

Draped in the mantles of heavy justice

Sworn to uphold the sacred law

You know little about this complex case

Yet declare judgment and close the case

You lay praise here and damnation there

Is that your version of Holy Justice

To deliver sentence on mere hearsay?

To utter calumny on innocent beings?

O you self-righteous judge

Draped in the mantles of heavy justice

Sworn to uphold the sacred law

Should you not get the facts before you judge

Should you not hear the other side

Before clapping your hands and passing sentence

In a case you know little about?

Beware injustice or self-righteous judge

For as you judge

You shall be judged

Apologize before the day

When you shall have to render account

O you self-righteous judge!

Suntou Touray hitting the nail on the nail

By Suntou Touray

This little piece is dedicated to all mothers in the Senegambia region whose husbands took up second wife and left the first wife cold-shouldered. The phrase our ‘mothers’ is meant to include all mothers as women of grace and honour.

A common trend of abandoning the first wife is despicable.

The bound that was first in place is the most honourable.

The relationship that flourished when wealth was little is most genuine.

The love that prevailed then was the most mutual.

The laughters and jokes joyously shared came from the hearts most real.

The passionate kisses and stirs were for love indeed.

O MAN OF TODAY

For whom the downing of age brings with it the lowering of affections.

Why love that was there turns into just mere familiarity?

The friendship needed to help overcome disagreement is all but gone.

No more laughter; no light-hearted jokes to share.

It all fades way But why?.

O MAN OF TODAY

Why have you changed old man?

What has the once good and beautiful woman done wrong?

The mandate to take up another love is part of our culture.

But why go about it this ugly way?

You have eyed a younger love, a younger darling, a younger sweet heart.

The older queen says not a problem with that.

No power to stop you from engaging your new found fairy

The old queen fears about you taking up another bride

The fear of being left out is telling.

Many men have done just that.

O MAN OF TODAY

Think of yesterday when life was different

Why swift your allegiance to another so uncompromisingly?

The older queen is left bewildered.

Man of grace can you imagine the loneliness?

Once the new queen takes over the older one is left alone.

Man of today will you remember yesterday?

You make it like the older queen is of no use any more.

You hardly talk to her.

Your kind heart is taken over by another angel of merry making.

You talk but not with her. You smile but not with her.

You still joke but still not with her, but why, why, why.

O MAN OF TODAY

Do you even wonder, wonder how your old love is feeling?

What happened to the good old days?

When the two of you enjoy much fun

With least money and little material.

Now you are not interested in the past.

You are madly in-love; so blindly in-love with this new bride.

You block all the thoughts of the past.

You even try to distance from your own children.

Just to avoid offending the new iron lady

A lady of higher demands and commands.

It is then that the old queen realises that the old love is no more.

With your body present but gone your spirit in the wilderness.

How many women are left on the side line for the younger brides?

Man you still think you are younger.

Yes you hide behind tradition allowing you second and third wife.

For every privilege there are obligations

You are bound by rules laid down by God.

For those wishing to take another bride.

Do you imagine what penalties lies ahead, man of today?

You call it education, you call it being wise

Account yourself before you are accounted.

Look into yourself and see how the old love is feeling.

Remember the good old days.

Remember when it was the two of you

Mirror in the feelings of the older queen.

She deserves not to be left alone.

Treat your children equally.

Treat your spouses equally.

If you know you can’t handle two love then stick with one.

Man of today don’t be ungrateful.

Your children may abandon you also.

They may not tolerate their mother being left alone.

They cannot accept her sadness.

O MAN OF TODAY

Remember time is not on your side.

The hammer of the lord awaits all tyrants and persons of injustice.

Don’t fool yourself

Stop now. Correct your misguided actions.

Apologise to the old queen!

Bring her back into your life, let true love take over again.

Ends

“HABEMUS PAPAM!” (WE’VE A POPE)

YES HE IS FROM AFRICA!

By Bamba Mass Human Rights Activist (UK)

Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana

Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze

Is it possible this time? Definitely it is! A College of Cardinals who elected the Pope was and still looks dominated by Italians. Majority of the past chosen Cardinals to lead the Catholic community of Christians since the time of the Roman Empire were Italians.

Though St. Peter, the first Pope, was Jewish and a Galilean by birth but most Popes after him, for over 400 years, until Pope John Paul II, were only Italians or Popes of Italian by birth.

However, the College of Cardinals which selected the Pope has become a much more diverse even though Europeans continue to have a virtual lock in overall numbers: Exactly half of the current 116 Cardinal electors (those under age 80) are from Europe, with Italy alone still counting 20 Cardinal electors, Latin America as a whole with 20 Cardinal electors, while the United States and Canada together has a total of 16 Cardinal electors. Asia has 11 and Africa only 9 electors. This shows how dim the chances of an African becoming a Pope have been the case since St. Gelasius from 492 A.D to 496 A.D.

Though it is true that any baptized male Catholic in theory can emerge from a conclave as Pope, the chance of an African Pope always looks dim, despite media and public expectations. Even after the death of Pope John Paul II it was likely that an African would emerge as Pope. Many people expected Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria to become the first black Pope of the 21 Century, but he was out voted by Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger of Germany who became Pope Benedict XVI. It was said that Cardinal Francis Arinze came second in that elections. Christopher M. Bellitto, a papal historian from New Jersey’s Kean University, thought the choice of Pope Benedict was the result of the indecision among Cardinals who were unwilling to make a bold move toward modernization.

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI has made him the first Pope to abdicate the position in nearly 600 years, forcing the Conclave of Cardinals to elect a new Pope on March 15, when Cardinals will lock themselves up in the Sistine Chapel to elect the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. The situation calls for some rule bending, and having the current Pope involved is proving advantageous for the elections to be held even earlier.

While Benedict won’t be directly involved in his successor’s selection, his influence will undoubtedly be felt. He had appointed 67 of the 115 cardinals set to elect his successor. The composition is disproportionately Western, with 62 Europeans and 17 from North America. That could prove to be a problem for the emergence of a Pope from within the developing world, where the church is ascendant. All eyes are on Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson of Ghana, 63-year-old Odilo Schererof Brazil or Luis Antonio Tagle, 55, of the Philippines. Expectations are high this time as bookmakers are betting on Africa again with Ghana’s Turkson becoming the Irish bookmakers’ favourite for new Pope. But it remains to be seen whether Christopher M. Bellitto would be proven right.

Among the up-and-coming Cardinals from Africa, Vatican watchers cite Peter Turkson a rising star within the Catholic Faith and Cardinal Wilfred Fox Napier, 67 of South Africa just close behind, as potential papal material. Archbishop John Onayiekan of Nigeria, who may soon be up for a Cardinal slot, is considered “strong here and back there,” says one Rome insider, referring to Onayiekan’s knowledge of the Third World and his skills navigating the ins and outs of the Holy See. That makes it seemingly unlikely for Nigeria’s Cardinal Francis Arinze who is now 80 years old to become Pope but he is not ruled out yet. Bookies had it that if he was elected then he would become the second eldest elected Pope with the first being Pope Adrian I from 772 – 795 aged 80. Adrian II who became Pope from 867 to 872 was the last married pope – his wife Setphania and his daughter lived in the Vatican palace with him. Adrian IV who was Pope from 1154 to 1159 was the first and thus far the only Pope from England. So who knows what those Cardinals have in their minds when they retire to elect a new Pope?

Still, the Vatican parlor game of trying to envision future papal candidates is slippery business. Perhaps the ever strongest African candidate of the 20th century who many had hoped would have been Pope had he lived was the widely respected Cardinal Bernardin Gantin of Benin, who died in May at the age of 86. Having once headed the powerful Congregation of Bishops, some thought Gantin could be an ideal candidate to replace John Paul, whose health was long suffering. But the durable Polish pontiff lived much longer than many predicted, and Gantin eventually retired and went back to Africa. But in reality Catholic history had it that there was in fact three African Popes before. According to the Liber Pontificalis (Book of Popes) and the Catholic Encyclopedia there have been three popes who were natives of Africa.

1. St. Victor I was the first African Pope and a native of North Africa, which was a province of Rome at the time. St Victor I was appointed in 186 A.D. and ended his reign in 198 A.D. It is believed he later died in 199 A.D. He was regarded as the first Christian author to write about theology in Latin.

2. The next African pope, St. Miltiades became Pontiff in 311 A.D. and died in 314 A.D. He was elected after the banishment of Pope Eusebius. It is believed he was born to African parents but lived in Rome.

3. St. Gelasius reigned from 492 A.D. – 496 A.D, and was the third and last known African pope. In the Liber Pontificalis he is described as “natione Afer” and “Romanus natus” meaning “of African origin” and “Roman born” respectively.

Although these previous Pontiffs were of African origin, they were more or less seen in modern times as ever been African or Black Popes and history had never mentioned them inside Africa’s Catholic history as African Popes either. Today African cardinal widely tipped to be the first black Pope in modern history is very likely going to be Cardinal Peter Turkson. He is no doubt the favourate African to replace Benedict XVI. As the head of a major Vatican department, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Cardinal Turkson is ranked as the 5/2 second favourite to take the papal crown when a Conclave of Cardinals meets next month to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, who announced his abdication last week on the grounds of ill health.

Catholics throughout the African continent and the developing world are praying that Cardinal Turkson is chosen ahead of the Italian Cardinal Angelo Scola, the Archbishop of Milan, who Paddy Power has made its 9/4 favourite. But Turkson’s public comments blaming homosexual priests for the sexual abuse of many hundreds of children in Europe, the United States and Australia mean his election would be severely criticised in the West. That may favour yet again Cardinal Francis Arinze who is 80 years old.

The first papal resignation since 1415 has emerged with uncertainties that could throw the College of Cardinals’ attention on Nigeria’s Cardinal Francis Arinze who would not be able to vote himself but still could be Pope. Since no one expected Benedict’s resignation, it could well be favourable point for Arinze as the Cardinals may not be readily prepared to come with a long-term solution to the papacy. Older Popes are, historically, a form of compromise just like after the death of Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Arinze, an Igbo Nigerian who spent 25 years in the Vatican was, once the world’s youngest bishop. He is quite conservative as the last two Popes were, and was seen as a runner last time. The liberal Cardinals will like the idea of a Pope from the developing world. The new rules mean a new Pope needs the votes of two-thirds of the Cardinals, so one faction cannot impose its will over another. There are only ten African electors left to vote which also shows the dim chances of an African Pope more evident but for a fact Arinze came out second that last time could give him an edge.

Vatican officials were already trying Monday to swat down unsavory claims by Italian publications of a brewing episode involving gay priests, male prostitutes and blackmail when news broke that Benedict had moved up the resignation of a Scottish archbishop linked over the weekend by a British newspaper to inappropriate relationships with priests. With the Catholic priests marred by scores of clerical sex abuses it may be agreed with the cardinal that homosexual abuse of adolescent males rather than paedophile attacks on children characterised the problem. Where the research has been done for example in the United States and Australia in the region of 80 per cent of the victims of sex abuse by priests are adolescent males rather than children. Pope Benedict XVI has been careful to avoid publicly demonising gay priests, focusing instead on meeting and apologising to victims.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State and the 5/1 third favourite to succeed Benedict XVI said that some psychiatrists had found a relationship between homosexuality and paedophilia. ‘That is the problem,’ he said amid the backlash, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales issued a statement contradicting the cardinal by arguing that ‘there is no empirical data which concludes that sexual orientation is connected to child sexual abuse.’ But the scandals have made Pope Benedict XVI to force Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the archbishop of Scotland to resign. The Vatican confirmed Monday that Benedict had accelerated the resignation himself. Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles is facing fresh attention for his role in the cover-up of sexual abuse by priests. Mahoney and a Mexican cardinal are accused of conspiracy by allowing a priest accused of abuse to flee to Mexico, putting an untold number of children at risk. Mahoney has denied the allegations.

Father Albert Cutie, an Episcopal priest who studies the Vatican, said it would be impossible to exclude every Cardinal with a hand in the church’s vast sex-abuse problem. “Unfortunately, if you were going to tell me no one can go to the conclave to elect a Pope who has part in any type of cover up, you would probably exclude every cardinal in the church, because unfortunately that’s the way the church is operated,” he said.

“So now in the wake of everything that’s happened in the last 72 hours or so, quite clearly a new item has to be on that list for the Cardinals to choose a new Pope, which is also to make sure they pick somebody who’s got clean hands.”

Likely to be Pope Cardinal Turkson is no stranger to controversy. He offended Muslims last year after he accused them of turning Europe into an Islamic continent. Turkson has said that “if God would wish to see a black man also as Pope, thanks be to God.” The Catholic Church chronicler Rocco Palmo called Turkson the lone Scripture scholar in the Pope’s “Senate” and believes that his status as a potential “palpable” has been elevated due to his appointment as spokesman for Second Synod for Africa in 2009.

Born in Wassaw Nsuta in Western Ghana, Pope Turkson studied at St. Teresa’s Seminary in the village of Amisano and Pedu before attending St. Anthony-on-Hudson Seminary in Rensselaer, New York, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in theology. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop John Amissah on 20 July 1975. On October 1992, Turkson was appointed Archbishop of Cape Coast by Pope John Paul II and treated him Cardinal-Priest of S. Liborio in his last consistory of October 2003. Turkson is the first Ghanaian Cardinal, and was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave, which selected Pope Benedict XVI.

But much focus should also be on Latin America because the region “represents 42 percent of the world’s 1.2 billion-strong Catholic population, the largest single block in the Church.” A day after the Pope’s resignation was announced, Reuters reported that “two senior Vatican officials recently dropped surprisingly clear hints about possible successors. The upshot of their remarks is that the next Pope could well be from Latin America.”

Similarly, Africa has 16 percent of the world’s Catholics — and growing — and just nine percent of the cardinals. Even U.S. and Canadian Catholics are overrepresented: eight percent of all Catholics reside in North America but they account for 12 percent of the cardinals. “Is it not reasonable that the Cardinals be selected from every nation whose office it is to judge all nations?” St. Bernard of Clairvaux asked in the 12th century.

But the obstacles to electing a non-European are more than just numerical. Of course, the cardinals working at the Vatican tend to know everyone, and everyone knows them. So in retrospect, it was no surprise that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected since he was a familiar and trusted presence who had worked in the Curia for decades. “They tried to find an alternative to Ratzinger, but they couldn’t,” a senior Vatican official said after the conclave. This time, however, there are some factors that could scramble the usual calculus.

These names below are definitely the likely candidates for the next Pope and unless something happened, one of them would be the next Catholic Pope. Here I list them according to their age:

1. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of United States, Archbishop of New York. Age 62

2. Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, Age 64. He was appointed by Benedict four years ago to become president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

3. Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith of Sri lanka, Archbishop of Colombo, formerly Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. age 64

4. Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera of Italy, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, previously Archbishop of Toledo. Age 66

5. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, of Austria, Archbishop of Vienna, age 67

6. Cardinal Mauro Piacenza of Italy, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, age 67

7. Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Canada, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, formerly Archbishop of Quebec, age 68

8. Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco of Italy, Archbishop of Genoa and President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, age 69

9. Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of Italy, Archbishop of Naples, age 69

10. Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico, Archbishop of Mexico City, age 70

11. Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras who was President of the Latin American Episcopal Conference, age 70

12. Cardinal George Pell of Australia, Archbishop of Sydney age 70

13. Archbishop Angelo Scola, of Italy,a philosopher, age 71.

14. Cardinal Angelo Amato, of Italy, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, formerly Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, age 73

15. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, age 75

16. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone of Italy, a prelate, age 78

17. Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria, age 80.

Out of the 17 likely candidates, seven of them are Italians and there are only two Black Africans while four are from the American continent, three from Asia and only one from Europe. Though it could be none of the above names would be announced on or before the 15th March which is unlikely but in any case a Pope would emerge and hopes are high that this time around the minds of the Cardinals may turn to Africa to revive the ailing prestige of the Catholic religion which is recently marred by sex allegations and cover-ups.

Benedict will be called in retirement. Probably as “pontifex maximus,” as suggested by Celata. The term can be translated as “supreme bishop.” But he might not participate in the voting of his successor.

The Voting Process

The voting process begins with a special morning mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. In the evening, the Cardinals walk in a procession to the Sistine Chapel – known for its famous ceiling painting by Renaissance artist Michelangelo – to begin the actual voting process. Ballots are passed out, and cardinals write in a candidate’s name and fold it up, then one by one, in order of seniority, they approach an altar and ceremoniously place their ballots into a chalice. After each vote, the ballots land in the fireplace. If no one has won, a chemical is added to make the smoke black. This lets people waiting in St. Peter’s Square below know that there is no new Pope yet.

If there is a winner, no chemical is added, and the smoke remains white, telling the world that the conclave has agreed on a new pontiff.

The winner must accept the decision for it to be valid. Once he does, the dean asks him to choose a papal name. Then oldest the Cardinal announces ‘Habemus Papam!’ (‘We have a Pope’) and presents the new pope to the crowd in the square from a balcony. Then new Pope joins him to bless the crowd and the rest of the world. Let’s see once again who that new Pope would be.

Ends

ARE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN

RESPONSIBLE FOR HIV EPIDEMIC?

In today’s women corner, we bring you an extract of a Zimbabwean parliamentarian who blames HIV epidemic on beautiful women. We reproduce below the controversial statement of Senator Morgan published on Zimbabwean. Double click the image document to read its story.

This is unbelievable, regardless of all these years of struggles that the African gender activists and feminist have/are doing in ending discrimination against women and girl child by advocating for their fundamental human rights, ending violence and harmful traditional practices against women, educating and creating awareness about the values of women in Africa, this seems meaningless to Senator Femai as he wants to bring these efforts down to zero by disrespecting  women to the extent of accusing them of being the cause of the spreading HIV/AIDS because of their beauty. Doesn’t it occurred to him that these women are poor and vulnerable and he as Senator it’s his responsibility to give them all the necessary support as they are also part of the government, and it’s their rights to be treated equally as their male counterparts, and if that equal treatment is no avail but then they deserve at least some little bit of respect as a human being.

Senator Femai: I will cure HIV/AIDS with ugly women

HIV/AIDS has been a serious disease throughout the world that I don’t think its epidemic blame should be put on the women simply because of their beauty. Having women shave off their hair or forced to bath less to be unattractive to men has nothing to do with the solution to this killer disease, despite that fact that mad women or abnormal women could be impregnate by men who don’t have resistance for any woman, so there is no point in making such an annoying statement, this totally unacceptable and these women deserves an apology.

I guess Senator Femai as a law maker should rather focus more on other issue such as organising a sensitisation programme on how to avoid unprotected sex, and encourage young people to engage themselves into doing something positive that could bring a change to their lives. To crown it all Senator Femai, should come up with a better idea for the solution to HIV and leave the innocent women alone.

Gambian gender activist  and CEO at the Jobs Consulting in  Norway, Mrs Ndey Jobarteh, sharply reacted to the Zimbabwean Senator’s comments.

“In short this goes to say how men in Africa still hold the traditional views that women are like properties and are therefore subject to their abuse. For a Senator to think like this shows that we still have a long way in the fight for women’s human rights. These are decision makers who are adding to the ignorant view of the blame game. If a law maker is thinking about women like this, I wonder what will be in the minds of the ordinary man. How backward and ignorant can a Senator be on issues of national concern?

What the Senator fails to say or see is the role of women in Africa which makes them more vulnerable to the virus. Women’s inferior status and lack of the decision making power both at home and at state level makes them even more vulnerable. The fact that the Senator can even think of women shaping their hair and not birthing to look unattractive makes him even more ignorant of the patriarchal society we live in.

The Senator’s ignorance and refusal to accept that cultural practices and beliefs relating to sex and sexuality in Africa play a key role in women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. The man is accepted to be promiscuous and his wife is not allowed to refuse him sex even if she suspects he has multiple partners outside marriage.  Similarly, when they raise the topic of condoms, she would have to prepare to accept groundless accusations that she is committing adultery or being disobedient. Hence, wives are not infected due to their own promiscuity, but because they have been faithful. The marital power bestowed upon men in our societies makes it difficult for women to negotiate for safer sex.”

NENEH BOJANG, A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE

Neneh Bojang champions women’s agenda

Women empowerment has been an issue of concern to Gambian gender activists to an extent that they have gone extra mile by extending their advocacy beyond their country’s borders.  Among these hardworking women of substance who target people in the diaspora includes Mrs. Neneh Bojang, a Gambian/Norwegian citizen. 

Neneh is one of the African women whose hard work and passion has been to promote gender equality with the Norwegian Pan African Community. Her involvement in several organizations – including Pan African Woman Association (PAWA) and Musu Kangbeng Kaffo (MKBK) [literally means Association of Gambian woman] – speaks volume about her seriousness in the business of ensuring equality, eradicating all forms of harmful traditional practices and discriminations against women and girls.

Neneh, a Consultant at Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration and a project worker at the Centre for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, bags Master’s Degree in Political Science.

W C: For the benefit of readers can you tell us about your career?

Neneh: I’m a Gambian/Norwegian gender activist and have been into activism for some years now. I have recently founded my own organization in Norway called The Interafrican committee In Norway (IAC Norway), where I work as the Executive Director. My work doesn’t limit to my organization alone, as I am currently working at the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration’s (NAV) as a Consultant. I’m also presently leading the working committee of the EuronetFGM which is a network of European organizations fighting FGM. I will be attending a high level parallel event in Rome Italy 3-5 February for discussions with regards the UN GA Resolution which is a landmark achievement as February 06 every year is the UN International Day of Zero Tolerance to FGM.

W C: When we said gender activism it’s seem broad, tell us on what you are more specialize on?

Neneh: As a gender activist I always promote the empowerment of women and children by giving them information and support they need whilst living here in Norway. My work also includes disseminating information about harmful traditional practices that affect the health and lives of women and female children in a lot of African societies. There are a lots of issues in our culture that are against the rights of women, these has forced me to involve myself to organizations like Pan African Woman Association (PAWA), Musu Kangbeng Kaffo (MKBK) which literally translates to Association of Gambian woman, in order to advocate the rights of women, create awareness and make a world a safe place for them.

W C: PAWA sounds interesting, can you tell us what is it about and when did you join them?

Neneh: PAWA provides platform for career for African woman to meet, share ideas and work towards improving their lives in Norway. I joined PAWA for some years now as the Project Manager, after giving a speech on Life and the issue of integration of African women in Norway.

W C: You said your work as an activism is not limited to your organization(IAC Norway), work with Gambian Women’s Association of Norway, can you tell us about this organization and your role as well?

Neneh: I joined Musu Kangbeng Kaffo in 2008. This organization has been in existence for many years before I joined them.  Basically it was an ethnic association where people meet and socialize which in a way brings people together to have fun with one another. At the time I joined I felt that the Organization could have more issues to work with that would help the women and their families as well. This was the year when one of the Gambian families was arrested for circumcising their girl child. That incident has created an opportunity to start working for the Organization creating awareness among the people within the Gambian Norwegian community.  We found out that a lot of woman have been living here for many years and yet do not know that the Norwegian law is against circumcision which to some extent has been their traditional practices for years”

I felt we needed to educate the people provide more information to them through this forum and we as a community actually achieved this. Furthermore, we provide educative seminars for women to know about their body, wellbeing and to come to terms with their own sexuality. I’m currently the President and I have represented the Organization at the  United Nations Convention on The Status of Women 2011 In New York.

W C: Back to your own organization IAC Norway what are your missions in championing women’s rights?

Neneh: Basically we have taken many different measures which includes: promoting gender equality and contributing to the improvement of the health status, social, economic, political, human rights and quality of life of African and Minority women and children living in Norway through elimination of harmful traditional practices and the promotion of beneficial ones, we wishes to see a society in which African and Minority women and children living in Norway can fully enjoy their rights to live free from harmful traditional practices.

IAC Norway was also part of the Ban FGM campaign at the United Nations General Assembly, adopted a Resolution banning female genital mutilation worldwide on December 20, last year.

W C: Your organization was part of the Ban FGM Campaign at United Nations, what was the resolution banning all about?

Neneh: The United Nations General Assembly has adopted the Resolution “Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation”. The UN General Assembly Resolution is a strong instrument towards the total elimination of female genital mutilation that urges on its article 4 all States Members to: “Condemn all harmful practices that affect women and girls, in particular female genital mutilations, whether committed within or outside a medical institution, and to take all necessary measures, including enacting and enforcing legislation to prohibit female genital mutilations and to protect women and girls from this form of violence, and to end impunity.”

This historic step consolidates and demonstrates the political will at the highest of levels to bring an end to this human rights violation, and is the result of years of advocacy at the national and international level to bring attention to the matter.

W C: How do you think this resolution could be effective?

Neneh: Well it is our duty to us to stand firmly with this resolution as it is very important for our lives as women especially for us the gender activists who have dedicated ourselves to this cause we should ensure that the Resolution becomes a real tool in our fight against FGM, and truly strengthens efforts aimed at its elimination.

W C: Being involve in many different activities, have you in any ways had you dream come true?

Neneh: I think that I am able to achieve my dreams by confronting my inner most fears which until now had to a certain extent led to certain insecurities about myself…. For example overcoming my fear of standing before people and giving a  public speech” I feel blessed that I am doing what I love doing, I feel privileged that I have found my calling as a feminist and a gender activist in contributing to the empowerment of women and children. This for me is my purpose on this planet, and is definitely a dream and a passion that has come true.

W C: Who are the sources of your inspiration or role models in becoming a gender activist?

Neneh: I have so many role model in life .One of them is a Gambian lady called Dr Isatou Touray, she is the Executive Director of the Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices (GAMCOTRAP) on issues affecting the health of woman and children.” She is an active woman who is in the front line of fight against Female Genital Mutilation. She is my mentor. Other people that inspire me are Wangari Muta Maathai, Hilary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and Michelle Obama to mention a few.

W C: What are you personalities and hobbies?

Neneh: I’m known for my kind words and pragmatic approach to life. I’m full of life and encouraging when you get into an interesting discussion with me. For my hobbies I love swimming, wine down every Friday evening, go to a spar or reading books. Spars are quite expensive, so I often go for swimming.

W C: What advices do you have to say?

Neneh: Live your dreams and don’t let anybody take your dreams from you. Be passionate about things you believe in, be kind and learn to love yourself which will give you the ability to fight for what is right. Be good role models for your kids and give something to your community if you can, leave a healthy and balanced life and Never settle for less.

W C: Thank you.

Neneh: You are most welcome.