July 23rd 2007, would be exactly two year when the 44 Ghanaians and 9 others lost their lives in the Gambia. Many did not believe but those who did or lost love ones will never allow sleeping dogs to lay considering the fact those murdered where last seen a life in the hands of the Gambia security. The difficult thing for us is that we do not know the individuals who were killed. Some us might be thinking that our brothers are still looking for greener pastures whereas they are no more.
Did our leaders do what was best? For those who have not followed these events there are lots to read on Ghanaweb.com. I think our leaders cold have done better. They just believed what the Gambian Government told them and only acted whenever there was public pressure. To silence our Gov’t the Ghanaian community in Ghanatown in The Gambia were exempted from the annual renewal of staying permits.
What of the press, they have sustained the issue but they fell short; they were not following The Gov’t for developments on the issue but rather allow the Gov’t to give them briefs whenever somebody remembers. I think it mainly through their(press) efforts that the Human rights groups took up the issue. They fell short when they could have traced ex Gambian Gov’t officials who have been exiled but where in leadership roles when the killings took place to throw light on the issue; e.g the army commander Col Ndure Cham.
The President of the Gambia will not be at the AU summit. There are obvious reasons for the vice president attending and not the president. It is not against the rule to let the vice president attend more so when there are good reasons for the president to stay at home because there are domestic issues to resolve.
The Gambian people are different from their president and very friendly to Ghanaians; they respect Ghanaians because we have played no small role in their educational system. The vice president of the Gambia should not be spared the anger of the human rights groups as she is part of the Gov’t no matter her role.
I hope it not just going to be an issue of condemnation and its over, we should get official reasons for the killings, and we as nation can decide what next.
I have time and again said this will be an election issue; I am happy the minority side is taking it on. The Ghanaian community in Gambia is waiting to give the killed a befitting burial.
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