| A Primer on Gambian Politics (Elected and Otherwise), or Hearsay we've Gathered So Far |
| During yesterday�s language lesson we learned very little Wollof, but we got a great education on politics in The Gambia and US-Gambian relations from our language teacher, Ebrima Colley. Ben and I have been going to the Peace Corps for language lessons twice a week. Ebrima is currently under contract with the Peace Corps to update several dictionaries of the local languages. This is a huge task, as Webster has never visited West Africa. Before the tubaabs (white people) came to Africa there was only an oral tradition, no written language. It is a challenge to spell a language that has never been written down before. As is often the case, yesterday we strayed from the subject of Wollof and talked about culture and life in The Gambia. I will try to summarize Ebrima�s history lesson and what we have learned from other locals about politics in The Gambia� He started out by telling us his version of the story as to why there is the article �The� before �The Gambia.� The country�s official name is the Republic of The Gambia, shortened to The Gambia. Ebrima said that many people insist on the �The� so that people will not confuse The Gambia with Zambia! (We learned firsthand why this is important. A friend recently got us all excited about a story he had read in the International Herald Tribune on the textile industry in the Gambia. We were delighted to think our little country had gotten such press! Turns out, the article was about ZAMBIA after all. But the story itself could just as easily have beeen written about the Gambia as well. You know what happens to the old clothes you donate to Goodwill or Oxfam? Those that aren't used domestically are bundled by the ton, packed in shipping containers, and sent to Africa. There they are sold to entrepreneurs for a profit of $6-10 per ton. Piles of your old clothes are then sold un-sorted to local traders, who hawk Western clothes for a dollar or two in the even the smallest village markets across Africa. As a result, local textile manufacturers and tailors have been decimated, as the cost of material, sewing, and distribution cannot compete with virtually free castoffs from the West. So we've learned a great deal from this confusion!) The Gambia is the smallest country on the continent of Africa. It gained its independence from the UK in 1965. Sir Dawada Kairaba Jawara was president from the time of independence until the 1994 military coup. The Gambia is now considered to be a �republic under multiparty democratic rule.� There are many different tribes in The Gambia, the majority being Mandinka 42% (the warriors). The next largest tribes are Fula 18% (the herders) and Wolof 16% (the traders). Former President Jawara is a Mandinka. Within the Mandinka tribe there are casts. Since Jawara was not from the top cast, many of his own tribe members thought he was never suitable to lead the country. However, Gambians are generally non-confrontational and most people just ignored Jawara while he borrowed international money and accepted donor aid and put most of it into Swiss bank accounts. For years there was little change in The Gambia. There was an unsuccessful coup in the early 1980s when the President Jawara was out of the country. Senegal bailed Jawara out in exchange for the formation of the short-lived federation of Senegambia (Senegal and Gambia) between 1982 and 1989. Once Jawara had successfully withstood the coup, he dragged his feet on all aspects of his promise to Senegal and a lot of animosity was created. In 1991 the two nations signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation. The 1994 military coup was led by now President Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh. Jammeh is a member of the Jolla tribe. Jollas make up only 10% of the population of The Gambia. The coup happened during a scheduled military training exercise with US military leaders. The arsenal was open for military personnel to get necessary weapons for training. Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh and his people took what they needed for the training, plus a few more for the coup. The US got wind of the coup and went to warn President Jawara. Jawara decided to flee and boarded a US ship that took him to Senegal. The gracious Senegalese government took him in and gave him an accommodation without a phone so he could not communicate with anyone (many Gambians think this was Senegal�s way of getting back at him for his earlier reneging on the federation of Senegambia agreement). Jawara made some calls and flew around the world to try and find some allies. None emerged so he decided to take the Brits� offer to live in exile in the UK. They say Jawara�s government had known for a long time that Jammeh was a troublemaker, but they did not kick him out of the army. Instead they just gave him frequent transfers that enabled him to make many friends in all areas of the military! He held various jobs including head of VIP security. He was in charge of protecting �Dubya,� the son of the then-president George Herbert Walker Bush, who came to visit The Gambia in 1990 as the US�s Presidential Delegate to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the independence of The Gambia. Jammeh claims this is when he and Dubya became chummy. Jammeh received his military training in the US (on a program to train MPs, as in Military Police). It is said that Jammeh�s US experience has greatly influenced his leadership as he frequently quotes historical political figures such as Jefferson. They also point to the fact that he created a US style Cabinet system where government ministers are selected from the general population rather than from the body of elected Members of Parliament (eg the UK system). At the time of the coup, Jammeh was a lowly Lieutenant. He later promoted himself to Colonel before he realized that the international community did not like military dictators so he �retired.� After the coup, many foreign donors pulled out of The Gambia. For example, USAid will only work with �democratically elected� governments. So Jammeh began work legitimizing his government. In 1996 a new constitution was drafted and presidential elections were held, followed by parliamentary balloting in 1997. This was considered the return to civilian rule. As for the multiparty democracy, the UDP party is the main opposition to Jammeh�s APRC party. They continue to campaign on two platforms. The first being since Jammeh took power via a coup, they say he will never be a legitimate leader. This appeals to the Mandinka majority who feel their tribe mate Jawara was unjustly overthrown. The second tactic the UPD uses is to tell people that the tubaabs hate Jammeh and for that reason foreigners from the West will never restore the level of aid to The Gambia. This scares almost everyone who believes it. Jammeh has done everything he can to counter that claim. Even before George W was officially declared President (in case you forgot the famous dimpled chad incident), Jammeh sent a letter of congratulations to his �old pal.� After Jammeh�s second victory at the polls in 2001, The US declared the election to be free and fair and just after Ben and I arrived, the US �normalized� relations with The Gambia. So now full aid flows can legally be resurmed, although it is unclear whether there will be any real change. As for most people in The Gambia, they have returned to their non-confrontational manner and mostly ignore Jammeh much in the same way they ignored Jawara. But they can see the difference. Jammeh has spent a much higher percentage of the foreign aid on schools, roads and hospitals and other desperately needed infrastructure. So people think life is better. Recently, there have been several rumors that former president Jawara is returning from exile in the UK. Apparently, he has sought and received President Jammeh's blessing and permission to return (Jawara is about 75 years old now). There is much speculation about what he had to do to get his old properties back. But as we write this, there�s still no word if his plane has actually landed yet... We'll keep you posted. |