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Remembering the Dead! April 10 2000; the Untold Stories!
Yanks Darboe,Post-Graduate law Student,
London.
Fatma Jallow was a very successful woman to the Gambian standard; she was a high flying lawyer working in her own chambers "FJ's Cambers" in Banjul. She was married to a very successful businessman Yorro Bojang and lives in a very comfortable mansion in Kotu. In all her middle ages Fatma had been striving to be successful at one thing; becoming a mother. In the early years of her practice in the Gambian bar, she had spent all her income in visiting Holy men in holy cities around West Africa, for their blessings. She had prayed numerous days and nights; fasted almost a year; begging for the blessing of her almighty for a child. All her age mates, at the time, have had two or three children of their own except Fatma. Thankfully, on April 10 1982, Fatma was finally blessed with a baby boy named after the prophet; Mohammed Bojang. This was the only child she has been blessed with for the next 18 years. She had done everything to protect Mohammed; but this would last, by the orders of the Gambian Almighty, Yahya Allahu Jammeh, on April 10 2000; the day of Mohammed's 18th birthday celebrations. Jammeh is a self proclaimed god who cannot have his own children, but desires to consume the joys and blessings of other Gambian mothers. What an evil god can he be!
The day began early for Fatma and ended very long. She had cancelled all her appointments with clients at the office and handed all her pending court cases to her fellow lawyer friend Awa Cisay Nyabally. Fatma took the day off to prepare a huge birthday celebrations for her prince charming; Mohammed Bojang. Little did she know that as she planned, so was Yahya Jammeh planning to spoil the day for her. She woke up early and helped her maid prepare the breakfast for Yorro and Mohammed before they depart for work and school respectively. Whatever was planned for day was not to be disclosed to Mohammed, until when he finishes school and return home to meet the big surprise party at hope.
At 12 noon; Fatma and her maid headed for the market for shopping. To their utter dismay, there was student demonstration in town and all shops were either closed or closing. Serrekunda was besieged by students in multi-school uniforms; the police were running helter skelter; whilst the fire brigades were seeking refuge underneath people's beds in different homes.
Fatma quickly turned her car stereo on to listened to the news on Radio, in order to find out what was happening. The GRTS radio formerly "Radio Gambia" was off, as usual; Radio Syd was playing some old cranky white man music; whilst West Coast was playing some afternoon love connections. "Absolute nonsense!" She grunted.
The only station that was broadcasting the demonstration live was Sud FM Banjul, with Omar Barrow corresponding live from the Red Cross head quarters in Serrekunda.
At that moment things were less tense and the student leaders Omar Joof and others had been meeting with the vice president; Isatou Njie Saidy; the radio broadcast seem to be implying in their reporting. Hence, Fatma finds it less interesting; she entered her favourite Yousou N'Dour audio cassette inside the car stereo, as she diverted their journey from Serrekunda to Sukuta and Burufut ends, where there were fewer troubles about the students' demonstration.
By the time they arrive at Sukuta; Radio kang-kang had it that some pupils had been killed by the soldiers. However, as it is always the case with Radio Kang-Kang, nobody seems to know the facts from the fiction.
"Heyyyy! E'ko Yahya Jammeh le soldarolu kii pour yeh dindin wolu Fa", the vendors were chit-chatting to each other.
This is translated into English as: "they said Yahya Jammeh has sent soldiers to kill the students".
As a lawyer Fatma never believes in hearsay stories and if anything she detested most is the chit chatting of market women. She believes that market women never bother corroborating their stories before circulation but jump to their own conclusion about issues. As a result, Fatma was in no mood to entertained their; "she said; he said; they said; we said and everybody said". In addition to her detest for market women's rumours, she had also been warned by her own mother; never to take anything said at the markets seriously, if she wants to have a long matrimony. This would make it impossible for Fatma to listen to anything the vendors were gossiping about. Besides she has just been frm Serrekunda and had seen the events unfolded with her own eyes. She was also in a hurry to get home as quickly as possible, before Mohammed and Yorro return home.
In the meantime, as she was shopping in Sukuta, events were unfolding at the corridors of senior government offices. News of the escalating student demonstration in Banjul had already been broken to Juhu Jammeh in Cuba. As usual he reacted with trepidation and allowed his egos did the reasoning for him. He bragged over the phone to the Vice President and the then Army Commander In Chief; Baboucarr Jatta: "kill them all; kill those piglets! If you don't put this situation under control, I will deal with you myself once I come back!" Jammeh orders Jatta and Njie.
Henceforth, orders from senior command were swiftly changed and junior soldiers were ordered to kill innocent children in the streets of Banjul, Serrekunda and Bakau. Among them a young boy named Mohammed Bojang, whose mother was at the time shopping for his 18th birthday celebrations; and Omar Barrow who was survived by a wife and toddler, as he lay motionless from the bullets ordered to destroy him by Yahya Adolf James Juhu Jammeh.
The story of Fatma continues next time. In the meantime, take a minute and remember those who couldn't pass this day; this hour; this minute and this second of April 10th 2000. We will not rest until their murderer is brought justice!
