Gainako Editor Initiates Peace Deal Between Mathew And The Freedom Newspaper!

A Letter to Uncle Mathew, Pa Mbai & to all those that matter.

 By Yero Jallow, Associate Editor Gainako Newspaper

Dear Uncle Mathew, Pa Mbai & all those that matter,

I followed keenly the ongoing exchange of harsh words (tit for tat) to newspaper level publication. I am truly saddened by such; I wish it was never at that level.

First of all, I don’t belong to any organization, political party, or interest group, so I am entirely acting on my own behalf.

I might be the littlest of persons to mediate in this problem, but I thought you will all respect my call on your immediate cease-fire and move onto something worthy our fight. At a time when dictatorship has havocked our nation and its people, both of you need not to be lectured by me or anyone else that the fight should be focal on the oppressive administration. In arriving at my current decision, I took consideration of the emergence of the problem and how it escalated beyond control to make two friends, all fighting the same cause, victims of it. There is no need to story-tell on this matter anymore than we already followed in your exchange of words (he said, he said), but there are some great lessons to learn; some mistakes to learn from; some strength to emulate; some wrongs to rectify on; and some parts to regret on. Those of us who defaulted to journalism, not as a paid profession, but actions of activism, over the years referenced with great caution the standards of journalism exercised by people who called themselves seasoned journalists, because we see ourselves as students learning to better ourselves, despite the non-affiliated majors we have in schools. The ongoing harsh dialogue adds to the wounded struggle of ours nothing but more division, making unity among the oppressed even more difficult.

Since both of you are friends and working associates, I hereby suggest the following without delay:

Let there be an immediate cease-fire from both parties, to follow a grace period of silence.

After the cease-fire, both parties should agree to talk, either by one of you initiating a call to the other, or a respectable mediating body like the GPU or independent respectable person(s) can be assigned, as may be trusted by both of you.

Each and every one of you must agree to offer an apology unconditionally to anyone hurt as a result of any unethical misconduct observed, whether to the two of you, Ms. Manneh, Ms. Jahumpha, or any other person concerned, including and not limited to your readers at newspaper level. Apologies must be followed by retractions of the part(s) published that were found unethical under the ethics of journalism as may be determined by your reconciliatory minds..

 Any third party who is sidelining with any party with energy to fuel thatches with fire must cease and use the opportunity to help them get through their mistakes.

Meanwhile, please accept my unflinching support to a reconciliatory ground, as may be agreed by the two of you. It is said in the African culture, “even the teeth and tongue, closest in ally, sometimes clash.” This could be by accident. It could be by misunderstanding. It could be by mistake. It could be by faulting the other, which escalates beyond acceptable standard. Whatever it is that lead to the fight, there is a remedy to such a problem which must be adopted by both of you without delay.

In the final, there is no prize for unity. Newspaper editors who are guardians of societies must live by examples, that is say, they must work together and come to the drawing board when such crisis arises that will lead to more divisions. This is true, because both of you command a lot of supporters. 

Without any interest of hurting any of your personal feelings, I hope you all pray to God, and seek an amicable resolution that will be beneficial to us all, and advance the very cause we are all fighting.

Sincerely submitted,

Yero

There is no god but Allah (SWT) and Muhammad (SAW) is His messenger. Fear and Worship only Allah alone!

Editors Note: Thanks Mr. Jallow for calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing "beef" between Mathew Kali Jallow and the Freedom Newspaper. We appreciate your brotherly intervention. We have no doubt in our mind that you meant well by brokering for peace. Your sincerity is unquestionable.

Having said that, we want to assure you and our esteemed readership that we at Freedom are done with this matter. Mathew is our "BIG BROTHER" and we have decided to end the "beef". The situation could have been handled differently if he had not resorted to personal attacks. The people concerned are capable of fighting their own case without Mathew’s intervention.

If he chooses to be the cyber worrier who is capable of “taming” Pa Nderry he is making the biggest mistake. The rest is now history.  Let move on.

For your information, my family in The Gambia are very close to Mathew’s family. His late Nephew Jatta Jallow of Niani-Kunda village was my close friend. His sister Juli treats me like a son. I did mentioned to Mathew the hospitality extended to me in the past by his family.  Mathew is aware of my close ties with the Jallow family. I do not need to elaborate further on this.

Admitted, some of the criticisms directed at the Freedom Newspaper  were legitimate, but he could have been more civil without resorting to emotional attacks. Whether he likes it or not, he Mathew is considered as a "doyen" among Gambian journalists and therefore he is expected to set a good precedence for others to follow.

We welcome suggestions and criticisms  geared towards improving the Freedom Newspaper, but it should be done responsibly. Dialogue is the best means of settling a dispute.

While we are not insinuating that Mathew was being used as a “front” to attack the Freedom Newspaper, it is evident in his writings that he was out to discredit us. He was emotional in his presentation-giving one the impression that he was out for an all out war with this paper.

We are open to dialogue, but it should be based on truth and sincerity. We have no time for pettiness.  Mathew is an “independent minded” person, and we expect him not to be lured into unnecessary cleavages.  He owe it to The Gambia and her people.

We are ending this "beef" in the interest of “brotherhood” and unity. Thanks Yero for initiating the peace deal. No one stands to win or benefit from such war of words. It is over here at Freedom. Thanks for your attention.

 ENDS: 12/23/09