The Daily Observer (Banjul)
1 April 2008
opinion
It takes years of hard work to build, but it takes just a fraction of a moment of madness to destroy what years of sweat have built. Countries with a history of incessant unrest have a record of condoning murmurs of animosity among members of their societies. When this persists, it foments hate; and the result is obvious lawlessness, which is a tragedy capable of halting progress.
Just see for yourself the horrific work of vandalism meted against the people of Babylon, a growing settlement close to Lamin village, by their supposed neighbors, Macumbaya. Brothers and sisters became enemies within moments. That is very un-Gambian. No matter what the crime they might have committed, if they did at all, there can be no justification for this cruel attitude.
We see what happens in some other countries in our part of Africa and beyond, where the human blood has been relegated to that of mere sheep and goats. Shedding human blood is as common in these places as shedding fowl's blood. Consequently, the human being has assumed the place of the beastly animals in the jungle.
In Gambia, we are not known for that kind of treacherous conduct. And we are not going to accept it. However angry you are, you cannot take the law into your hand.
The pictures we saw on GRTS last Sunday night, which were said to have happened in a village in this Gambia of ours, shamefully defied that traditional atmosphere of peacefulness, tolerance and respect for humanity. The pictures were so shocking that one is tempted to find the development unbelievable, because the act was totally un-Gambian by all its manifestations.
There can be absolutely no genuine excuse for such a heinous crime perpetuated by some monstrous bunch of a people. That act of utter vandalism demonstrates the need for our security forces and the judiciary to tighten up their belts. Some example ought to be set to smother any possible feeling that Gambia will condone this kind of barbaric communal confrontation. The trace of destruction on Babylon will remain in the conscience of the victims for a long time to come.
Of course, there is a proud mechanism of law in place, and this must be given the opportunity to take its course. We owe it to generations of Gambians to come.
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