Since President Barrow came to power, the government and people of Senegal have been launching numerous attacks on Gambians on Gambian soil from gun shots to burning of entire trucks where helpless Gambians receive no justice from either government. Senegalese forces inveterately cross into Gambian territory, shoot, arrest Gambians, take them to Senegal with very serious disregard for international law, borders, or even sovereignty.
The latest of such violence occurred in the village of Omorto near Jiboro in Kombo East, Western Region on Wednesday, May 19th 2021. Senegalese soldiers, again entered into Gambia, threatened an entire village with gun shots where one Senegalese military personnel slapped a Gambian youth with a cutlass until the steel weapon broke into pieces.
The Senegalese forces have a habit of seizing any truckload of timber they find on Gambian soil arguing that all timber come from Senegal illegally. This sweeping, irrational logic negates even those purchased through legitimate means. Besides, Gambia has a thicker forest than anywhere in northern Senegal.
Without justifying any illegal logging anywhere, mutual respect for both countries’ laws could easily solve issues like this latest one in Kombo Omorto if the Senegalese authorities engage their Gambian counterparts to arrest, book, or prosecute illegal loggers.
But violent attacks on whole villages multiple times, shooting Gambians on Gambian soil, threatening entire communities would only beget knee-jerk violence and further hostility between the sister nations. Below, we put together this brief chronology of violent Senegalese incursions into Gambia in sheer disregard for sisterhood, peace, and mutual respect:
- Mar 8th 2020, Sulayman Trawally, a native of Garawol Kuta village of Kantora District of the Upper River Region of the Gambia was shot in the hand by Senegalese gendarmerie who crossed the Gambian border.
- March 14th 2021, three armed men from Senegalese forestry riding on motorcycles entered Gambia in Sare-Omar, LRR and had a confrontation with some young Gambians. The Senegalese shot one Omar Njie in the left leg with a local gun.
- Basse area incident, Gambian shot and arrested on Gambian soil, taken to Senegal. The Senegalese men who pursued him into Gambia later threatened with this: “We would have shot and arrested even your Gambian security personnel.”
- May 2018, heavily armed Senegalese soldiers and forestry guards crossed Gambian border around Jarra Bureng area in pursuit of Gambians.
- Feb 2021, Kumba Dem, a Gambian security officer assaulted by a Senegalese driver who refused to show his driving documents when stopped at the traffic checkpoint in Jarra Soma, Gambia. The Senegalese driver hurled insults at officer Dem as he tried to drive off.
- Jan 2021, Sabach Sukuta in Ngain Sanjal, North Bank Division, Gambia, Kalilou Fadera, a Gambian PIU officer had his legs broken by a Senegalese driver who ran him over at a Gambian check as he refused to stop.
In December 2019, Senegalese army entered Darsilameh, Gambia and caused a fracas with Gambian soldiers.- In September 2020, Ousman Ceesay, a Gambian student was detained in Ziguinchor, Senegal for alleged fishing in Senegalese waters. He was held for over one month while uncountable Senegalese men and women continue to freely fish in The Gambia, depleting our marine resources.
- As we type this, only one Gambian commercial bus is allowed to enter Senegal a day while unhindered numbers of Senegalese commercial vehicles, passenger vans, heavy-duty trucks, etc., enter Gambia from Senegal 24/7. Some of them even refuse to pay bridge tolls on Gambian soil.
- Not long ago, a Senegalese commercial driver hit and destroyed a wall near the Yeli-Tenda Bamba Tenda Bridge after hours of operation, saying that he would force his way in “because the bridge was built by Senegal.”
This is what happens when we have to deal with ignorant fanatics capable of setting the two countries ablaze. Allowing only one bus from Gambia is a system Senegal uses in many areas of business and trade to kill our Gambian economy, growth, and GDP.
We can’t easily move our goods to and from Senegal without unrelenting hostility since the days of Sir Dawda Jawara. It has always been Senegal’s dream to dominate Gambia or kill off its re-export trade. Here’s what an American organization, Global Securities, reported about Senegal’s treatment of Gambia:
“They were frustrated by their inability to realize their immediate objectives, 1) to close off Gambian re-export trade to Senegal and 2) to have a bridge on the trans-Gambia highway linking Dakar to the two southern provinces of Senegal.
Gambian authorities would like closer cooperation of development planning policies, but vowed never to consent to be swallowed up by Senegal. They were dubious about the value of customs union, especially if it was designed to cut off one of the most important areas of their economy – the reexport trade to the Casamance. They were willing to explore the options only if the viability of their economy and the natural economic geography of the region were taken into account.”
So, left to Senegal, rice, sugar, cooking oil, and all other consumer goods would be super expensive in The Gambia so that we would be forced to import from Senegal, something the Barrow gov’t has been causing, thanks to his affinity with Macky Sall.
Unfortunately for Senegal, Gambia’s Ports Authority is the cheapest in the subregion in terms of tariffs. Senegal, whose ports isn’t in the hands of the Senegalese gov’t, but owned and operated by French company Bolores can’t afford cheaper tariff system.
This is why many African countries farther from Europe and America use Gambia as a transit point to bring their goods from the developed world, something Senegal hates to the bones. Today, the Barrow gov’t is killing that comparative advantage Gambia has been enjoying since 1965.
Do you now see why Adama Barrow has been such a danger to our prosperity? And worse, he doesn’t even care! Senegal tells him, “Gambia and Senegal are sisters from the same womb,” while they shoot our innocent citizens, violate our territorial integrity, harass Gambians at their airport, seize our goods (even Ataya), and above all, close the border whenever they see our economy recording significant growth. Solution?
- Let the Gambia government buy even one big cargo vessel (commercial ship)
- This ship is protected by international law to tarry along the Atlantic coast as long as it stays 11 km off the Senegalese coast of southern Senegal in Casamance on its way to the coast of Guinea Bissau.
- Once in Guinea Bissau, Gambia can trade with all other countries in the subregion, especially Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger who are all landlocked countries without a seaport. And what does that mean? Their ‘semesters’ overseas can’t easily ship containers from abroad. Imagine if Gambia didn’t have a seaport?
- Once our national vessel trades with other African countries, Senegal can go ahead and close its borders as it pleases!
- Our national vessel can also bring in goods from the other African countries we choose to trade with. We didn’t set up forGambia News to be selfish and ignorant. We want to inform Gambians for a far prosperous Gambia for our children and their children’s best future! Why don’t other Gambian media houses come with something like this?
Getting to know about all the facts going on in our country leaves me angered, shocked and fills me with hatred for the Senegalese authorities. Not to forget the kinda highly dumbfounded mistake of a President we’ve got.