Gambian’s hell in NATO’s ‘new’ Libya

This video says about itself:

Racism of the new Libyan government unveiled

Al Arabya TV (English) 27 November 2011 reports on demonstrations that are taking place on Martyrs square in Tripoli since five days denouncing the ostracism and the blatant discrimination that is being implemented by the self-proclaimed Libyan authorities and the newly formed cabinet of Abdel Rahim Al Kib who is systematically and methodically excluding the Amazigh population (also called “berbers” and who are the indigenous native people of Libya) as well as other non-Arab population of Libya such as the Tebus (living in the South of the country) from ministerial positions and reflecting what a growing number of the Libyan population is seeing as a blatant and institutionalized racism put in place against non-Arab population of Libya living in the country since centuries.

From FOROYAA newspaper (Serrekunda, the Gambia):

Gambia: A Returnee From Libya Narrates His Ordeal to Foroyaa

By Ousman Njie, 21 December 2012

Alagie Sankung Jabbi, a 23-year-old man and a resident of Latrikunda Sabiji, returned from Libya and shares his experience with the public. Mr. Jabbi stated that he left the Gambia in June this year to Libya and then later to proceed to Italy and he had D15,000 (fifteen thousand dalasi) on him. He said while on the journey any check point they arrived at, they are asked to pay 10,000 CFA Francs (ten thousand) which is equivalent to D600 (six hundred Dalasi) for non Gambians and for Gambians they are asked to pay 15000 to 20,000 CFA Francs which is equivalent to ten thousand two hundred dalasi and failure to pay, he said the police would search the individual and extort anything they could find on him. He said if they fail to see anything valuable on you, that results in lashing.

Jabbi further informs this reporter that when they arrived at Agadez in Niger, they had to pay (six hundred Dinar) DN600 which is equivalent to (nineteen to twenty thousand dalasi) for them to be smuggled into a village called Druku at the border between Niger and Libya where they were taken around 1am and dropped off by their guides and directed which route to embark on to reach Tripoli, he asserted. Mr. Jabbi also said when they arrived at the Libyan capital; they were arrested and jailed for one month. He added that while in prison, they were given “garri” and tomato paste for food. He said he was part of a group (27) twenty-seven prisoners who tried and escaped by jumping over a 15 metre fence by 2am.

He said before they escaped, a prison with forty inmates was burnt down by the Libyan rebels and there were Gambians in prison. So he said when they jumped over the fence, one Gambian died and twenty-six of them were fortunate to escape. He also said the prison was located at the centre of the desert which took them three days to get to town and during the trip another escapee also died due to hunger and starvation before they arrived at the nearest village to the desert called Druku.

Jabbi who agrees to share his experience with our readers after his trip to Libya said while trekking the only thing they had to eat was dates locally called “Tandarma” which they got the third day of the journey, and when they arrived at that village they were given a twenty litre gallon to drink and they even requested more. He said after drinking water some of them were returned to Tripoli and some stayed at the village to work, he stated. He also went on to say the only job available in Libya is either by breaking dilapidated concrete walls or roof and offloading arms and ammunition from trucks of the soldiers. Mr. Jabbi said he was completely dissatisfied with those jobs because he said they were either paid food for working or paid a Dinar a month. “And if anyone dares to complain your employer would just take you behind and kill you because everyone has a gun”, explained Mr. Jabbi who recently came from a horrendous trip from Libya.

Mr. Jabbi further said he was fortunate to get a Libyan friend who hosted him for a few months and provided all his basic needs and he also helped him meet the United Nations personnel by arranging with one truck driver to take him with other Gambians to the United Nations base. He said the driver agreed to take them there if they would lie under the goods he was carrying which they did and were carried to the (UN) base where they were well taken care of by the (UN) personnel, who provided them with toothpaste, soap, mats etc. He added that they were given one thousand five hundred CFA Francs which is equivalent to eighty-five dalasi per day for two weeks. Jabbi said the UN later took them to the (UN) headquarters in central Tripoli and separated the Gambians from the Senegalese and then hired two buses from a company called Limpo that repatriated them up to Farafenni in the Gambia, where they were received by the Commissioner of police and other officers of the security apparatus of the Gambia. He also said they were given some advice by the Commissioner of police and then they were also interviewed by the Media.

Mr. Jabbi finally concluded by saying that there are hundreds of Gambians stranded in Niger, because it’s only (UN) that helps and they cannot help anyone if they are not in Libya; that they desperately wanted to come back but could not and some were jailed for over 8 (eight) to 9 (nine) months without proper food and water. He said for him even if he is issued with a free visa to Libya he won’t go, because he could not narrate all what he saw transpired in Libya. He would advise any one to work in the Gambia rather than go to Libya at this time.

Related articles

• Anti-Gambian racism in NATO’s ‘new’ Libya (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Over 2,000 Gambians stranded in Libya, Mali, Niger on way to Europe (nzweek.com)
• IFAD Grant to Boost Rice and Vegetable Production in The Gambia (selluka.wordpress.com)
• Compensation for Tony Blair torture victim (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Libya to release Lockerbie files (bbc.co.uk)
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Anti-Gambian racism in NATO’s ‘new’ Libya

This video is called LIBYA – NTC racists hit and torture Black African Workers (01 / 2012).

From Foroyaa newspaper (Serrekunda, the Gambia):

Gambia: 1195 Gambians Stranded Between Libya and Niger; UN Starts to Evacuate Them to Safety

By Fabakary B. Ceesay

14 November 2012

Credible information reaching Foroyaa from Libya and Niger stated that 1195 Gambian youth are currently stranded in the cities in both Libya and Niger. The information added that most of these Gambians were seriously manhandled by Libyan security officials before they were detained in camps and later parked in open trucks and dumped in the desert.

The information indicated that most of them were beaten and had their monies and valuable belongings seized from them by armed Libyan militias called the “Ashma Boys”, who are said to be roaming the desert looking for would be migrants. The information also added that United Nations [UN] officials in Libya are currently evacuating hundreds of would be migrants to safety in a camp in Agadez, Niger, where they were left with little food and water.

According to one of the desperate youth, who spoke to Foroyaa through telephone from Agadez in Niger, some 500 young Gambians are currently stranded in a camp in Agadez without enough food and shelter. The youth stated that most of them are currently roaming the streets of Agadez as they cannot stand the conditions of living in the camp. He indicated that they are waiting to receive money from their family members back home and those in Europe. The youth said those who have received money from their families use that money to buy food for themselves and their Gambian counterparts who are yet to receive money from relatives. The young man indicated that Agadez is now becoming a Gambian town where Wollof and Mandinka are frequently heard in almost all parts of the town. He jokingly remarked that the town is now becoming little ‘Serrekunda’ in Niger.

Another young Gambian, who also spoke to Foroyaa from the Niger capital of Niamey, said there are 200 Gambians stranded there and are waiting to receive money from relatives to continue their journey either to Algeria, Tunisia or to Morocco. The youth said most of them are finding it very difficult to return home only to find themselves in the same hardships or difficult conditions after having already spent huge amounts of money from their families which brought them to where they are now. He however said that some of the Gambian young men are really desperate to return home before they lose their lives on the way. The young man said the UN is currently evacuating another batch of 495 Gambian youth from the Libyan town of Sebha via Baie and Durug to Agadez, where they are left in a camp with little food and water.

The massive search for would be migrants in the town of Sebha and their detention in camps by the “Ashma Boys”, who are heavily armed with guns and using four wheel drive vehicles to chase them in the open desert has become a menace that puts the lives of many of the Gambian youths at risk, lamented the source. The young man said most of them were mercilessly beaten by these armed militias before confiscating their valuable items. He stated that several Gambians sustained injuries at the hands of the militias who would threaten to kill anyone who insisted on not handing over his money and items to them.

The young Gambians said they are not all that safe in Niger as some bandits use their vulnerability as an advantage to attack them at night with the belief that they have money. They said the Nigerien security officials have on many occasions come to their rescue from the attacks made by the bandits and have asked them to remain in the camp. They said they cannot always stay at the camp as they have to move to the main city to facilitate communication with their relatives back home or those in Europe for help. The young man admitted that many of them are now fed up and desperate to return home.

He therefore appealed to the home authorities to come to their aid in Niger before many would perish there.

Update 22 November 2012: here.

Libya’s new government, sworn in on November 14, 2012, should put the illegal detention of more than 8,000 people atop its agenda: here.

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• IFAD funds 34 million USD for Gambian farmers (nzweek.com)
• Libya: Foreign nationals face abuse, exploitation (bikyamasr.com)

My red-billed firefinch gravatar photo

As Arlen Shahverdyan advised me, I have now added a photo to my Gravatar. It is the picture here (not as small as with the Gravatar).

This photo shows a red-billed firefinch.

The bird was photographed at Brufut Woods, the Gambia, 4 February 2012.

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Gambian bird lecture in England

This video is called Gambia Birds 2012.

From The Daily Observer (Banjul, the Gambia):

Gambia: WABSA Executive Director Gives Lectures at Rutland Bird Fair in UK

By Aji Fatou Faal, 29 August 2012

The executive director of the West African Bird Study Association (WABSA), Lamin Jobaate has recently presented a paper on WABSA mangrove planting activities in The Gambia and its impacts on the migratory birds, at a three-day popular Rutland Bird fair in England, the United Kingdom.

The bird fair is undoubtedly the world’s most important show for nature lovers seeking holiday of life time, with more than 200 countries with their stands offering trips to different destinations.

According to Jobaate, the bird fair is an annual event that has been attracting thousands of people across the globe for the past 24 years, adding that this year’s programme included all the personalities, who were generously giving support to the fair celebrity lectures.

He noted that it was a great opportunity for The Gambia and WABSA to also give lecture in the three-day important event, along with world-class naturalists, which would no doubt expose The Gambia in terms of its biodiversity conservation and tourism promotion.

He revealed that in 2011, British Bird Watch Fair was launched; it was in support of Birdlife International Flyways Programme to becoming the first global sponsor. He noted that the focus was on the African Eurasian Flyway Funding Projects to study and help species migrating between Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, such as the turtle dove and common cuckoo.

“This year, we are targeting to raise $3 million (three million pounds) to support conservation in the East Asian-Australian Flyway, where more than 50 million birds use these flyway annually, including the endangered black-faced spoonbill, spotted greenshank, and critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper,” Jobaate disclosed.

Jobaate called on the Gambia Tourism Board for their continuous support to Gambia’s stand at the bird fair, as it is one of the top most priorities in terms of promoting tourism in The Gambia.

Texas death penalty for mentally disabled

This video from the USA is called Mentally Disabled Man Executed in TEXAS – System Failure?

The barbarity of the death penalty was on display last night as the state of Texas executed the second mentally disabled death row prisoner in less than three weeks: here.

AT least 38 people still on death row in The Gambia are at imminent risk of execution following official confirmation that nine other death row inmates were put to death last week: here.

Drop the charges against Gambian journalists: here.

GAMBIAN President Yahya Jammeh’s conditional moratorium on executions of death row prisoners leaves at least 38 people at great risk of execution, Amnesty International said today: here.

Blue-cheecked bee-eater photo from Gambia

8 February 2012 in the Gambia.

On sand near a lake, not just a collared pratincole, but also this blue-cheeked bee-eater.

Common sandpiper photo from Gambia

8 February 2012 in the Gambia.

Near Njau village.

Just before the Egyptian plover landed on the river bank, there was already a common sandpiper there.

This is that common sandpiper.

Common sandpipers nest in Europe and Asia. In winter, they can be found in Africa, some even much further south than the Gambia, like in South Africa. Some winter in southern Asia and Australia.

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Malachite kingfisher photo from Gambia

14 February 2012.

This photograph was taken near Kartong Bird Observatory in the Gambia.

It depicts a malachite kingfisher.

Of the nine kingfisher species in the Gambia, seven are bigger than the malachite. Only the pygmy kingfisher is still smaller.

The malachite kingfisher is also smaller than the Eurasian kingfisher.

Squacco heron photograph

9 February 2012 in the Gambia.

This photo shows a squacco heron.

In Africa, this species is a winter migrant from southern Europe and western Asia.

July 2012. Birders have been gathering at WWT Welney in Norfolk this week to see an extremely rare squacco heron. The reason why it has turned up in the UK is unknown as these birds normally spend the summer in Southern Europe: here.

Namaqua doves, cut-throat finches, photo

8 February 2012 in the Gambia.

This is a photo of two Namaqua doves and two cut-throat finches, all males.