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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Nov 2006 : 18:48:18
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The three most important settlements associated with freedom are: Sankandi Village in Kiang, Georgetown and Brikama.
Sankandi was the bedrock of colonial resistance and holds the worst colonial casualties in one day not in the hands of rebel leader but from a disorganised community ready to defend what is theirs. The land dispute between Sankandi and Batelling Village in 1900 led to the deathof Commissioners Sylva and Sitwell partly due to resentment against british involvement in local affairs and also because indirect rule brought in chiefs who have no claim to traditional authority.
Georgetown was the Elis Island of Gambia. It gave freedom to slaves captured in the high seas but also those who made it to the flag pole at Fort George. It was founded purely for freedom and is the only settlement that processed asylum cases in West Africa with the exception of Freetown. Unfortunately, the Gambia does not extend or have asylum legislation to protect refugees. It also has the oldest church in the Gambia.
Brikama is the bedrock of freedom in post independence Gambia. They spoke when no one dared to, they host the biggest "troublemakers", they also nurtured partly some memebers of the AFPRC. They also led the resistance against outside intervention in 1981 and stood for sovereingty. Sadly though they created the PPP but sat over the beginning of the end of the party. Apart from the pre-independence demonstrations in Banjul, Brikama may be the first and only town to have led a "revolt" in post independence Gambia against constituted authority. Nyambai Forest is a witness to the political life of the Gambia. That forest, if it could speak, harbors many secrets that have shaped our lives from 1960 to date. |
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