From December of 2016 to December of 2019, Gambian writers waged a peaceful campaign to gain political and literary autonomy from the state. In December of 2016, the writing community started seeing a boom and disbanding all acts of fear against them and have started writing about salient issues affecting them. We were appalled by the silence of Gambian writers on issues affecting us as a nation. Young people in The Gambia are now raising a clarion call not only in music, sports, and entrepreneurship- but also in literature and poetry.
The topic of this article addresses an understudied and essential period in the dictatorial history of Gambian literature. Despite a growing body of literature in the Jammeh Era, scholars largely neglect the period between 2016 and 2019. This article looks at the rise of publishing houses and young writers campaigning for dismissing the gun as a weapon of silencing the pen; the fight to regain the parsonage they occupied, its effects, and the community awareness impact it has registered. In the words of Dr. Momodou Sallah, '' the zombies used to eat during the secrecy of the night but now they chew the babies in broad daylight'', quote, The Dictator and The Heretic by Momodou Sallah.
Over 205 books were written and published by Gambians between 2016-2019 (WAG Secretariat, 2019) showing that Gambians are now writing and contributing to the socio-economic development of The Gambia. In the prophecy words of Modou Lamin Age-Almusaf Sowe, '' The Gambia that's yet to come, is going to be the Gambia of arts and culture. We are creating a literary culture through literature and poetry.''
Artistic Freedom is becoming an incentive in the Gambia’s literary and cultural development by individual Gambians and various creative industries and had continued to receive the product of a collaborative effort involving women and young girls, experts, researchers, agencies, institutions, and the government. With the changing times, since the change of government in 2016, many Gambians began expressing themselves through mediums of arts to exercise their inalienable rights to artistic freedom. With the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission of The Gambia (NHRC) in 2019, various Gambian artists continue to demonstrate the importance of the application of the full spectrum of human rights and fundamental freedoms concerning artistic freedom and their users.
The National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) harmonizes the application of artistic freedom and development by member organizations by the relevant existing cultural policies in The Gambia. The 2004 Copyright Act of the Gambia has highlighted an urgent need to further mainstream artistic freedom by Gambian artists across social, cultural, economic, environmental, political, scientific, and technological domains and acknowledge their importance for peace-building, sustainable development, and reconciliation processes in society, and urged the taking of concrete, long-term and sustainable measures at every level to promote, protect and advocate for the rights of the Gambian Creative Industries, and especially, to support efforts of the individual artists living in and outside the country. Interestingly, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MOTC), Youth Empowerment Project (YEP), and the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) have last weekend ( 3rd December 2019) launched the Youth and Trade Roadmap of The Gambia’s Creative Industries 2020-2024.
Various strategies and strategy instructions were made and given higher priority by the Government of The Gambia in the past four years. The NCAC under the able leadership of Mr. Hassoum Ceesay ( curator, author, and historian) has developed the Quadrennial Periodic Report (QPR) on Diversity of Cultural Expressions and it is for the first time The Gambia prepared this report to be sent to UNESCO. The Gambia’s major policy and measures to support artistic freedom and the development of creative establishments are the NCAC Act from which a database of Gambian writers was developed to promote the artistic freedom of various Gambian creators in the literary arts. The Writers’ Association of The Gambia (WAG) had formulated a draft document on artistic freedom that led to the establishment of various literary groups, slam poetry groups, choir groups, and artist clubs where individual Gambian creators had begun to express their artistic rights and freedom in film-making, singing, theater, spoken word poetry, and writing.
Presently, there are fifty-five independent artistic associations and thirty-nine community-based organizations (CBOs) exercising their full artistic freedom in The Gambia, and twelve of them were created by the NCAC. The New Gambia is undergoing series of evolution with the establishment of more private newspapers, TV channels, and FM stations— thereby creating the avenue where creative actors are expressing themselves freely.
The Gambia has and currently experiencing a new system of democracy where individual citizens and the creative associations and industries are fearlessly expressing their grievances adequately in various forms of arts. This is represented in the list below showing the list of books launched by Gambian writers from January-December 2019:
1. Risky Paths To Success by Ms. Ramatoulie O. Othman, launched at University of The Gambia Law Faculty, Kanifing on 26-Jan-2019
2. A Date With Destiny by Hon. Demba Ali Jawo launched at Paradise Suites Hotel, Kololi, on 23-Mar-19
3. Lenrie Peters Traiblazer of Gambian Literature by Dr Cherno Omar Barry, launched at Alliance Francaise, on 26-Apr-19
4. Mother Gambia Under The Microscope by Wandifa Samateh, launched at B.O. Semega Janneh Hall, Talinding, on 27-Apr-19
5. The Memories of Reflection by Modou Lamin Age-Almusaf Sowe ( Modou Lamin Sowe), launched at Ebunjan Theatre, Kanifing, on 11-May-19
6. Contribution of Cooperate Governance Effective Leadership and HR Management by Dr. Seedy Drammeh, launched at Alliance Francaise, on 13-Jul-19
7. A Mysterious Village by Mariatou Bah, launched at Kanifing East Upper and Senior Secondary School ground, on19-Jul-19
8. The Light of Darkness by Alhassan Suso, launched at American Corner, Kairaba Avenue, on 16 August 2019
9. The Oath Must Be Fulfilled As Promised by Aisha Jawara, launched at Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute, Kanifing, on 24-Aug-19
10. Dynamic Cultures and The African Child by Essa Bah, launched at Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute, Kanifing, 2-Nov-19
11. The Gambia Senegal Border-Issues in Regional Integration by Ms. Mariama Khan, launched at Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute, Kanifing, on 2-Nov-19
12. Journey for Justice by Hon Hassan Baboucarr Jallow, launched at Qcity, Bijilo, on 2-Nov-19
13. Assan Musa Camara Servant of The People by Dr. Jeggan Senghor, launched at Qcity, Bijilo, on 14-Sep-19
14. The Helpers by Marie Caroline Gomez, launched at Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute, Kanifing, on 22-Nov-19
15. Love From Two Different Worlds by Mam Isatou Jobe and Lena Eunice Akua Jatta, launched at Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute, Kanifing, on 30-Nov-19
16. Flow by Awa Badara Joof, launched at Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute, on 15 June 2019
17. Sweat in Invisible In The Rain by Cherno M. Njie, launched at Paradise Suites Hotel, 14th December 2019
Written by Modou Lamin Age-Almusaf Sowe (ML Sowe),
Former Secretary-General, Writers’ Association of The Gambia (WAG).
Source; WAG Secretariat, C/O NCAC, Independent Drive, Banjul.
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