By Samsideen Ceesay & Aminata S Kuyateh
A youth-led civic movement on peace and social justice dubbed Power of Freedom Movement was Sunday officially launched at the ActionAid Conference Hall in Kanifing.
Organisers said it is designed towards the promotion and sustenance of peace, positive change and the fight for social justice in the country.
Speaking at the official launching ceremony, secretary general, Maimuna Manneh said: “Power of Freedom is a civic movement mainly comprised of young Gambians from all walks of life who stand for peace, positive change of their country and its people and for social justice.”
According to the secretary general, so far, the new movement has been busy holding campaigns through social media, press conferences, graffiti, coordinating peaceful protests in Dakar, release of songs and music videos.
Orgnisers said the non-violent movement, which drew inspiration from greats such as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and Bob Marley, is here to also reset youth mind-set and provide the platform for them to serve as role models.
“We intend to organise ourselves in groups that will have nationwide tours, hold seminars, open mic shows to discuss domestic issues and also have civic education forums and classes as we now consider these our civic duty”.
Alieu Bah aka Immortal X, a prominent youth advocate gave a speech on capitalism. He criticised its philosophy, saying it is run by corporations that do not care about human life.
“Slavery gave birth to capitalism,” Alieu said in his brief remark.
The founder of the movement, Ousman Badjie aka Retsam, said the movement is born to stand for social justice for the young people and the community.
He said the movement is inspired by the heroism of late politician Solo Sandeng.
