By Olimatou Coker
Sainey Senghore, a victim of the April 10 – 11 2000, student massacre, has called on the government to consider recognising the two historic days as school holidays.
Senghore made these remarks yesterday during a two- day youth and media engagement on transitional justice and social cohesion in The Gambia at NaNA , organised by Women’s Association for Women and Victims’ Empowerment (WAVE-Gambia),.
Others behind the programme include the Post-TRRC Unit and ICTJ with the support from Global Initiative against Impunity and co-funded by the European Union.
The overall objective of this initiative is to promote inclusive transitional justice in The Gambia by equipping youth and media professionals to play an active role in community peace building.
The engagement brought together 37 youth and media practitioners from different media to widen their knowledge on issues surrounding the ICTJ deals.
“I have not seen acknowledgement from the government about this proposal which would show that they accept and taken responsibility for what happened in line with the implementation of the TRRC recommendations,” he said.
He said the request they made is for government to name the Jimpex road where most of the students were killed April 10 -11 Avenue and declare the days a school or public holiday.
“We have a lady in our group who still has a bullet in her hand after 25 years and they’ve not been doing anything. It’s just unfortunate. I know it’s not easy. We’ll keep pushing and we’ll make sure we get to where we want to be,” Senghore said
Samba Jawo, the ICTJ Legal Consultant, said transitional justice is not a distant policy, but a living commitment that must be owned by the people, especially the youth, and communicated with clarity and compassion by the media.
“Let us rise to this moment use our platforms, our voices, our pens, our cameras, our networks to tell stories that heal, not harm. Let us challenge divisive narratives and amplify those that unite. Let us ensure that the path to justice is not only mapped in documents, but etched in the hearts of our people,” he said.
Essa Sanneh, Program Assistant at WAVE-Gambia, said the event was called to reflect on the journey of transitional justice and to ensure the voices of young people and the power of the media are at the very heart of “building peace, trust, and unity in our nation.”
