Young Gambian writers Mam Isatou Jobe and Lena Eunice Akua Jatta have expressed desire to follow the footsteps of the country’s top writers. The teenagers launched their first book titled “Love from Two Different Worlds” at age 14.
The two are also preparing to launch another one very soon. The young girls who turned 16, this year said they had put in a lot of effort to identify the hurdles that derail lovers of different clans from getting married back in the days when deep cultures were practiced in the West African country. The word “Love from Two Different Worlds” trended on the night of 30th November, 2019during the launch of the book at Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute (GTHI) which saw the young writers creating an exciting mood and breathing life into the audience through their words. The book which is a beautifully written novella defies negative cultures that deter people from different clans from getting married. Inspiration “Well, we can remember sitting in class when we were in the 7th grade, and back then our S.E.S teacher talking about the caste system of the various ethnic groups in the Gambia,” the girls said in a write-up shared with The Standard. While expressing joy that the book was successfully launched, the young stars said the majority of relationships in the country suffer in silence and that leaves a lot of scars in their memory, a development which tends to be a setback as they live. According to the girls, one thing that struck them the most was that “not only were the ethnic groups not allowed to intermarry among each other, but a particular class was not allowed to marry another”. “We however thought that this wasn’t fair. So, us being curious young teenagers, we started imagining two individuals that happen to fall in love and they unfortunately happened to be in different classes of the society. We further imagine how these two were to move on with their love story and how they would succeed. So, I guess one can say that curiosity and imagination inspired the writing of our first book,” the girls added.
New book
“We are now working on a book titled ‘Amina’. The book centres around her and her journey from a young girl with big dreams to a successful adult. The book entails her setbacks along the way as her dad got sentenced to jail by the forestry department due to cutting down trees and she and her sister and mother had to fend for themselves. It is a book to watch for because it is relatable in so many ways,” the girls stated. The first book published by the young girls is on sale at the Timbookto Bookshop, Lifeway Bookshop beside Pipeline Mosque, Sonko Jileng Enterprises in Banjul, Churchill Town and Brikama. The young girls also appealed for sponsorship to help them achieve their career dreams. The girls can be reached through their parents; Sheikh Tijan Jobe: +220-9916009/7077566 and Edward Jatta: 7477728.
