As part of its post TRRC project with UNDP designed to strengthen accountability and transitional justice through effective implementation of the TRRC recommendations, Women’s Association for Women and Victims’ Empowerment (WAVE-Gambia) recently organised a sensitisation workshop for students at the Kiang Kaif Senior Secondary School.
The training is envisaged to enhance the students’ understanding and awareness of human rights violations that occurred during former president Yahya Jammeh’s rule, the post TRRC recommendations and government’s White Paper.
The TRRC uncovered the truth about the rights violations spanning from 1994 to 2017 with hundreds of victims sharing their stories in public sessions. One of the violations include Jammeh’s witch hunt campaign which saw hundreds of helpless men and women rounded up, detained and forced to drink concoctions leading to at least 40 deaths, according to the commission.
This school sensitisation initiative aims to empower and expose students to critical transitional justice issues including the violations meted out to witch hunt victims, its impact on their lives and ways to promote and enhance accountability, inclusion, dignity for all and addressing impunity.
WAVE co-founder and senior technical advisor, Priscialla Yagu Ceesay, opened the programme with an overview on the evolution of human rights ranging from civil, political, economic and to socio-cultural rights as well as the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, an international document which enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings.
The students were also shown a documentary titled “we were accused-stories to rebuild broken dignity” which explored the harrowing experiences of Jammeh’s witch hunt victims and their families from communities in Essau, Jambur and Sintet.
Programmes coordinator Mariam J Ceesay explained that the school outreach is geared towards enlightening students on some of the violations that occurred during Jammeh’s 22 years rule with a focus on sexual and gender based violence and torture which were hallmarks of the so-called witch-hunt campaign. “When we talk about never again and non-occurrences of these violations, we are trying to build a system and a culture to put an end to impunity and also to enhance accountability.”
She said the younger generation needs to know what happened between 1994 and 2017 to help them understand their role in enhancing ongoing accountability processes.
Madam Ceesay thanked the UNDP for supporting the project through its PeaceBuilding Fund.
“Through this project we were able to have different engagements reaching out to women, youths, stakeholders and security forces across different communities in The Gambia. For some of the students, this is the first time they came across some of these violations and understanding what it meant, and the trauma and the impact it had on victims and their families,” she added.
School principal Modou Bittaye thanked WAVE for choosing his school saying the engagement will go a long way in helping his students come to terms with the realities of rights violations of the past government and efforts by this government to redress the violations, serve justice, accountability and provision of reparations for victims.
“By watching the documentary, the students will learn to appreciate that we are all one and if one of us is in pain we should all show empathy,” Bittaye advised.
