We can all agree that when despair and distress
strikes, we should empathize and be moved to action to better the conditions of
those in distress as quickly as we can. In this lies the disappointment many
felt towards the government, especially the National Disaster Management
Committee. Granted the chief executive was indisposed at the time of the floods
up country. A statement of solidarity and reassurance from a representative, preceding
any action geared towards relief efforts should have been forthcoming
nonetheless; this many felt was unduly delayed and rightly so.
It is refreshing though, to see that a day after
their return, a high powered executive delegation made its way up country with
needed aid to help the victims of the flood, who no doubt were greatly
appreciative and grateful of the assistance.
The greater tragedy though is people jumping on the
incident as political opportunists and parading the narrative that the
government does not care about the plight of the suffering people. To use a
people’s state of despair and distraught for political gain is tragic. This does
not amount to failure on the part of the government and certainly is inadequate
as a yardstick to measure other aspects of governance as some would like us to.
Having acknowledged the not so rapid response from
the government, we should also acknowledge the response and show of solidarity
by individuals and groups that came to the aid of our fellow citizens in
despair.
What we must all condemn without ambiguity is the
attempts at politicizing a tragedy for political gains; that is despicable and
insulting to the suffering citizens of the affected regions. National unity
should be demonstrated at its highest during such times by having all rally
around one thing; bringing relief to those in need. Moments like that should be
devoid of politics and partisan praise. But sadly these days, it seems
everything is done with the aim of sanctifying some and bedeviling others based
on political affinity. We shouldn’t be looking to enthrone some on the seat of
saints while making villains out of others, a new obsession it seems in the New
Gambia.
When Mama Kandeh responded with much needed aid,
some high ranking surrogates; party assigned or not, took to social media
praise singing him and mockingly calling out to other political parties and
their heads as being absent from the scene with the aim of projecting him as
the savior we need.
“Congratulations Mama, we hope and encourage other
citizens to emulate this kind gesture to bring much needed help to the victims.”
“We expected a more prompt response from the
government, and hope and pray such tragedies are few and far between, but
should they strike again, we hope the government has learnt valuable lessons
here and will respond better next time.”
Wouldn’t that or something along those lines have
sufficed? These are responsible positions we expect within our new political
dispensation, but it seems we can’t help ourselves but be overly dramatic and
sentimental bordering on condescension.
Trying to gain political capital on the back of
people’s misery is the classic definition of dirty politics. Beyond that, it is
disgusting and I sincerely hope we can learn an important lesson; that in times
of disaster and despair all that is asked of us is EMPATHY and SUPPORT.
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