 |
|
| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Momodou
Denmark
11835 Posts |
 Posted - 07 Apr 2007 : 18:30:39
|
Foroyaa Editorial
ALERT! ALERT!! ALERT!!!
A SOCIAL TIME BOMB (CRISIS OF THE STATELESS IN THE GAMBIA)
The problem is being ignored as a non issue. However, it is the key to Gambia’s future stability. We ignore it at our own peril.
The problem became very glaring some years ago when the parents of a prominent Gambian journalist were subjected to investigation regarding their citizenship status. We will not mention who this journalist is but we are almost convinced that this may be the very reason why he chose to operate from abroad.
The problem knocked the doors of minds again some days ago when a school boy stood crying as his parents were being arrested because of failure to acquire alien ID cards. The boy called on the Immigration personnel to look at his uniform and pleaded “Yes, my parents came from Guinea but I was born here, I am a Gambian and they should not be arrested. Little did the young man know that he is now a stateless person and that if the law on citizenship was not selectively applied, he himself may have been arrested and asked to acquire an alien I.D Card. It also means that there are many people today in all works of life with families and homes who could equally be arrested and asked to acquire alien I.D Cards.
Why is this the case? The answer is simple. The present laws on citizenship has excluded tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people who currently see themselves as Gambians.
Foroyaa would want each reader to subject him/herself to the following test by answering the following questions:
Those Born Before 18 February 1965
If you were born before 18 February 1965 you should answer the following questions to know whether you are a citizen or not
1. Were you born in The Gambia
2. Was any of your parents born in The Gambia?
3. Was any of your grandparents born in The Gambia
4. Was any of your parents naturalized in The Gambia to be a British subject before independence?
5. Did you fill an application form to be registered as a Gambian before 18 February 1967, if you were born in The Gambia of parents and grand parents who were not born in The Gambia?
6. If you were born outside The Gambia, was your father a citizen of The Gambia?
7. If you were named to a Gambian citizen, did you apply for registration to be a Gambian citizen? If your answers to the first and six questions are in the negative, then you are not considered a citizen of The Gambia. In short, if you were born outside of The Gambia before 1965 and your father was not a Gambian citizen, then you are not considered a citizen of The Gambia.
Secondly if your answer to the first question is in the positive but all the answers to the other question stand as “No” then you are still not a citizen of The Gambia. If your answers to all the other questions are no, then you are not a citizen of The Gambia. This is the first point. Let us go to the second point which concerns those born after 18th February 1965.
Question To Be Answered by Those Born After 18th February 1965
1. Were you born in Gambia after 17th February 1965?
2. Was any of your parents a citizen of The Gambia?
3. If married to a Gambian citizen have you applied for citizenship?
4. Did you naturalize to be a citizen?
5. If born outside of the country is your father a citizen of The Gambia?
If your answers to the first and the fifth questions are in the negative then you are not a Gambian citizen. Secondly, even if you were born in the Gambia but none of your parents is a citizen of The Gambia, one is not considered a citizen. It is good to point out that while the law on citizenship requires one of the parents of the person to be born in The Gambia or to naturalize if the person was born before 1955, the same law requires one of the parents of the person to be a citizen of the Gambia before he/she can acquire citizenship if he/she was born after 17th February 1965. This means that one can have a parent who was born in The Gambia before 1965 whose parents were not born in The Gambia. In that regard both child and parent would not be considered citizens of The Gambia.
Now may we ask: How many Gambians are now citizens if the law on citizenship is strictly applied?
This issue therefore needs urgent treatment if we are to avoid the type of problems which had occurred in Cote d’Ivoire or Ivory Coast.
First and foremost, the country needs to put in place an effective system of Nation wide registration of births as of 2008.
Secondly, indemnities need to be given to all those people who have had children and homes in The Gambia before July 1994 and who have acquired their documents illegally to make honest declaration’s and apply for naturalization which should not be denied if adequate evidence is given on residence and compliance with local government and other tax obligations.
Those who entered The Gambia after 1994 be required to maintain receipts of payment of residential permits which can be backdated to the day of entry if sufficient evidence is shown to back claims. Naturalization could be considered if 15 years of lawful residence may be proven as currently required by the constitution. In our view, this is the way to address the question of statelessness and the trauma it is causing to many.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 39/07, 4th – 5th April 2007
|
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
|
|
MADIBA
United Kingdom
1275 Posts |
Posted - 08 Apr 2007 : 17:03:02
|
This maybe a timebomb. But am of the conviction that Gambians given our tolerance and belief will never ever allow The Gambia degenerate into an Ivory Coast. However, the legislators and Executive should come in fast to defuse the potential timebomb. The issue of citizenship is very intricate yet simple. Anyone born in The Gambia should and must be automatically a citizen. In our sub-conscious thats how it is perceived. Looking at different strata of theGambian society we can see people whose parents are non-Gambians but from the sub-region(Senegal, Guineas(conaky and Bissau) Mali, Sierra Leone etc in high positions.Some are senior Army officers, Police Officers, Ministers Top civil servants etc.
In a broader perspective as we talk about regional and continental integeration this issue nationality will sooner loose its potential dangers. |
madiss |
Edited by - MADIBA on 08 Apr 2007 19:13:57 |
 |
|
|
MADIBA
United Kingdom
1275 Posts |
Posted - 08 Apr 2007 : 17:03:02
|
This maybe a timebomb. But am of the conviction that Gambians given our tolerance and belief will never ever allow The Gambia degenerate into an Ivory Coast. However, the legislators and Executive should come in fast to defuse the potential timebomb. The issue of citizenship is very intricate yet simple. Anyone born in The Gambia should and must be automatically a citizen. In our sub-conscious thats how it is perceived. Looking at different strata of theGambian society we can see people whose parents are non-Gambians but from the sub-region(Senegal, Guineas(conaky and Bissau) Mali, Sierra Leone etc in high positions.Some are senior Army officers, Police Officers, Ministers Top civil servants etc.
In a broader perspective as we talk about regional and continental integeration this issue nationality will sooner loose its potential dangers. |
madiss |
Edited by - MADIBA on 08 Apr 2007 19:13:57 |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
| Bantaba in Cyberspace |
© 2005-2024 Nijii |
|
|
|
Topic Locked
