By Jaka Ceesay Jaiteh
African descendants residents in Gambia that have repatriated permanently have raised concerns about their non-inclusion in the draft constitution.
The rejection of the draft constitution by MPs on Tuesday found the members of the African descendant community in the country in the middle of launching of organisation to fight for their interest.
They come from various parts of the world such as the UK, the USA and the Caribbean and after spending several years living in the country have now formed an organization called the ‘Council of African descendants (COAD)’.
At a press conference at the Hypolink Village resort in Kololi on Tuesday, Members of the council raised numerous concerns of not being part of Chapter IV the draft constitution which deals with citizenship.
Juliet Ryan co founder of Bla-Xit YouTube channel moved to The Gambia with her family from the UK after discovering that her ancestors were enslaved from The Gambia. “We are Gambians and our ancestors were enslaved and never able to return. We are completing the circle to come home.” She said.
Juliet also serves as the secretary to COAD and feels that they have been forgotten about especially in terms of the constitution. “It was a great disappointment to many of us and we realized we needed to have an official voice so we formed the Council of African Descendants.” She added.
Some of the council’s members such as Matthew Hypolite the proprietor of Hypolink Village Resort have been in The Gambia for more than fifteen years and have invested size able amounts in the country.
“I have been in The Gambia for so long and I own a business that employees a lot of Gambians and is contributing to the country. We have a lot of people that are also with the intention of coming into the country with great development plans and all we want is to feel accepted and be at home,” He said
Having a citizenship to them is knowing that they belong and won’t have to feel scared after moving into the country. “We will feel secure and not discriminated if we are given citizenship. Our investments in the country are going to stay and unlike other foreign businesses their earnings are sent out of the country. All we want is to make Africa great again.” Said by Luke McKenzie the chair person of COAD.
They however added that they will not give up on trying to have a citizenship. With or without a citizenship they will still contribute to the growth of The Gambia because they have its best interest at heart.
