The exact words of Bishop Hannah Caroline Faal-Heim transcribed by Bakary Badjie
By Bakary Badjie
“I want to ask your permission to speak truthfully and plainly to you because I see you as a brother because we are all Gambians. I have not come here as the Chair of the Gambia Christian Council. In fact many people told me not to come here today, and all of us not to come because people are so angry with you. Sir, please if you…. Can I continue please? Thank you.I seek your permission with deep respect. Because the nation has been going through a very painful time. I don’t know whether many people tell you, but you know they tell me that I should not tell you because I will be in trouble. But I know that you prefer the truth. That you prefer people to pray for you and we both have been praying for you, even if we get in trouble is because we love you and the Christian truth that we stand for.
Love God first with all your heart, mind soul, strength, everything and love your neighbor like yourself. That is what has brought us here today. And I come not as a Chair of the Gambia Christian Council but I have come because I am a member of the Gambia Christian Council and I come as a servant of the living God whom I serve and whom…, whose heart I want to follow all my life. And that why I have come with the others. We have come because you are our President, no matter what. And we feel that we have to come and hear you speak. And we thank you that you have done that. And we hear you and the reconciliation that you have talked about Sir, there are people who are deeply hurt. They say that it is you who is causing the conflict among the people and in the country. They say you are diving us. Please you know, I know this it is painful, it is painful for me to sit here and tell you and that’s why I asked your permission, alright, but they say that you have the gun and you are determined, whatever will come you will use it as you will be against you own people.
Well, I am telling you Sir because me…… they say you will lock me up, alright, if I speak the truth, you will lock me up. I don’t believe that you would but as a servant of a living God, I come here with the love of Christ in me to tell you that your people, the people – you are part of us because this is Gambia and Gambia must be one. We must be one. We must all work for Gambia. And they say that now the election took place, you never had any intention of stepping down. You have conceded but you will not accept the results, you will not help the nation to have a smooth transition and you will be prepared to even fight and put the guns on the street to stay in power in Gambia. Sir this are painful things for all of us. Painful for me to sit here and tell you but the people must talk because they must believe and trust you again as they use to trust you. They don’t feel trust and they said the only place you can hear them is through the ballot box. Because they are afraid to tell you – they are afraid to tell you the pain that this nation feel. Everybody is feeling it – everybody, and we don’t want outside to come here, from ECOWAS to tell us how we can be together as Gambians because every Gambian must be good for this nation Gambia and you as the son of Gambia and we all Gambians must show that love together fearing God and loving one another as self and they believe that you will not help Gambia to go forward because of the pain you feel. We all feel that pain.
They are afraid. Some of the people said they loved you, you were there friend but you have been dividing the people and they no longer want to stand there because they don’t understand you. It’s a new you. Sir these are painful words for me to sit here and tell you because I respect you deeply and no matter what anyone would say, I know today, they will even have names for me but I am a servant of the living God before whom I stand – who called me to serve Him in this capacity as Presiding Bishop of The Gambia. And I am presiding bishop of every Gambia, no matter what you look like, no matter who you are, no matter you color. My job is to pray for the nation and to pray for all people. That’s my work, it not politics and to bring the love of God to everyone and every day, we pray for you. And every day, we pray for the whole nation, for every person, every farmer, every market woman, everybody including every soldier. But they pray that you will not raise your hand against the people you say you love. And that we don’t need outsiders to come and give us a smooth transition after the election. Because you yourself said, I follow the will of Allah, I follow the will of the people. Sir, they want to honor you but I want to appreciate that I can come and dare to speak to you. As a servant of the living God, not fearing that you might be angry with me and even turn against me. I will rather that you even, you know, get so crushed with me but I will bring it to you because the people love you and we love you. You are my brother in Gambia. I mean that will never change.
The Gambia belong to us, we were born here and every Gambian must feel that they must be part of Gambia and work for Gambia. We cannot be divided as a people and we cannot invite outsiders to divide us even further. What I am saying Sir, the people, they said that it is you who is going to make all the fighting because you don’t want to handover, smooth transition, and allow a democratic process and to stand again for an election and come back again when the people’s heart – you know – you know how many people are crying Sir, because their heart. And they feel – everybody is feeling this pain. So yes, there are – some people are rejoicing and they say rejoice with those who rejoice but mourn with those who mourn. Mourn with those who mourn. Sir, me I cannot tell you what to do but you have the fear of God in you because you always talk about Allah – your relationship with Allah and I know you say you don’t fear anyone and that’s is fair because what can mortals do for us? Our confidence must be in God.
So sir, I am coming here today, despite every odds or whatever and I don’t care what anyone is going to say. I am here and thank you for giving me the platform of speaking what you might never hear from anybody else – but that you need to hear and I realize that it is painful because you have loved this nation. It is painful too hear but my God, it is God who is our healer. It is God who heals nations. We can go and talk to the people about forgiveness and peace. It is God who changes the hearts of man and women. It is God, in His mercy who forgives us every day that calls us to forgive one and another. Sir, I don’t have anything to give you. I only have God. I don’t have nothing to give you – only God and a brotherly love that you are a Gambian like me. I have nothing to give you but the people, the people are there sir. Even if they smiled to you, they will not show you their heart, but they are there, they are upset, they are angry and they say that the transition – only you can make it go smoothly and if you choose not to, you will be in the guns on the streets of Gambia but we pray to Almighty God that, that will not happen. Sir, with deepest respect – I have nothing more to say!”
