For the past three to four weeks, Gainako has played a low profile in the news and analysis reporting partly due to a silence protest; and partly due to our desire to change host and give the paper and our contributors a state of the earth website with incredible ability to allow multiple channels of postings with a lot more features.

As has always been the case, Gainako is here to present an alternative voice of dissent to the growing interest in reporting and consumption of the news and analysis of events in the Gambia and around the world.  We are dedicating the site to anyone who is interested in presenting their political views, educational materials, artistic skills that they want to share with the public without any fear of being shouted down or threat of being exposed in the media.

It is our humble belief that only through dissenting views without fear of censorship or defamation of character that interested writers and publishers can find comfort in a medium to share their ideas and knowledge with their fellow citizens of the Gambia and the world.  We recognized that there is enormous knowledge, skills and wealth of experience from across our society which many people are eager to share with the public.

 It is also a great opportunity in this era of information gateway, that young Gambians and Africans in general should be encouraged to embrace the art of writing and presentation of ideas in a respectable and professional manner.  Gainako pledges to accord this opportunity to any young folks out there who are interested in practicing journalism and the art of writing.  We also encourage season journalists, academics, aspiring politicians and other professionals with wealth of experience to share their knowledge and wisdom with our readership. Your advice, criticism and challenges will always be taken in good faith as they serve as bench mark to measure our standards and progress in our daily operations.

Gainako editorial also wishes to inform the general public that we have expanded our marketing section to allow the business community and other entrepreneurs to market their products and services to the general public. We take this business relationships seriously and as a sponsor of our site we guarantee with due diligence that the materials we carry will always be of quality and free of gossip and anything distasteful to your consumers.

Furthermore, it is our humble belief that we cannot build a strong independent vibrant society without the participation of our dear sisters who are part and parcel of the struggle. We at Gainako belief that there are exceptionally brilliant and well educated young women whose contribution is greatly under represented at the national debate. While this may reflect a cultural norm of most women operating in the background, the time has come for our sisters to fully participate in our national dialogue and efforts to shape the political future of our beloved nation.  We commend the participation of Fatou Jaw Manneh, Siga Jagne, Isa Fye, Ya Soffice, Christine Sakuna, our magnificent poet ISA, and many others out there.

We recognized that this open participation may be extremely difficult and discouraging to many intellectual young women out there especially with recent and past threat of exposure of personal and private lives of individuals who take the courage to openly participate in our national debates.  We want to reassure all of our dear sisters who wish to contribute to the national debate, that Gainako is open for your full participation regardless of your political, social or religious ideology. You all have tremendous knowledge and experience to share with the general readership.  You are therefore, cordially invited to send us your contributions which is guaranteed publication to give an equal representation of dissent voices.

Finally, with the recent fiasco that irrupted over the running of the GPU –USA, Gainako wishes to give our unconditional support for a vibrant independent minded body to represent the affairs of the GPU. We belief it is a myth for many online media owners to believe that a press union such as the GPU should be entirely representing the owners of media houses. On the contrary, one of the major responsibilities of a Press Union is to make sure that members of the press are held accountable to a higher standard of ethical journalism.  It is only through such accountability that owners of media outlets can be prevented from using their medium to go after innocent citizens in society.

While we at Gainako never aspire to take any leadership positions, we will never hesitate to step up to the place and take the lead in fighting for justice and freedom of expression. At the same time, we shall always answer calls to duty to serve our community especially when others are not willing to step up and shoulder the burden.   We belief every one of us has the responsibility to contribute their part in the fight against the injustices meted on our people and nation without their mandate.  We therefore, call on all Gambian media outlets to set aside our differences and stand up against the enemy of press freedom.

If you wish to contribute anything to the national dialogue, please send your contributions to editor@gainako.com. All our excellent past contributors are hereby notified that the paper is now open for your unlimited access. We welcome new contributors as well especially college students who wishes to enhance their writing skills.

From your humble Gainako Editorial Board