It is with great pleasure that we notify the general public that the long awaited Gainako is now operational,
with its main headquarters in Minnesota and Wisconsin. For now, Gainako is online based, and we are
working on having it print.

We thank all our wide readership and good wishers whose motivational factors contributed immensely towards our
existence. We are also grateful to all those that gave us space time and again without censorship. We will still be forwarding
our pieces to Bantaba (www.camara.dk), also Gambia post mailing list, and notably we thank Momodou Camara, George
Sarr and all others that constantly provided space to our pieces. Not forgetting the editors of Freedom, All Gambian, The
Echo, the Point, and the Gambia Journal, whom we interacted greatly in the past, and still continue to do. We are also
happily riding comfortably on the camel’s back of our webmaster.

We humbly entrust the affairs of Gainako in the Hands of Almighty God, and we are certain that God will always be by our
side.

Sincerely,
Gainako Management.

Gainako Accepted; One click to activate it
By Yero Jallow...............................Posted september 12th, 2006

The entire Management of Gainako Online is pleased to announce to its wide readership that
Gainako will be formerly launched to start operations.

It is clear that after we engaged the people at home and abroad, they all gave us maximum encouragement and blessings.
Many also pleaded with us to operate, while it is a need and necessity. Others couldn’t just understand why such a golden
egg is not allowed to hatch the golden chicken. The fact that our pieces has succeeded in being featured for a long time in all
the Gambian Online and Local papers without censorship is the biggest testimony that we are accepted nationally and
internationally.

When Gainako joins her sister partners in development, we will waste no time in telling the people the reasons for our coming
into operations. We will also give explanations as to why we weren’t in operation since Editor Mbye of the Freedom
Newspaper featured us as soon to be operational.

Pending the final click to give Gainako standing legs, we thank all those who gave us space, time and again. This, we value
very well, and we will ask them to continue on the good initiation they started. We are partners in development, and we will
continue to work with all good minded people in the struggle to rescue Africans, and the world as a whole. Ours is also a
clear way out to deal with the world’s injustices. All areas of life will be covered.

Meanwhile, we also thank our webmaster, who will profile for his active part in supporting those in need of his services. We
also call on the GPU members at home, and the external youth wing GPU to welcome the new paper, and give all due
support.

Since Gainako is nationally and internationally accepted, we decided to operate.

One Click; Gainako is now operational.
By Yero Jallow & Samba Baldeh..........................Posted september 12th, 2006

For the information of the general public, the long awaited Gainako is now operational.

Gainako, a Fula word meaning shepherd is a well calculated name. As the name denotes, we intend to
watch over happenings. Our motto “Guardianship and Independence” reveals that we are an independent
media outlet, and out to guide and be guided by honest intellectual interactions.

We are careful not to see this paper as belonging to an individual, and therefore will give a voice to the voiceless. This paper
is for all positive minded people. Our African intellectuals, and politicians will be put to a test, and we ask them to answer to
our calls when ever we call on them. The paper’s editorial policy will not be altered by individuals out to give it a bad
reputation.

Gainako is the paper that all and sundry were waiting for. We will not fail you. We have a long term plan of even printing in
the Gambia. Ours will be reliable, well authenticated facts, and directed at fostering unity to enhance national development.

With barely about two weeks to enter into the Islamic month of fasting, it becomes evident that Gainako’s arrival at this time
is a mercy from Almighty God, and fulfillment of a requirement as called upon by circumstances, best described by Hon.
Halifa Sallah as a “Call of Duty.”

News
Gainako Management

SUN SHINED IN GAMBIA'S CHICAGO CONFERENCE;
By Yero Jallow

As African intellectuals preached African Values.

Midwest Gambian Association's 7th annual Conference kicked off September 2nd 2006 at the Majestic Star hotel, Gary,
Indiana. The conference that attracted a lot of Gambians in the area was also a forum for African intellectuals to argue their
opinions on what is the reality for our current Africa. The theme of this year's conference "Vote 2006-Beginning of our Third
Republic or Continuation of our Second Republic" brought to the conference table Mr. Baba Galleh Jallow, Dr. Michael
Gomez, Dr. Nnam Nkuzi, Honorable Halifa Sallah via telephone conference, and lot of other Gambians living in the
American states of Chicago, Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota.

Dr. Gomez in his speech called for a real change of attitude from Gambians. "It's about changing the hearts and minds of the
Gambian people. You don't lead by dictating, you lead by examples.", said Dr. Gomez while emphasizing the need for
Gambians to criticize, offer solutions to problems, and not condemn others. Dr. Gomez, who spoke openly against
corruption, also signaled Gambians to have a term limit to the presidency, and exercise intellectual honesty at home and
abroad to avoid overthrowing of Governments because of African leaders overstaying in power.

Dr. Nkuzi, a Nigerian professor living in Chicago, called on Africans not to abandon their culture. "What is African doesn't
appeal to us than what is foreign, even though ours is better.", he said in a speech that he titled "Colonial Mentality In Africa",
which is also a summary of a book he authored deals with societal morality of the abandoned cultures which he blamed on
colonialism.

Mr. Baba Galleh Jallow who spoke on "Beyond Neocolonialism: Approaches of Understanding Africa's
Underdevelopment.", hit hard on many African rulers describing them as mere rulers out to terrorize the citizens of their
countries. Galleh cannot comprehend the so called excuse of terror meted out to Gambians in the name of national security.
"It needs to be National Security with a human face.", Galleh emphasized while frowning at Gambian tyrant, Yaya Jammeh,
who he accused along other rulers of being monsters, sycophants, criminal rulers, and thugs.

"You have to build a nation's state from below, and never above-that will never work. Develop the minds of the people, and
the people will develop the country", Galleh pointed while explaining the proper order of how the system needs to look like.
Galleh also called on Gambians and Africans to have a common National Identity, rather than seeing themselves as belonging
to tribes: "Gambians and Africans need to see themselves under a common identity." Meanwhile he asked his wide
readership to check for his funny stories at the Gambia post, and watch out for the book in the pipeline titled "Diary of an
African journalist", which he said will unveil of all the atrocities taking place in our the Gambia since 1994.


Joe Sambou who chaired the conference mourned two of their late members namely Amie Njie and ML Prom, and the
whole crowd observed a moment of silence for them, in respect for their past dedication to the Midwest Gambian
Association of Chicago.

In a similar development, Hon. Sallah of NADD honored the invitation, and briefed Gambians about NADD's development
so far. Hon. Sallah, who sounded very optimistic of victory for NADD, openly described NADD as the real progressive
party with galvanized supporters who are in charge of their destiny. The chairman of the occasion, Mr. Sambou revealed to
the gathering that the same opportunity was accorded to the UDP/NRP, and they failed to honor it saying they are too busy
with campaign, and no reason was advanced why Jammeh of the APRC didn't honor his'. Meanwhile a document submitted
by Karamba Touray, external youth activist for the UDP couldn't be shared with attendees because of an alleged forgery and
plagiarism on the said document, and he was notified of the association's move not to share the document with attendees. It is
not clear to the author of this piece if the document was written by Karamba or not, and we do hope he deems it necessary
to give an explanation to Gambians.

One Kemo Jarjou, Executive member of the SeneGambian Association in Madison, Wisconsin, sounded very critical to the
Midwest Chicago host when approached for comments. Mr. Jarjou's argument that the name " Midwest" is supposed to
represent all the surrounding states, and therefore the yearly gathering should be rotational in all these states. Mr. Jarjou said
they are patient, and he will continue to call on the Executives in Chicago to reverse their decision of hosting it continually in
Chicago to foster unity among all the states of the Midwest, and he cited some states that used to attend this gathering, but
now backed off after they suspected that Chicago is making this gathering a personal event. Others who wish to remain
anonymous made similar comments, and in fact one commentator said he already signaled the association about that for a
long time. At this time, we hope Mr. Ousman Conteh, Isatou, Demba Sowe, Joe Sambou and their entire team will
communicate to Gambians about this situation, which is likely to jeopardize their cordial relations with their neighboring states
if no remedies are implemented.

In attendance Samba Baldeh, President of the SeneGambian Association of Wisconsin, described the conference as "well
spirited". Mr. Conteh, Chairman of the Midwest Gambian Association gave the vote of thanks. The night dance on Sept 2nd
was also well attended with Mbalax and Ndagga echoing in one of the famous "Sunugal" restaurants, where the night
program was held.

DETROIT TAKES AMIE NJIE'S TROPHY HOME WHILE PROM'S TROPHY STAYED IN CHICAGO.
Sad and honorable was the second day events in Chicago. Two trophies were contested among the Midwest states. Detroit
won Chicago in the finals of the soccer competition, taking home the first trophy provided in honor of the Late Amie Njie,
and Chicago being second won the ML Prom's trophy-it is noted that the late Njie and Prom were very active members and
participants in the Midwest Association. As attendees at the soccer field observed a moment of silence for the two, family
members were honored to present the trophies to the winners. We summarize the soccer matches below.

We the members of the Gambia Workers Union
REALISING that prices on commodities are sky –rocketing daily thus making very few to be able to meet the basic necessities of life and salaries whilst pensions have not increased by the same amount or percentage or CPI; that the Government of The Gambia and the Salary Revision Commission have done a good job by giving increments.

The ECOWAS Commission has urged Member States to take appropriate measures to enable them respond to the prevailing health crisis arising from the Swine Influenza A/H1N1 viral attack that has been reported in some other parts of the world.

blog

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

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