22 February 2017•Update: 22 February 2017
By Mustapha K Darboe
BANJUL, Gambia
Ebrima Sillah, a BBC correspondent in Gambia, narrowly woke up at 3 a.m. in alarm in a house in flames.
“When the whole place was engulfed in smoke, I had to use an escape route in the back of my house. With the help of God, I escaped the fire. But it could have been very serious because a gas bottle was there. And immediately as I left the house, the gas bottle exploded,” Sillah told Anadolu Agency.
“Part of deliberate attempts to control the way independent journalism was being conducted in the country”, what Sillah claims was an arson attack in 2004 led him to flee his native village of Jambur -- about 19 kilometers from Banjul -- and ended up in Ghana.
But today, as Sillah, who was arrested 11 times before he went into exile, speaks to Anadolu Agency, he has become the new director of the Gambia Radio and Television Services, a position to which he has been appointed from exile by the new government that has promised freedom of the press.
“When we all heard that he [Jammeh] was already on a plane leaving the country, that moment of relief was unbelievable,” he said
He promised to reform the country's public broadcaster, the objective being to report divergent political views.
Gambia’s former strongman Jammeh was renowned for his tough anti-media stance and has been accused of enforced disappearances and killings by human rights organizations.
Appointed information minister
The new government led by a former property developer who was backed by seven opposition parties has promised to repeal all laws meant to contravene the media.
Another exiled journalist, Demba Ali Jawo, was appointed information minister.
The new justice minister, Bubacarr Tambedou, who has served as prosecutor at UN war crimes court in Rwanda, has told Anadolu Agency that the government was determined to ensure media freedom.
“Bad media laws have no place in our statute books and it is the resolve of this government to enact laws that will facilitate the exercise of the right to freedom of expression in a responsible manner,” Tambedou said. “So media law reform is certainly a priority for this ministry during this transition period.”
“I am very excited because I left with the perception that things might not get better,” says Sainey Marenah, a Gambian journalist who has spent the past two years in Senegal.
“Defeating Jammeh was historic. Most of the time, dictators are brought down only through a popular uprising or military coup,” he adds.
It is difficult to ascertain the number of people who went into exile during Jammeh’s rule.
Senegal, destination of choice
But Saikou Jammeh the secretary general of Gambia Press Union said about 200 journalists had left Gambia since 1994.
The majority of Gambians running from authorities in Banjul emigrated to nearby Senegal.
“Leaving your family behind while in exile is the saddest thing one can experience,” said Alhagie Jobe, former editor of a pro-Jammeh newspaper Daily Observer who was in exile for two years and five months following two years in jail after being convicted of sedition.
Overall, Senegal and Gambia share the same cultural and socio-economic background but different colonial experiences make it difficult for Gambian journalists to work in Senegal without a proficiency in French.
But prospects have now changed.
“I am really optimistic that we are having a fresh start,” said Sanna Camara, who left Gambia for two years arrested for writing a story on human trafficking.
While doubts remain on whether the “New Gambia” will deliver on its promises, especially with regards to media freedom, many like Camara have opted for optimism.
