April 10/11: Victim center harps on progresses

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Sheriff Kijera, Chairman of the Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violation has said that there are quite good progress made in terms of addressing the urgent remedies for the victims of April 10/11, 2000.

Speaking to The Monitor on Monday, he disclosed that three of the April 10/11, 2000 victims Abdou Karim Jammeh, Yusupha Mbaye and Oumie Jagne are currently in Turkey receiving medical treatment.

He added that Nogoi Njie a victim of April 14, 2016 demonstration led by the late Solo Sandeng during the dictator Jammeh’s era is also benefiting from the package.

“I think there is quite a good progress registered as far as addressing some of these urgent remedies are concerned,” he noted.

He said Yusupha Mbaye is waiting for his appointment to undergo surgery, while Abdou Karim Jammeh and Oumie Jagne have already undergone surgeries.

The victim center chair also said Oumie Jagne supposed to have her second surgery but due to the global emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic they are waiting.

“I don’t think the doctors want to further complicate their conditions, so that after the COVID-19 pandemic they will receive the medical treatment. Yusupha is already waiting, but Abdou Karim and Oumie are responding to the treatment very well. Nogoi is also supposed to have surgical operation but put on hold at the moment,” he opined.

He explained that other victims that sought medical assistance through the Turkish embassy’s treatment programme are also waiting for an approval from the Turkish hospitals because they have been to the medical board that sent their medical reports to the hospitals in Turkey.

Kijera clarified that it is not coming from their area, adding that once the medical board prepares their medical reports they send it to Turkey so that the cases are assessed to see if it is necessary to take them for overseas medical treatment.

He said the medical treatment of these victims in Turkey were possible with the assistance from the Turkish government’s medical programme in collaboration with Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC), philanthropist organisations like the Unique Foundation of Papa Yusupha Njie who provided two air tickets to facilitate their travel.

He further said Gambia Ports Authority also donated four air tickets through the reparation fund provided by the government of The Gambia and the victims’ reparation fund that is from the TRRC, enumerating the amount attached to the package to be more than 5 million dalasis.

He said there is the likelihood that some victims would not be qualified or their cases are not serious enough to go for overseas treatment as they thought some of the treatments can be done locally.

“Nonetheless, TRRC and the victims centre are providing medical assistance to some of these victims. The victim centre provided about more than three hundred consultations for some of the victims at different medical facilities in the country.”

He stated that some victims are also receiving medications through the victim centre while some undergoing minor treatments locally financed by the centre.

This year, he said, it is rather unfortunate that they could not commemorate as before but they are holding a low key commemoration as they are having interviews to further sensitise the public about the various programmes that are in place to address some urgent needs of the victims, like medical and psycho-social support that the victims are in need of.

According to him, they normally commemorate April 10/11, but this year it is due to COVID-19 pandemic which caused global emergency and Gambia is not an exception.

Kijera hoped for more progress next year as far as addressing the issues of victims are concerned.