A Gambian journalist based in Senegal, Sana Camara, has described the defeat of the country\u2019s president of 22 years, Yahya Jammeh, as a sign of relief for all Gambians.<\/p>\n
Camara is one of over hundred journalists and activists exiled abroad because of Jammeh\u2019s repressive rule and the lack of press freedom.<\/p>\n
Opposition politicians, journalists and activists in the Gambia, have been randomly arrested and jailed, tortured or killed in the small West African country under Jammeh.<\/p>\n
Camara was forced to flee two years ago after a series of arrests following several stories he published including one on human trafficking in that country.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2014 November, I went on a trip to Nigeria and we had a transit in Gambia and I had to step out and breathe the fresh air of Banjul. That was all I could do. I haven\u2019t been to Gambia since I left in August 2014. I have been staying here in Senegal and my family and my kids are all in Gambia\u201d he told Citi News<\/strong>.<\/p>\n With the ousting of the \u201coppressor\u201d through the ballot, Camara is looking forward to reuniting with his family and practicing his profession in freedom.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have fought very long and very hard and made a lot of sacrifices to make sure that a day like this is realized. Personally, I am very excited. In fact, it is mixed feelings. I can pursue a future in a very free Gambia. I can return to my family and be with them. I can choose to work in Gambia or Senegal, but either way, I know things will never be the same again\u201d an elated Camara said.<\/p>\n There have been fears the man who had ruled the Gambia with an iron fist for the past 22 years, will cling to power either through fraud or violence.<\/p>\n Instead, reports from the Gambia say he conceded defeat <\/a><\/strong><\/span>in a phone call he placed to the incoming president, Adama Barrow, with words like, \u201ccongratulations, I am the outgoing president; you are the incoming president\u201d.<\/p>\n Despite the victory and the seeming air of freedom, Camara says a lot more work needs to be done \u201cin order for us to have a free and democratic Gambia\u201d, adding that \u201cdefeating Jammeh is just the first step\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sacrifices people made; being victimized for what they believed in\u2026we will not allow that to happen in Gambia again. So the task is not finished\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n Adama Barrow, 51, will be the third Gambian president since the country attained independence in 1965.<\/p>\n By: Eugenia Tenkorang\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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