Aziz Bojang Staff, Security Services I know they were my parents but there’s nothing that would connect them to me. My grandad was my everything. When I go to Senegal, where the majority of my tribe hails from, to them it’s like I am coming home. It seems strange to me because I think I’m still Gambian. But they see me more as Senegalese. When my brother of the same mom and dad comes to Gambia, we see him as coming home to our land but he says, ‘No, no, no, this is not where you people belong.’ I didn’t get to know my parents until later years. My dad had to move back to Senegal because his brother died and they had some property, so my dad had to move there and left me with my grandad, who brought me up. It was only my grandfather who was my mom, my dad, my everything. I think he knew that I was not accepted and he paid special attention to me and put me in a special position. In later years, even when I grew to know my mom and dad, I did not have that affection for them. I know they were my parents but there’s nothing that would connect them to me. But my grandad was my everything. I was the only one among my cousins that my grandad sent to school. Because I am the youngest, I was not strong enough to work on the farmland. When I completed school and started working, I made it a duty to make sure that all my junior siblings go to school and I pay for them. They are not necessarily all biological; this is the extended family, cousins and so on and nephews. But because it was a collective effort of my grandfather, aunts and uncles who raised me, I also have that responsibility. I left my family behind to continue a new life in the west. I realized that we couldn’t make it, but also I gave up my property because one of the challenging things in Africa — especially for women — is they are not empowered economically. Sometimes when they are divorced, they have that challenge. I don’t want to see my kids struggle with their mom. I feel like because women are not empowered, marriage should be like a retirement benefit and that benefit is to give them our property so at least they are secure. We had a dictator who did a lot of bad things. If you are not willing to do that you lose your job. I actually lost my job. When I came back from the UN mission, one day I was sitting down and got a letter that I was fired. In a situation like that, you know all your rights but you dare not fight for them as that means more trouble. They were not much for my orientation to human rights and democratic policing. When my witness came and said ‘No, this is not the guy,’ I felt so guilty. I released him and because he was not a Gambian national — he was from Senegal — I gave him shelter at my home. A couple of days just to make him feel better. In the later years, we became friends. I think I was insecure in Jamaica because I was relying on my wife, who is Canadian, and the Canadian embassy have a list of all of their nationals and they were giving them regular security updates and also evacuation plans. But because I was not a Canadian resident, I was not a part of the plan. My fear is should anything go wrong, they are going to evacuate my wife and I was going to be left with no way to go. For me, I’m not motivated by money. My greatest motivation is when I know that my actions have impacted someone in a positive way. I will do anything to get that. ← Yannick ↑ Home Talia →
