Hostile transfer of power
A day before the United States swears in the least popular president in four decades, the West African nation of Gambia is going through a presidential transition of its own. But it’s not going so smoothly. If you thought Donald Trump was a child, behold: Yahya Jammeh, a superstitious narcissist bigot who stole power in a 1994 coup and was finally voted out of office last month, is refusing to vacate.
His deadline to leave office was last night. Senegal, backed by other African nations, sent troops to the border, ready to invade and force the transition if Jammeh wouldn’t leave. Jammeh didn’t leave. But the troops are staying put for now. A new president, Adama Barrow, was sworn in at the Gambian embassy in Dakar. It’s not clear what’s going to happen next, but Gambians in Banjul, the capital, told the BBC they hoped Jammeh would leave the country.
We should be thankful the U.S. and other developed democracies have a better process. But we should also remember that the process is only as dignified as the people we elect.
You may have read the open letter to Trump from the publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review. A document like that makes me proud of what I do. It also led me to consider what role Latterly can play in holding Trump accountable. We’re limited by our resources, but I’m determined to be useful over the next four years (or more) in publicizing how widely felt the effects of the Trump administration will be. If you have ideas, let me know. How could Latterly be useful to you in this area of coverage? Members are talking about it in the Slack channel.
Here’s what we’ve published in the last few days:
- Our contributing editor Ashley Okwuosa writes about the deadly winter conditions affecting refugees in Europe right now. A Greek minister said, “There are no refugees or migrants living in the cold anymore.” But he forgot about something called YouTube.
- Mark Zuckerberg is one of the eight wealthy men whose fortunes equal that of half the poorest people on earth. Facebook is part of the problem.
- For Martin Luther King Day we re-published a story from Latterly 1.0 about the man who saved MLK from prison by persuading an all-white jury they hated taxes more than they hated blacks.
- And speaking of hate, a sixth-grader in Chicago reveals his understanding of the language of oppression in a letter to his alderman.
- Finally, Richard Klin goes to Disney World.
Tomorrow’s the big day. Lace up, people. Let’s march.
Ben
