The President of one of Africa's democracies is
abroad. In his absence, Leninist revolutionaries
stage a coup d'etat. After seizing a number of
hostages, including part of the President's im
mediate family, the coup attempt crumbles when it
fails to win the support of the country's tiny
military force and is repulsed by troops from a
neighboring country.
The scenario for a Hollywood thriller? The
synopsis of 4 novel by Frederick Forsyth? No. The
events just recounted occurred at the end of July in
Gambia, one of Africa's few democracies.
Gambia is a tiny West African country with a
population of some ' 600,000. Indeed most
Americans would be hard-pressed if asked to locate
it on a map. Yet it remains one of the most impor
tant countries on the African continent because of
its political system. Gambia is a rarity in Africa a
fully-functioning, multi-party parliamentary
democracy. In Gambia, the media operate freely.
Trade unions are not brutally repressed and the
courts maintain independence from the govern
ment. Gambia is hardly an idyllic paradise. Its
economy, primarily based on agriculture, is unable
to alleviate the problems of poverty which per
sistently plague most of the Third World. Illiteracy
remains very high.
-I ,-.1 -i -i - .
' r
r.
The Gambian Gambit
! ByBayxrdEustin ,
A. PhiUp Randolph Institute
SAT.,&;:'jnn,tt3i
Yet, despite its problems, Gambia bis remained a tending Britain's royal wedding when the coup was
peaceful country in which political groups have',; 1 tch UlndsteiUUiat the rjcnillis were trained
resolved differences throach the ballot box. Indeed, :S nd armed by ta outside power. ThelSenegalese
' the country faced so uttwternal Violence thi h te Wme.Tley
.funcUonedSrithn stai ?f JUlashnikov
The calm that haddulactt yEcPmt tom the rebels. It has
shattered on July 29th5
guerrilla force Led an assautt on
uav auu me r&uio station in tne capital cat "of : Z. .1 v T !Tr7T(L r " "wt"f W'
Raniui Th TZTZww tssert that, not coinc
taxes already overburdened economies or die'ecun-.
ting on the intenrention of more powerful tCa.
The former approach is aatesib!e asi "
undesirable. The latter approach is r.Zri wUh
uncertainty about the reliability cf allies ia the face
of foreign-backed agression. :-'
Gearryt there are no easy answers to crovtng
protection for fragile dernocrades and independent
states such as Gambia. However, it is eqsaiy clear
that the answer does not lie in the abdicadon by the
United States and the West of their rexponsltlks
to the world's more democratic and less repressive
governments.-' ''4V;v;
The case of Gambia is not an belated instance.
Rather; it is indicative of a trend that should five
pause to those who oppose an acdve American or
Western role in the world. i v
Coping
The Cause Of Stress
V
Racism: Part XI
.Ari -r :r ,nrf r: rr. -rr: .
uaj ana ks 'aci-5ucu Diazani outsiae tn
,4ervention in i the internal life of a sovereign state
uocrves 10 oerounory eonoemned py international
public opinion. Yet many African states have been
notably silent in voicing thdr opposition to this
.'V-,
By Dr. Cblw Wv Faulkner
Stress is caused by the frustration that results
from one's perception that he or she will be in
capable of reaching a desired objective. If one
thinks that the ability to reach a goal is deficient,
the resulting stress will cause an abnormal excretion
of enzymes within the body that could cause a
headache or heart attack. The fear of failure could
cause the victim to refuse to participate in an activi
ty that he or she feels incapable of successfully com
pleting. One thinks, "I'm going to fail anyhow, so why
waste the time trying." Some people might even at
tempt to commit suicide if forced to participate in a
fearful endeavor. Whether the perception of failure
is justified or not is often irrelevant. If one thinks
that he or she will fail, the stress is identical.
Everyone, black or white, experiences stress
resulting from personal insecurity similar to the
above. However, the stress that is felt by blacks is
far more profound and constant than that suffered
by whites.
When a white person goes to a job interview there
is at least a feeling of possible acceptance and the
accompanying hope. The black person, on the other
hand, is deluged with self-doubt. The fear of failure
is intense and ever-present. Although blacks would
like to have the same kinds of jobs, homes, wealth
and education that whites have, they constantly
question whether they will be accepted: "Will the
white employer be prejudiced?" "Will I be rejected
because I am black?" "Is the white person more
educated than I?" "Am I too dark-complexioned
for the job?" "Are they really serious about hiring
black person?"
These and similar questions are deeply imprinted
on the subconscious mind of the black person. Hav
ing been burdened with questions of self-doubt for
most of life, the black person is under the con
tinuous burden of tension during nearly every en
counter with whites.
This constant burden produces intolerable stress
that has resulted in an enormous and tragic increase
in strokes, hypertension and heart attacks in the
black community. Many blacks have felt the stress
within their bodies for such a long period of time
that they are unaware of it until it takes their lives.
Stress in the black community is the No. 1 enemy of
black physical health and emotional well-being.
Every black person experiences it to some degree yet
few have learned how to cope with stress and save
their own lives.
There are many ways to release stress: Excessive
eating, habitual smoking, irritability, arguments
and crying. Stress can cause insomnia, acute
neurosis,, tension, chills, forgetfulness, acute
perspiration, drug dependency, alcoholism and sex
ual dysfunction. These symptoms tend to be more
destructive to the individual than the causes of
stress.
Plain Talk About The Law
How to Write A
Letter To The Editor
"How can I have any affect on what's going on in
my country, my county, or even my community?" is
a question that clients often ask the community
educators at North State Legal Services. These peo
ple usually have interesting ideas and special insights
about what's going on around them, but are
frustrated because they don't know how to get people
to listen to them. The best answer we can give people
in this situation is that they should write letters to the
editors of newspapers.
Did you know that the letters-to-the-editor column
is among the best read sections of a newspaper? A
study was done which looked at the number of peo
ple who buy a certain kind of newspaper, the number
of people who end up reading each newspaper that's
bought, and the percentage of those people who are
likely to read the letters-to-the-editor column. The
results showed that if a letter of yours is printed in a
small town weekly paper, at least a few thousand
people are likely to read it. And if it's printed in a big
city daily paper, at least a few million people are like
ly to read it. When was the last time you spoke before
a few million people? If you write a letter to the
editor and it's printed you'll probably address the
largest audience you'll ever have, including a wide
cross section of society, and many elected officials,
too, who read that column to get an idea of how the
public is feeling. And you won't even have to put on
a neck tie or dress and get nervous!
Here are a few tips on how to make the best use of
this powerful tool for sharing your ideas:
1) Use a typewriter, double space, and use only one
side of the paper. Or write neatly in ink.
2) Keep it simple and brief 200 to 250 words is
usually as long as tne letter should be. ;
3) Deal with only one topic.
4) Plan your first sentence carefully. It should be
short and interesting.
5) If you're going to be critical make sure you're
constructive. It might be good to begin with a word
of agreement or praise and end with a constructive
(Continued on Page 16)
Hypertension, strokes and heart attacb are the
results of stress. It is not unusual fof the' stress?
prone person to have skin rash; brittle fingernails
hair breakage and suffer many, major medical
maladies' all directly traceable to stress; Black
people characteristically experience such symptoms;;
,.--'
rfafrs.' While this silence is dearly dishonest, it is also
reflective of the widespread fear by many African
leaden of Soviet intervention in their own cOun
gtricsiVv :vj'Avi,;icti-'- i, v i' -'- . y ; ' -
The very fact that the coup in Gambia was at all
attempted indicates that its Leninist .perpetrators
were counting on success. They were prepared to
v abandon even the semblannce of due process and
fair competition in the arena of electoral poUtics
and to act hi a violent and ruthless fashion. For
small Third world countries such as Gambia there
are only two ways to resist such attacks: arming to
- the teeth and creating a garrison state which heavily
ADJACENT TO RTP
3 mins. RTP-7 mins: Durham
12mins. Duka
IMMEDIATE OCCUPANCY
2,3 Bedrooms
Op to 2Vk baths
Fireplace in Townhouse
Energy Efficient
Draperies
WasherDryer Comb.
Prlvat! Pitioaaicoay
Pool t Club Howe
indoor HantfbaR '
Racquetoal f tpfffia
Joining Trail
Tot Lots
lOApartnents designed to the handicapped
t'.ODEL OPEN DAILY
8
tfrMM tat 1M
tMOf 14
4701 LCormaOs toad
e aao u mtmoum tomcc c.
lw S7 fu. II
uuu
, .) Jk A Y
I J $ J i (I J j
;..vvltf ;. Menthol Mf sm . '
I irirro 1 1 i j 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
VM I v I I I f 1 f 1 II I 111 I
IWln...
LA (It
- --;yjyy;w-
ANONICOTINi.
Sdcm Lights brings smooth,
eosy mcrthol rcfroshmontto
tewtorsmching. Do it smooth
--ArSc!6fnllgrits.
N0
UGHTS 9 mg-laf-.O Jmi tuemm. UGHT$ lOlTt 10 rng. "tar". O.81
mg.ncobns.
V3rning: The Surgeon General Has Determined
that Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health.