The Gambia: Do Now!

In December 2014, two Americans with dual citizenship traveled to The Gambia with the purpose to overthrow the government.  These two men are now in US Federal custody, because their actions violated a late 1700s law called The Neutrality Act that made it illegal for a citizen to attack a country that is at peace with the United States.

Imagine that you are a lawyer for the federal government and you have been put in charge of this case.  Will you try these two men in court and potentially send them to prison or will you return them to their homes in Texas and Minnesota?

To answer this question, you need some background information.

•Where is The Gambia?

•Why did the men violate The Neutrality Act?


BACKGROUND INFO:

Geography of The Gambia: The Gambia is part of the region of West Africa.  It is the purplish country located in the middle of the country of Senegal in the map above.  Some people call it the "snake-like" country.  It has a very narrow coastline on the Atlantic Ocean.  It is one that many Americans have never heard of or one that some middle school cartographers might leave off their maps of Africa due to its unusual location and small size.

Government of The Gambia: For roughly 20 years, the country has been ruled by one leader--Yahya Jammeh, who rules as a dictator.  Yahya Jammeh has been called one of the worst human rights violators in Africa and perhaps in the world.  His country as a result has been called the North Korea of Africa.  He does not allow free speech or the right to vote.  He forces people to perform solidarity marches so that it appears on television that everyone loves him.  The Gambian people have little access to reliable information, because he controls the newspapers and television media.  Back in 2000, he ordered 14 school children killed after they peacefully protested against his government.

The Players in the Case:The two men--Cherno Njie from Texas and Papa Faal from Minnesota--have U.S. and Gambian citizenship.  They traveled to The Gambia in December believing that they had the support of key senior government officials to overthrow Yahya Jammeh's government.  Unfortunately, when they landed, the situation changed and their operation had no hope for success.  It was the 8th unsuccessful attempt to change the government in the past 20 years.

The U.S. Relationship with The Gambia:  The United States has not publicly done much regarding the dictator in The Gambia.  However, The Gambia was recently dropped from The African Growth & Opportunity Act, which encourages African goods to be sold in the U.S. without tax.  This action might indicate that we oppose the numerous human rights violations in this country by this leader.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?  Do you prosecute these two men?  Do you believe the law must always be followed?  Do you believe that these men were entitled to overthrow a "bad" man?  YOU DECIDE.  There is no right or wrong choice.  Please support your answer and be prepared to discuss it.

This "do now" was based on  an interview with Jeffrey Smith on Pri.org on January 6, 2015.  Nina Porzucki was the producer for this interview.