By Mama A. Touray
Adeleide Sosseh, deputy chairperson of the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) who also doubles as chairperson of the Reparations Committee has stated “if you are tortured and disabled, what you receive, and if you are only tortured but not disabled, is different.”
“We know we can’t satisfy everyone but the government has established an independent committee to continue the reparations of the truth commission,” she said on Friday at a press conference held at the hearing hall of the TRRC.
Ms Sosseh therefore revealed that victims are coming for their money and those who cannot come to them the reparations committee is meeting them at their various places. Adding that, even if the Truth Commission is gone the Reparations will not stop, it will be going on in (as) an independent established committee.
“Reparations is truly symbolic whether unlawful killing, disappearance, torture, unlawful detention, sexual gender based violence, physical assault these are mostly the areas that we focus on” she said.
She went on that the “TRRC reparation committee developed guidelines on how this payment is to be made and these guidelines were approved by the commission adopted by the Commission.”
The Deputy Chairperson noted that they have started paying with the little money they have saying the government in 2019 gave the TRRC D50 million with the promise to give an additional D50 million and this promise was kept for reasons out TRRC control.
“Reparations is focused on medical treatment; educational support and where possible livelihood support. These are the areas that the urgent interim is confused on and the final reparations are what we are doing” she explained.
“The urgent interim measure was really done. People who were sick and needed urgent medical treatment were given attention such were suffering mentally, physically and some are suffering from other illness, road accident president aid treatment, these are people who are not very visible to Gambians but the amount of suffering these people enduring is unbelievable and there is no amount of money that we can make and give to them to reduce the suffering,” she noted.
Mr Ceesay chairman of the Truth Commission said ” the government has given us a date to summit our reports and it is the 30th of July at the President’s office Banjul.
