Asalammaleykum Warahmatu la Wa barakatuhu. Fellow Gambians, brothers and sisters of the Muslim Ummah. The celebration of the Eid Al-Adha last year and this year is made under the cloud of the Covid-19 pandemic compounded by another natural disaster that ravaged our homes and public spaces coupled with the surge in the rate of the infection and maternal mortality across the country.
On the whole a very trying time for our people. Still yet, we keep our faith strong and our hopes alive for better days for our nation. My message this year is focused on peace, unity and reconciliation.
The Muslim Ummah around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, meaning that which regularly returns. Eid is symbolic of the believer’s journey toward Allah to admit wrong, take responsibility, and seek forgiveness. Then return into the world anew, unburdened by the heaviness of past transgressions and the state of forgetfulness.
The annual Eid represents the purposeful actualization of holding tight on Divine guidance. The Sacrifices made during the Eid reflects Abraham and Ishmael’s readiness to totally submit to the will of Allah. Eid for the Muslim Ummah represents the abode of Divine love, mercy, and belief of Allah’s intervention to guide and protect those who embody steadfastness, struggle, sacrifice, and service to others in their journey in the world.
As we commemorate this Noble Day of Eid Al-Adha, we must work to ensure we close the festering wound of abject poverty that exists amongst our people. In this sense, peace unity and reconciliation are a very practical responsibility. We must all play our part if we are to bequeath to our children a society that has truly reconciled.
Let us make a concerted effort to move forward together, focusing on what unites us as Gambians instead of what divides us as one nation. Let us reach out to each other on this Holy day, and throughout the year to build a united democratic nation.
My family and I, the entire National Executive and the members of the United Democratic Party, wish you and your families all a blessed Eid Al-Adha.
Ousainu ANM Darboe
Secretary General & Party Leader
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