Remembering Bob Marley: Pathways to Sustainable Peace

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Bob Marley

“Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another is finally Discredited and Permanently Abandoned…War”

No Discrimination, More Love, and No War. Robert Nesta Marley’s formula to world peace still resonates decades after he utters those prophetic words which defined the biggest challenges fuelling conflict and violence in the 70s.

Fast forward to 2022, the world still grapples with conflict, war, and violence sparked by the mayhem of what “difference” has come to signify for an exceptional and unique human race endowed with abundant gifts of empathy and compassion.

The uncodified rule that persistently errs our diversity continues to swing deadly blows on every part of the globe pitting and pushing us against each other in the most violent ways ever conceived. The second place chance granted to peace is now a mere opportunity to recoup and come back in full throttle for conflicts of dominance and influence that harvest all structures of our hard-earned peace for more bouts of destruction and war.

The vision of what a united world could be was an inspiration Bob Marley saw in the thick of divisive conflicts, violence, and pain that people inflicted on each other for mostly abstract and fleeting gains.

On May 11, the world pauses again to remember the all-time reggae legend and his legacy amid scourging conflicts that largely target the vulnerable and leave women and children hugely disadvantaged as the forces of power battle for more ground.

The Message
Marley’s key message was of unconditional love and unity as the only fuel to world peace and how stealthy forces of division only seek mayhem and our destruction, leaving little for our communities to thrive on and nurture sustainable pathways for growth.

The gist of his vision and struggle for peace particularly in the underdeveloped world is not a familiar story to the younger generation but his music speaks a universal language of peace which manifests the way he changed and inspired the world we know today.

More than a giant of sorts, Marley was a prophet whose inspiration touched and transformed the world to open its eyes and see the truth. To listen closely and hear the natural mystic surrounding us; to never give up, and to always get up and prevail against odds, to love our women and cherish them from a world of pain and suffering but to always ignite a smile in them as our mothers, sisters, and daughters, and to firmly resist the beast of corruption and decay for a world of positive hope and light.

Marley reifies a part of our humanity becoming increasingly rare, a love adequate in its power to change our hurting world and solidarity that accepts all without question.

Inspiring through music with the abiding call for love preached by reggae, Robert Nesta Marley transformed and touch the world in ways that unquestionably lead to sustainable pathways urgently needed to bring peace to our fragile global community.

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Sainey M.K. Marenah
Mr. Sainey M.K. Marenah is a prominent Gambian journalist and the founding editor of The Alkamba Times. He previously held the position of Head of Communications at the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) and served as a Communications and PR Consultant for The Gambia Pilot Program under Gamworks. Additionally, Mr. Marenah was the social media strategist and editor at Gambia Radio and Television Services and served as the Banjul Correspondent for Voice of America Radio. With a focus on human rights and developmental journalism, Mr. Marenah has established a significant presence in the Gambian media landscape, particularly in new media environments. His career began in 2008 as a junior reporter at The Point Newspaper, where he advanced to become Chief Correspondent. He later joined The Standard Newspaper in Banjul as Editorial Assistant and Head of News. Mr. Marenah is known for covering some of the most critical stories during the former and current administrations, including high-profile treason cases involving former military chiefs from 2009 to 2012. After his arrest and imprisonment by the previous regime of President Yahya Jammeh in 2014, he relocated to Dakar, Senegal, where he continues to work as a freelance journalist for various local and international media organizations, including the BBC, Al Jazeera, VOA, and ZDF TV in Germany. He is also a co-founder of the Banjul-based Media Center for Research and Development, an institution dedicated to research and development initiatives. As a journalist and communication expert dedicated to supporting the Gambia's transitional process, Mr. Sainey M.K. Marenah plays a significant role in developing a media and communications platform aimed at enhancing civic participation and raising awareness of the requirements for transitional governance. His efforts contribute to the country's ongoing movement toward democratization. In addition to his work in Gambia, Mr. Marenah has traveled extensively across Europe, Africa, and the United States as a professional journalist and has participated in various local and international media training programs. He is currently based in the United States.

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