The Gambia may be Africa's smallest country, but journalists there are never short of news. Most of it, however, is highly charged political information which the military-origin government of President Yahya Jammeh is anxious to avoid seeing published. Journalists in the private sector work bravely but live in fear, and now, five years after Jammeh first declared that journalists who opposed him would "go six feet under", one of them is dead.
Omar Barrow, a radio station editor and Red Cross volunteer, was shot on April 10th while attending to students wounded in clashes with security forces. At Kanifing, eight miles from the capital, Banjul, a pool of blood by the entrance to the Red Cross headquarters where protesters had sought refuge showed the spot where he died.
A dozen protesters, many children, were shot dead that day and 29 injured in a massacre which led to spontaneous nationwide riots. Police detained thousands of angry students for fear that their protests over the killings, and the earlier torture to death of a student in custody, would lead to complete civil disorder.
For local independent journalists - faced with regular arrest and harassment, bullying by the authorities, possible deportation, and now death - it hardly seems worthwhile continuing in a profession which pays a measly average £100 per month. Despite this, most who have survived so far will continue to report on political developments, motivated by a desire to see justice prevail in their country and democracy fully restored. The extensive coverage given to the massacre is testament to their perseverance.
Of 13 student journalists and two prominent editors I knew in the Gambia in 1996, one has fled the country, another was deported, another had his radio station closed down, at least one was sacked and most have been arrested at one time or another. Most are young and could try another occupation, yet they persist with their trench warfare-style journalism. As one journalist, Sheriff Bojang, told me: "I am married to my work; I have lost a lot of friends because of my work."
The Observer newspaper he works for was once fiercely critical of the military (who took power in 1994, toppling one of Africa's few lasting democracies), but the paper is likely to have its teeth pulled after one of President Jammeh's richest supporters bought it last year.
What most irks the private press (who speak for the mostly silent majority) is that Jammeh, who at first refused to hold elections, was eventually elected president (in 1996) after banning all former politicians from participating; his party won parliamentary elections in similar fashion. There are frequently rumours that a counter-coup attempt is imminent, though the media (both private and government) avoid mention of the possibility.
Last month's violence marked the first time in 19 years that civilians were killed in disturbances in the Gambia (within the military up to 60 rebellious soldiers were executed in November 1994). Though small, this mostly Muslim country is important to the region; it is more stable politically and economically than any of its southern neighbours, which include Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Known in brochures as "The Smiling Coast", the Gambia is becoming increasingly popular among Irish tourists seeking guaranteed sunshine. However, it soon lost its smile as police stations and government buildings throughout the country were attacked and burnt to the ground in the week following the massacre. Tourists were confined to their hotels and Ireland's Agency for Personal Service Overseas considered withdrawing its volunteers.
Since then, the normally quiet west African tourist mecca has remained tense as the population grapples with the stormy political scene arising from the shootings.
Typical of the dead was 11-year-old Lamin Bojang who was due to sit an exam that day and was described by his father as "a calm boy full of aspirations".
At s Omar Barrow's funeral, Imam Momadou Drammeh declared to the thousands of mourners that the dead journalist was "a martyr for humanity". In his late 20s, Barrow was married with one child and worked as an editor at independent radio station Sud FM.
Locally, the violence of the security forces provoked a storm of condemnation from human rights organisations, opposition parties, trade unions and the Gambia Press Union, though international reaction to the killings was, by comparison, low-key and the government largely escaped the global media spotlight as wars elsewhere stole attention.
In a mild reprimand immediately after the April 10th violence, the EU, meeting in Lisbon, appealed to the Gambian government to "observe the need to respect human rights and the rule of law".
Meanwhile, thousands of students arrested after the riots were detained without proper food or water for weeks and the government resisted calls to launch an independent inquiry.
Though the Gambia is 90 per cent dependent on donor aid to finance its development programme and was last month visited by UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, President Jammeh shows scant regard for democratic values and human rights.
The violence erupted in the same week as the UN Development Programme issued a report describing the Gambia as "one of the poorest countries in the world and even poorer in recent years". The report identified the lack of effective governance as "the missing link" in the programme to reduce poverty.
The situation in the Gambia is in stark contrast to s that of its closest neighbour, Senegal, where Abdou Diouf, president since independence in 1960, conceded defeat in March after his challenger Abdoulie Wade won the poll in presidential elections judged fair and peaceful by all participants - a rarity in Africa.
Meanwhile in the Gambia opposition is growing. Pa Dacosta, a radio presenter previously regarded as a government apologist, has warned that "the good name and image of the Gambia is being tarnished by the repressive nature of the security forces".
Though most detained students have now been released, the press and opposition campaign for an independent inquiry and for greater democracy will continue.
A rally in Bakau was attended by thousands of opposition party members, while the Independent newspaper has run a lead story squarely blaming President Jammeh for the massacre.
Allen Meagher lectures in journalism at HSI College, Limerick, and tutors in sociology of the media at Mary Immaculate College and the University of Limerick.