If you’re in your early teens you may already have encountered peer pressure … if you’re approaching your teens, it’s something you may face fairly soon.

During the 26 years of conducting our SuperCamp academic summer camp programs we have learned quite a lot about the problems that teens face. Peer pressure is something that teens find very hard to deal with so we've come up with some suggestions.

Think about this scene: you’re on your way to a concert with a group of friends and someone pulls out a bottle taken from Dad’s liquor cabinet and starts passing it around. You don’t want to drink, but everyone else seems to be doing it and you don’t want to look like an outsider by refusing. What do you do?

Maybe you’ve been in a similar situation – one where friends are coaxing you to do something you know is not a good idea, like drinking, skipping school, or cheating on a test.

This is not to put down your friends – they are the people who listen to you and are there for you when you need them.

However, it’s important to remember that if someone wants you to do something that just doesn’t feel right – from something seemingly minor to some scheme that could land you in the principal’s office, or grounded, or even worse – it’s time to stand up for your beliefs and let the person know how you feel. How do you do it?

Step Out and Stand Up

Step out of your comfort zone and stand up for what you believe in.

We all know this isn’t easy. Many problems have occurred for many teens because no one wanted to stand up and speak out about how they felt. It takes courage.

There may be one person among your group of friends who dominates – the one who stirs others into action. That’s fine. But when this person wants you to do something you’re not comfortable with, you need to let him or her know.

Chances are you’re not the only one in your group who feels uncomfortable. Others may share your opinion, but are waiting for someone else to take the lead. They are looking for a way out, but are afraid to speak their minds. Once you speak up, they will quickly take your side and share their concerns.

So how do you "just say no"? State your position firmly, but avoid putting the person suggesting the activity on the spot. Calmly and simply stating "I don’t want to drink" is better than "No, thanks, dude. I don’t want to end up like you."

Always avoid personal attack – make the activity the issue, not the person. Sometimes a little humor can lighten the situation – half jokingly saying something about the consequences can get your point across and give others an easy opportunity to agree and a reason to "back out."

When That Doesn’t Work

Ideally, you should be able to stand up for what you believe in, but if you’re having trouble saying "no" to your friends here are two alternative strategies:

Ignore it. When someone comes up with some crazy plan you don’t want to be part of, pretend you never heard it.

Turn up the radio or pretend to be concentrating on your homework or what someone else is saying. Your friend may take the hint and the whole idea may be dropped.

Blame your parents. This is one time when your parents’ rules come in handy. Say something like, "No way! If my parents found out, I’d be grounded for the whole summer! I’m not risking it."

Whatever strategy you choose, you can feel proud of yourself knowing you have the ability to say no – you did not cave in to peer pressure. Going against the crowd isn’t easy – it takes courage and self-respect.

But the more you do it, the more your courage and self-respect will grow. And respect for you will also grow among those who agreed with you and declined to participate in the activity. In fact, they may thank you for saying what they were feeling!

Editor,

I wish to express my heartfelt congratulations to the President-elect of the United States of America - Barack Obama.

Congratulations to the people of America, too, for their maturity, courage and level-headedness in making this difficult but the rightful choice. President-elect Obama represents hope, inspiration, courage and, of course, a bright future.

The emergence of President Obama, one must admit, has stunned the whole world. But then, that was because he was pretty new in the scene and barely known. However, the way and manner in which Obama planned, organized and conducted his campaign from the 'Primaries' to the Presidential, was second to none in the history of politics.

He is a prodigy who became the darling of the entire free world. His cool and calm conduct and character throughout his campaign has won him admiration both from friends and foes. There is no doubt that Barack Obama has opened a new chapter in the world history of politics. His organization and mobilization skills, oratory prowess, humility, dedication and consistency were beyond imagination. Barack Obama has introduced into politics an extraordinary passion, inspiration, courage, confidence and above all hope, even for the hopeless.

People all over the world warmly welcomed his emergence as the shining light of the new dawn with open hands. Like a magnet, the President-elect has attracted the attention of the whole world. His campaign slogan called for change and emphasized - ‘Yes We Can’. His well delivered messages have been optimistic and captivating, making him a universal fountain of hope and inspiration. Americans and the rest of the world look forward to a brighter future under the Obama Presidency.

May God grant him that realty. Congratulations, keep it up.

Ceesay Yahya
London

We are glad to see that Mr Mbeki did not behave as the stereotypical African president – clinging to power by any means possible. By contrast, his political rival Mr Zuma seems to be the archetypal African president or presidential hopeful – ‘I either win or the country and people get destroyed’. By bowing out when the ovation is loudest, Mr Mbeki has shown that his hands are clean and that he has nothing to hide.

For the almost one decade that Mbeki steered the affairs of state, he brought sagacity and intellectual depth to governance. It could be that his actions and programmes made it difficult for some to feed fat on state resources at the detriment of the people, hence they threaten fire and brimstone. He will be remembered as a great statesman who meant well for his country and his people and did his best to be true to the values and aspirations of his country.

Unlike Mbeki, Zuma strikes us as a desperate man who wants power just for the fun of it. If Mbeki had been greed for power as Zuma, South Africa would have one the way of Sierra Leone, Liberia, DR Congo, and Kenya. But because he believes that good will eventually triumph over evil, Mbeki decided to quit. He believes that senseless ambition and rapacity should not undo the democratic values and economic prosperity that his forbears laboured and died for. When the history of post-apartheid South Africa will be written, he will be considered as a leader who subordinated his personal interest to that of the nation. And that is the hallmark of a true leader.

We agree with Helen Zille, leader of main opposition the Democratic Alliance, that Zuma is a leader of “a rabble out to grab the spoils of the state for their own interests”.

Despite what has happened, Mbeki remains an African leader to be proud of. He has shown that an African leader can be reasonable and unselfish.

We extend our warm congratulations to Dr. Isatou Touray of GAMCOTRAP who was honoured by the United States Embassy yesterday as Embassy Banjul’s Nominee for the 2008 Secretary of State’s Award for International Women of Courage.

The award, given annually, pays tribute to women of courage around the world and holds them up as examples of hope, strength, and compassion.

The role of women in society cannot be overstated and this award is recognition of that fact. The US Ambassador Barry Wells, speaking at a luncheon honouring Dr. Touray, described women as essential agents in bringing about change. He said that women are an often overlooked resource in the preservation of human security, in overcoming transnational dangers, and in managing threats arising from tyranny, trafficking, poverty and disease.

Thankfully this is changing and the role of women in society is widely recognised in The Gambia. This does not mean that we can rest on our laurels however as until every young girl is educated and her health protected we will not have completed our task.

We are being greatly helped our road to full equality and the recognition of women’s rights by Dr. Isatou Touray and all who work with her in GAMCOTRAP. GAMCOTRAP is grounded in grassroots activism, working with communities in trying to understand the issues inimical to their health and well being.

According to Dr. Touray, the honour gives them the courage and commitment to continue the work they are doing. “The sacrifice is worth it because of the difference it makes in the life of the poor, vulnerable and powerless people we serve”.

These are indeed laudable sentiments and highlight the depth of character of which Dr. Touray is possessed which led to her being honoured in this way by the United States. In typically selfless fashion Dr Isatou Touray used the occasion to dedicate the award to GAMCOTRAP, all its members and the community based facilitators who she added, have been engaged in the struggle for the promoting women’s and children’s rights.

“We are committed to the work we do because there are people who believe in the cause we stand for and who provide the support needed to continue engaging constructively with the communities we serve”, she said.

Dr. Touray is a role model to all women in The Gambia young and old. She and GAMCOTRAP are working at the coalface empowering women and improving the lives of those who might not otherwise be helped. Her courageous work is worthy of widespread emulation.

“The extension of women’s privileges is the basic principle of all social progress.”

Francois Charles Fourier.

Just a month ago, Bela, 35, a mother of two from the Karo ethnic group, saw her neighbour shot dead. "She was planting grain with her husband. She then went to a stream to fetch water. After a while members of the Bume tribe came with cattle and when they saw her they opened fire," Bela told IRIN.
 
In response to his wife's murder, her husband killed two members of the Nyangatom, also known as Bume. After a few days, the Nyangatoms killed another of Bela's neighbours. The revenge and counter-revenge creates a vicious cycle. Bela blamed the Nyangatom for all the conflicts in the area.
 
"We are small in number and have fertile land," she claimed. "But we plough the land together with our neighbouring tribes and share the product accordingly."
 
Bela told IRIN that in previous times such practices worked perfectly but now things have changed. She alleged that theft by the Nyangatoms ruined the relationship. Pastoralists from Dassanech and Hamer, who share a border with Nyangatoms, told IRIN that they have similar problems.
 
Among the Nyangatom, one of a dozen communities in South Omo, in the southern region of Ethiopia, cattle rustling between neighbouring groups is common. The Nyangatom reason that being surrounded by so many other ethnic groups makes it easy to get into conflict situations.

Killing someone from a rival group is also seen as a badge of courage. Such attitudes fuel a deadly cycle among ethnic groups that share a common culture, speak related languages, have similar lifestyles - and above all, are pastoralists. The official reasons for their conflicts are simple: to control resources.   

Gethaun Tolla, Cross Border Project officer from the Ethiopian Pastoralist Research and Development Association (EPaRDA), said: "They are fighting for control over pasture land, water and fishing areas."

The Nyangatom have a population of 18,000, and also share borders with the Kenyan Turkana and the Sudanese Toposas. They have many things in common, including language - but such similarities do not stop the conflict.  

Daniel Kine, a field coordinator for the Raim Riam Turkana Peace network, has first-hand knowledge of the conflicts in the North Turkana district of Kenya. He agreed that the biggest reason is resources; however, he also pointed to customs.   
 
"There is a traditional belief that any person outside your community is your enemy," he said. "When you kill a person from the other tribe, it shows you are a man."

Ilemi Triangle  

But for some, there is yet another reason for the cross-border conflict - claims over a piece of land along the borders between Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya, known as the Ilemi Triangle, measuring about 11,000 sqkm.
 
The land is administered by the Kenyan government, but is in dispute because of ambiguous colonial-era treaties. Apart from its significance as pasture in the dry season, analysts describe the triangle as "a gateway to an area of Sudan rich in unexplored oil reserves".
 
Aid workers in the border area told IRIN an unofficial demand by the Toposa for the land fuels the conflict. They allegedly blame the Toposa for using the members of the Niata Nyangatom, a sub-clan of the Nyangatom, as an instrument for displacing Turkana from the area.
 
"If the Turkana leave the area, the Toposa will control it indirectly through Niata Nyangatom," an aid worker, who requested anonymity, told IRIN. "The Niata Nyangatom also displaced the Mursi residents within 60km of the border. The Mursi pushed their neighbouring tribes and the chain reaction goes on."
 
Small arms trade

Whatever the reason behind the conflict, it is clear that the illegal small arms trade in the area fuels it. Many analysts also agree that arms are more readily accessible because of the decades-long civil war in Southern Sudan.
 
Lobko Lale, 35, an Ethiopian Karo pastoralist, takes his Kalashnikov everywhere; for him, it is the sole means for ensuring his safety. "I bought it from the Bena [Dassanech] men and it cost me five cows."  
 
He was lucky. The average cost of a Kalashnikov or AK47 can reach 35 cattle although the flood of guns into the area has reduced the price of late. According to Alemyaehu Lochelia, a policeman in Kangaten, there is also a wide variety among the stock from the border area of Sudan - one can find anything from the German 7.62mm G3 automatic rifle to an M1 American submachine gun.

But now, for the first time in years, Lobko is travelling a long distance without his gun. When he came to Kangaten with almost 400 pastoralists to participate in peace talks, he left his rifle at home.
 
"I did not bring my gun," said Lobko. "A gun is not needed in a meeting for peace."
 
Sustainable solution

The talks were organised by a local NGO, Atoweksi Eksil Pastoralist Development Association (AEPDA), with the support of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). It took three months for AEPDA's chairman Abraham Bongoso to bring together pastoralists from 17 groups, two from Kenya and one from Sudan. Abraham described the meeting as "one step for bringing a sustainable solution to a longstanding problem".  
 
The pastoralists, including Bela and Lobko, gathered in Kangaten for four days before reaching a consensus and passed a resolution: any person who steals cattle will double the number given back in reparation and anybody who commits murder will be handed over to the government, with 30 heads of cattle given to the bereaved family. However, despite the agreement, Bela and others felt a real reconciliation between ethnic groups should be made the traditional way.
 
"The Nyangatoms should come to our village and slaughter a goat," said Bela. "Then we should wash our hands with fat together."