“I WILL NEVER FORGET DEYDA” – Maria

On Tuesday 16 December 2014. Deyda’s family, friends and media practitioners marked the tenth anniversary through prayer and messages of solidarity at the family residence. After a recitation of the Qur’an, remarks were made by media chiefs,friends and family members on the personality of Deyda Hydara. Speaker after speaker spoke well of the late Deyda Hydara. In her remarks Mrs Maria Hydara, the widow of late Deyda Hydara, who became emotional and could not hold her tears, said she will never forget her late husband. She spoke well of her husband and narrated an experience which indicated that he defied all odds in spite of frequent threats and risks to his life. She thanked the media fraternity, friends and relatives for their solidarity in the past ten years. Special thanks went to Pap Saine for his support. Mr Pap Saine, the director of The Point, expressed thanks for the solidarity that has been displayed. He pointed out that being a media practitioner is full of challenges and called for prayers to strengthen the media. He narrated how the Point was founded on the birthday of Maria (Deyda’s widow) on 16 December 1991 by Deyda Hydara, Baboucarr Gaye and himself. He said marking this day is a mixture of both joy and sorrow for Maria. He talked about the humanity of Deyda, citing as an example how he mobilized the raising of funds which was used to fence the Jeshwang cemetery. Mr Swaebou Conateh, a doyen of the media, who braved all physiological challenges to get to the venue spoke well of Deyda whom he had a close relation with. He dilated on Deyda’s contribution to the development of the media in The Gambia. He emphasized that the media has undergone significant progress over the years and Deyda’s contribution has to be recognized. He praised The Point for keeping the name of Deyda Hydara alive as exemplified by the photo of Deyda on the front cover of the newspaper. He called for steadfastness in the face of difficulties. The managing editor of Foroyaa, Mr Sam Sarr, spoke of the importance of humanity. He pointed out that the spirit of Deyda lives on; that even though he died ten years ago he has not been forgotten and immense solidarity continues to flourish; that even though the family now lives far away from where they used to, that has not deterred friends and the media fraternity from attending the annual prayer meeting. He stressed that a simple, kind empathetic person can never be forgotten after he/she has passed away. He talked about how Deyda showed solidarity to other media houses, trained many young media practitioners and contributed towards the development of the media. He urged media practitioners to internalize such attributes and move forward. Family members and friends also spoke well of Deyda and how he supported them in various ways, adding that his widow has followed his footsteps. The occasion ended with a prayer. ]]>