© 2024 Jason Florio

Isatou Marong
2020
Giclée Print on Hahnemühle Paper
Edition of 25
16 x 20 inches

Isatou Marong, widow of Sergeant Basiru Camara. On November 11th, 1994, Basiru with almost two dozen other soldiers were tortured and executed by fellow soldiers loyal to the junta, accused of attempting a counter-coup. 'I did not know what had happened to him. For years, I searched all over the Gambia, going from place to place. No answers, no clues…just rumors. I thought he was still alive somewhere. I went to all the prisons in the country.' In 2019, witness testimonies at the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission revealed that the remains of the executed men were in a mass unmarked grave in Yundum Barracks. Isatou is still waiting for Basiru's remains to be released, so she can bury him. 'That was the day I knew he was dead, that it is real, my husband is no more.'