Willie, greetings and good to hear from you.  Yes, some of our people need a
change in their attitude towards life and the lifestyles they want to lead.
Yes, the level of materialism of our people is cause for concern, but the
greatest exhibit in this area is coming from the top.  Look at Yaya, Baba
Joe, Diatta, and a whole host of folks that were as poor as church mice just
yesterday, and see how they lavish themselves today.  We all know that is
not coming from their sweat.  This is a social problem that cannot be fixed
by rounding up beggars/bumsters/materialists, but proper planning and
addressing the root causes of this problem.

My contention is that the bumsters are a product of the environment and
Bumsters are not the reason why tour operators stopped bringing tourists in
the country?  It was government policies.  To date, what has the government
done to boost tourism?  As I write, why do we have American tourists signed
up for a Juffery Tour, but end up spending only one day (leave Dakar in the
morning and return before sunset) in Gambia and the rest of their two week
stay in Senegal?  Senegal has more beggars in total and per capita than
Gambia.  What are our Embassies doing to sell tourism?  So, the real threat
to the tourist industry is not the bumsters but the policies of our
government.  I am really concern that our people are now content to solve
our many problems through brute force.  Lack of rain, we have vigilantists
physically attack women as the cause; lack of tourists we comatose anyone
found on the beach; rise in prices due to inflationary pressures, we suggest
for the president to threatened the store owners.  Prostitution, we blame
and attack women.  What are we turning into?

Chi Jaama

Joe Sambou


>From: William Njie <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Beggars or hustlers?
>Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2002 16:41:58 -0500
>
>Joe, I agree with some of your assertions, it’s true that the economy is
>pushing some people to desperate measures. However, I believe that there is
>a lack of motivation for some of our brothers and sisters to engage their
>resources in productive means of gaining legitimate income. Also, there is
>an absurd level of materialism, which I observe to balloon everytime I
>visit the Gambia. Girls especially, are so engulfed in their appearances
>that they resort to unnecessary means of acquiring a few Dalasis, to buy
>the trendiest clothes, shoes, hairstyle, etc.
>The bumpsters at the airport on the streets, offices etc. are a nuisance
>and a real threat to our fragile tourism industry. The amount of time,
>energy and resources they spend hassling innocent people if redirected to
>more productive and respectable engagements could provide these youngsters
>with not only income but also pride.
>
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