The smallest of all African countries, The Gambia, is perhaps best known for the village of Juffereh, where the child, Kunta Kinte lived some 250 years ago until he was kidnapped by Portuguese slave traders. Kinte’s descendent ―the African American writer, Alex Haley― wrote the 1976 novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, based on the village griot (scribe), Kebba Kanga Fofana’s oral history of the region. He traced back his own roots over generations to the Serer and Mandinka people of Juffereh, who for generations resisted the slave trade and the European colonization of their land in Western Africa. According to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, of the 388,000 Africans abducted into slavery in America, roughly 92,000 (24 percent) were from the region of Senegal and Gambia.
Last month, I visited Juffereh and The Gambia to learn more from the descendants of Kunta Kinte.
He who would Rule for 1 Billion Years
The British sliced The Gambia out of Senegal, which was a French colony, as part of the colonial powers’ negotiations in 1885 at the Berlin Conference. In reference to the strange geographical phenomenon, the Senegalese joke that The Gambia —much smaller than the state of Connecticut— is the tongue of the Senegalese mouth. 
Like all colonial partitions, the border between the two countries divided peoples who had inhabited the region for thousands of years, namely the Mandinka, Serer and Wolof people.
For the past 22 years, his Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Doctor Yahya A. James Junkung Jammeh Babili Mansa has presided over this nation. As if his lengthy name were not proof enough of the dictator’s megalomania, Jammeh vows to rule for “one billion years… if Allah says so.”[1]
Jammeh claims his seizure of power in 1994 in a military coup was a “revolution.” The conscious visitor is left to ask: a revolution by who and for who? Massive billboards depict him as the nation’s savior. But in a country where the average income is $502 per year, few feel saved surviving on an average of $1 to $2 U.S. dollars per day.
Jammeh’s rule is a portrait of what dictatorship looks like. There are military checkpoints every kilometer to protect his power. He claims to be able to cure AIDS with ancient potions. He has murdered would-be resistance leaders. When he leaves his palace, the army shuts down all traffic in order “to ensure his safety.”
The U.S. and Britain consider Gambia “a friendly nation” and have issued statements in support of Jammeh, condemning the opposition. As long as the toubabs (foreigners) and Gambia’s elites are happy, the global policemen are content with allowing the self-obsessed autocrat to preside over business as usual.
The Gate Keeper
Paradoxically, Jammeh added “Babili Mansa” to his name, meaning “Bridge Builder,” but has reneged on constructing a bridge that would connect the southern Casamance region of Senegal to the northern region. 
This guarantees the Jammeh government a steady stream of foreign currency from anyone desiring to traverse Senegal, because they have no choice but to go through Gambia. The four times I traversed the border, I was at the mercy of despot’s military border agents who arbitrarily named their price for a toubab to pass.
One agent —wearing a safari hat, sunglasses and civilian clothes— rudely and aggressively clasped my arm and told me I could not pass. I took him for an everyday hustler, trying to trick a foreigner into forking over money. When I yanked my arm away from his clutch, he accused me of resisting authority. He demanded my passport and escorted me to a small office where I was held with my companion. I was fuming with anger but I knew I was powerless. I remembered the innumerable times Dominican border officials —aka professional thieves— employed similar chicanery when I crossed the border to and from Haiti. If I lost my cool and didn’t play their game, I would only dig myself a deeper hole. Having been effectively “detained,” the corrupt agents had even more leverage over me to name the price of their bribe. After some arguing and haggling, I forked over $60 and I was on my way to Senegal. As I strolled off I thought of all the Gambians who were not as fortunate as me to come and go as they pleased with minor inconveniences. It occurred to me that “Gate Keeper” —instead of “Bridge Builder”— would be a much more accurate title to add to the name of the country’s dictator.
Senegambia
Senegambia was the name given to the potential confederation between the two countries in 1981. Today Senegambia is a tourist enclave on the Atlantic coast of Gambia, only a half an hour ride from Banjul, the nation’s capital. The heavily patrolled area is a reminder that the system of colonial rule never ended. A laborer from Manchester or Liverpool is instantaneously propelled to celebrity status in Senegambia, in possession of a currency worth exponentially more than the Gambian Dalasi. The military diligently keeps toubabs in and the locals out. Just enough Gambians are allowed in to serve the foreigners.
Luxurious, private resorts monopolize large tracts of the coveted Atlantic coast. The tourist district —replete with every Western restaurant and accommodation— was a piece of the West transplanted to the heart of The Gambia. Due to the region’s consistently warm temperatures, there is a steady parade of tourists oblivious to the social reality that surrounds them. The patronizing attitudes of the Western tourists and their participation in this shuck-and-jive show was evidence of capitalism’s spiritual void. The only connection between the tour-ers and the toured was the cash nexus. 
Whisky-guzzling old men walked with young Gambian girls at their arm, employing them for the night. Crimson-colored Australian and English women —overexposed to the punishing sun— rented out dreadlocked, athletic local striplings to entertain them for the night.
The young working women and men —roughly the same age as Kunta Kinte when he was chopping wood for his family outside of Juffereh and was abducted— sought to earn in pounds what it would take them months to earn in Dalasis. The forced, recurrent smiles of 15-year-old Gambian teenagers was a snapshot of the validity of “Dependency theory” and the pressing need for another way forward for humanity.
Dependency Theory
In graduate school, I studied political science which explored Modernization theory versus Dependency theory. The “modernizers,” led by Lyndon B. Johnson’s National Security Advisor Walter Rostow, argued that the “third world” merely had to imitate the West in order to develop and catch up. They ignored outside factors that dominated the economies of “third world countries” and assigned blame solely to native corruption and the internal dynamics of “undevelopment,” very conveniently ignoring five centuries of unfettered theft. This school of thinking informed the Structural Adjustment Programs and austerity policies of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
The other pole of economic thinking was Dependency Theory and World Systems Theory. Fierce critics of Modernization theory —such as Andre Gunder Frank, Walter Rodney and Immanuel Wallerstein— argued that there was a direct relationship between the development of the colonizing countries and the underdevelopment of the colonized countries. The accumulation of wealth in the colonial center came from the extraction of wealth in the colonial periphery. Until this pattern was interrupted —these Marxists thinkers contended— the world would be divided into exploiter and exploited countries.
The Gambia, like so many other exploited countries, was living proof of the bankruptcy of the first model and the ongoing relevance of the latter model. The visitor whose eyes are open feels the consequences of centuries of foreign exploitation.
Gambians’ gazes are focused overseas. Many marriages are arranged according to who has a coveted visa to the West. There is a Western Union on every block to remind the populace where the money comes from, remittances from the U.S. The Gambians, who can, escape mainly to Harlem, Minnesota & London — the metropole —in order to support their families and pursue the dreams denied to them in their homeland.
Reimagine the Future
My guide and colleague, Gambian University lecturer, Bakary Baye,[2] reflected on the reality:
Even proximity to a toubab represents hope. Just the thought of linking up with a foreigner is the closest some of us will ever get to freedom. In Wolof we say toubab. It comes from the English “two bobs,” a nickname for the old English currency. It was also the Wolof word for missionary.
The normal behavior of a prostitute is to “turn a trick,” spring up and move on. Not here. In Gambia, the sex worker has a different line of thinking. He or she sticks around. They are affectionate. They don’t just want a night with a toubab, they want a ticket out of here.
Have a look for yourself. Young men and women. Some are teenagers. This is all they can aspire to, to latch on to an old woman or man from Britain, he motions to a sprawling five-star hotel in front of us, teaming with Westerners.
This is it. This is what we have, an economy based on pleasing toubabs. Look how far we’ve come.
Centuries after Juffereh was sacked, we have yet to restore the spirit of our ancestors.
Just last week, I brought the food to my sister’s wedding. It was a woman’s program. But these foreign tourists wandered in. In flip-flops and shorts. From Holland and Britain. The men were drunk. No one said anything. They have been doing as they please since they first arrived in the 17th century.
Everything is in disarray. They have altered the very soul of this land.
Gambian reality may at first sight appear to be so distant from our own, but this is the world we live in. The privilege of the tourist in the Dominican Republic, Thailand or Western Africa is directly connected to the ongoing oppression of the native peoples of that region and is the surest proof that the current, dominant socio-economic model is unsustainable.
For the people of Kunta Kinte ―generation after generation― acquiescence before colonialism has never been an option. West Africa has been swept by waves of mass youth protest and varying national and Islamic insurgencies. The exiled Gambian community also plots for change. Their resistance and their victory will be a victory for all of us.
[1] “Gambia’s President Jammeh gets extra title of ‘bridge builder.” BBC. 18 June 2015.
[2] The professor’s name was changed to protest his safety.
Wow what a way to live. We here in America complain above non sense. Try living in Gambia.
Wow, what a read. This is the plight of Africa. Africans have known this all along. We just feel overwhelmed and helpless. We are not sure how to fix this broken system.
This is true but really sad, the business of pleasing toubabs is not just prevalent in Gambia but in a lot of other third world countries. Many young people feel like this is their ticket out of poverty or their depressing lifestyle. It is crazy to think that kids growing up see no other way to success than dreaming of being the sex slave to an American or British tourist.
The article, “The Gambia: The World We Live In” by Professor Daniel Shaw, discusses the history and everyday reality of the people of Gambia. From being part of the French colony Sengal, to being cut off from Sengal by the British, to being completely controlled by a despotic dictator, Gambia has not had many chances for success. Since its history of colonization, it has continued the system of using other countries as opportunities for prosperity, rather then seeking it independently. As the article states, “The visitor whose eyes are open feels the consequences of centuries of foreign exploitation.” “The Gambia: The World We Live In” displays the bitter truth of the aftermath of years of neglect in Gambia.
I believe that this article brilliantly explains the obstacles of the people of Gambia and why it is not easy to break free from that system. It breaks my heart that Gambians look to marriage overseas and even prostitution with a toubab as their only hope of gaining a dosage of wealth, due to their finite chances of making more then the average $1 to $2 per day. The barriers Gambians face share many similarities to those of Venezuelans. In Venezuela, the average salary is $20 a month; many go weeks without basic items such as milk or toilet paper. This leads to many individuals finding any way possible to get out of Venezuela, since that means that they no longer have to starve. Both Gambia and Venezuela seek for tourists in first world countries as their only resource for bringing food to their families.
This article made me more open minded and also made me realize even more that even though we are in different countries and we all have different believes we have very close similarities no matter in what part of the world we are in. In the article when the author starts to talk about “The Gate Keeper” I found that part to be very interesting. I found it interesting because i have heard stories of Dominican Border Officials but i didn’t really think that was really taking place. I found it extremely rude the way that the officer came up to the writer and was really aggressive but you have to listen to them because they are authority and they love to abuse their power but since they have a title and have power you can’t really do much but play their game if you want to be set free. It is absolutely ridiculous that the writer had to experience this after not doing anything wrong and having proper documentation. I guess their is a positive to all this negativity and that is the writer being able to walk away after paying the $60.
It is absolutely disgusting that these young men and women have to put themselves out there and do these things just to earn money in a quicker way than actually having a job. The amount of mental damage that these individual may have encountered is just bizarre. It is disgusting to see what these teenagers have to do just for a couple a dollars more and a shot at their dream. In america prostitutes would just do what they have to do for that one night and they would be on their way. In Gambia these teenager think differently they actually stay in hopes that they would have a shot in getting out of there.
This all has to change it just shows how corrupted the justice system in Latin america is. You should feel safe when you encounter an official not feel threatened, harassed, and not have to bribe them even if you are innocent something has to be done. That system needs to be fixed. Another thing that needs to be fixed is the prostitution issue with these teenagers in Gambia. Every child should be given the opportunity to be a child and not have to experience these things just for a couple of extra dollars.
Throughout slavery and present time some similar actions have been taken but most importantly they have been extracted from what we call fair rights. Poverty and discrimination have been a major key within African American lives, as we witnessed in this article Professor Jammeh was seen as a savior for this small country of Africa known as Gambia. Proving that he had the key to making this world look at them differently, but most of all holding hope for every African American that was hoping to be dead with all the suffering they been put through. Having young teenagers dream of becoming a sex slave for toubabs (Whites) to consider it a way out from the monstrous world they were living is beyond insane, as all young children no matter what race they are contain the power to changing our future.Chasing the path of success following the one dream that has crossed everyone’s path and that will be freedom.
Immigrants have suffered the same path and discrepancy as African Americans. Treated less for not being able to speak proper English and working in jobs that could be pictured as slavery. But most of all not being legal, people don’t consider that we all search for the same purpose equality and freedom. Both these groups have had no power and most certainly are not wealthy which puts them in an uncertain position where they can not fight back, but they prove one thing, which is that no matter how badly they are treated they will always be hard workers.
I believe that this article opens up many individual’s views on how a group of people in Gambia were taken advantage of and felt trapped in their own country. They happen to be enslaved and were nearly closed to becoming free. These African American people felt hopeless. To make matters worse Gambia had been a poor country where many civilians struggled economically and the military had been corrupted. A country shouldn’t have to feel fearful that someday poverty could ultimately affect them or that humans are forced to please foreigners. In this case, having to live and survive with a minimum of 2 dollars per day as stated in the article is immensely heartbreaking.
The human rights of these individuals were taken away and were controlled by dictatorship. Many foreigners and tourists were oblivious to the situations occurring in Senegambia. I believe that a military should protect rather than harm or take advantage of their people. They should take in mind that they too are humans. I also support the fact that those who happen to escape this hardship are doing something right for themselves.
It is upsetting to say that a person does not feel safe in their own homeland and that their wish is to escape to another country in order to have freedom. There are many people that come to the United States to escape the injustice of their country. They come to a country where they choose to adapt because they are forced out of their native home. This article has opened my eyes to see how some third world countries are victims. They don’t have opportunities to set goals upon themselves and be able to overcome the struggles. All they can do is find ways to survive. I feel that people don’t acknowledge the struggles, other countries face.
After I read this article, first, I want to know why U.S and Britain consider Gambia as a “friendly nation.” Of course there will be a secret business hidden behind the story. Then why don’t U.S and Britain consider North Korea as a “friendly nation”? That would be my question.
In my perspective, North Korea and Gambia have similarity, which is people are trying to escape from their country. Elites are happy while civilians are suffering from poverty and lack of opportunity. Every few miles, there are military checkpoints to keep elites and Jammeh safe. So, people, such as teenagers, who don’t have enough support to sustain themselves, are doing whatever they can to leave their country. Consequently, there is no future in these countries.
One thing I want to criticize within this article is about inequality. Rich people can get richer, while poor people will stay the same forever. I am very upset about how young people in Gambia do not have any opportunities. “Whisky-guzzling old men walked with young Gambian girls at their arm, employing them for the night.” This isn’t the right life that young people should have. More sad part is that they are doing this in order to escape from the country. In addition, foreigners are doing as they please and I think elites are doing exactly the same as what foreigners are doing. The reason why is that they have enough money to rule the poor people. Therefore, this highlights the disparity between rich and poor people.
This is a very sad article to read and see how some people live hard lives and don’t have an opportunity like others . It’s hard when it comes from being ruled by a dictator, someone who sees himself as superior to others. He could decide and do anything and no one had a saying in it. With only earning about an average of $500 per year it just seems to hard to survive especially here in the U.S. How would someone be able to survive only with $1 or $2 dollars a day? They wouldn’t have a way out of the poverty that they lived in especially when a bridge was created. People barely had money to live on so they wouldn’t be able to bribe themselves to other side.
The suffering that these people go through and how they were forced to do things that they didn’t want to do. They had no other way out especially for the young teens who began seeing it as a dream to be used as a sex slaves from someone older and who had lots of money. Knowing that they were young and had nothing more to look forward in life. Its disturbing to think about how they would put themselves in a situation where they had to latch onto a older woman or man to find a way out of the lives they lived. They would have to offer themselves not knowing if was their lucky way out.
It’s sad to realize how much of a bad impact the western world has on third world countries. some people, like the ones that were colonizing these countries see it as them helping the countries come out of the category of “third world”. Much like the theory of modernizers. Simply imitate the customs of the western world and they will rise out of corruption. Yet as stated they don’t take into consideration the geographic features and the other factors that play a large part into why they are third world countries.
What’s even worse is the way the natives have to survive. Prostitution is supposed to be considered as a last choice, sometimes not even a last choice because of how wrong it is. Kids my age are out there just trying to find a ticket straight out of the country to somewhere they might actually have a chance. And even then they don’t always succeed. Toubabs should understand that these are their everyday jobs while they are just on vacation enjoying the “company”, these men, women, boys, and girls are working for their next meal.
It makes me think of the horrid things the people in Dominican Republic and Haiti must go through. Tourist are always out there, like myself. Although my parents are natives it does not make me a native, I’m simply visiting. But what hurts the most is could it be possible that my cousins sometimes think of doing this because they cant go to school? Why have we, the tourists and colonizers, damaged their society rather than help it?
Sex slavery is disappointingly forced upon kids living in Senegambia. It was very eye opening to read that so many innocent Africans are used and abducted into sex slavery to amuse foreigners. These defenseless individuals think that this is a way of life, that there is nothing more to their lives. They are kept from their freedom and natural born rights as a human being and are completely clueless of it.
The people in this country consistently struggle with unjust salaries and are in need of a leader that will do right by them. People in this country deserve far more than what they earn, and what they go through each day is inhumane. Surely, they do not know what it’s like to win the right amount of money and work extremely hard for. These individuals, just like any other parents and household owners, have kids to feed and houses to maintain. How are they supposed to do so if they are under paid? Every person is entitled to a stable and safe household, both of which are not given to anyone living in this country. The leader of Gambia should not hesitate to stabilize this community. Clearly, the economic system is out of control. It is in dire need of stability in order to give the people what they rightfully deserve.
The main purpose of this article is that the country Gambia is living a life of poverty, dictatorship, and social inequality. The Dictator Jammeh came in power in 1994, he entitled himself as the savior for Gambia. Although many people wouldn’t thinks so because of how much money they were making a year, I would agree with the things that the people have mention because, that’s not a lot of money to survive on there. Including the amount that everything cost. I wouldn’t think he was doing his job well, but then the articles says that the “U.S. and the British support what he does as long as the people are happy”. However I feel like the people shouldn’t be happy in the condition they’re living in, this makes me think, how are these two powerful countries supporting the dictator. However one thing that has interested me was that he decided to build a bridge that people had to pass through to enter Gambia. This would lead foreigners and their money to go there in my opinion, which was a smart thing to do.
However social inequality pops into the question, how do the whites and western tourist treat or act around these people. First they separate themselves from the locals, and really don’t pay attention to things around them. The connection among them is money. I feel like if you go to another country the purpose is to connect with the locals and the people there and how it is to be in their shoes. The tourist are the ones to modernize and bring their culture to where they’re going to rather than learning. I feel like that takes away the effects on the experience you should have in a different county. Since Gambia is in economic failure, the people try to figure out different ways to get out of their country and move to the west. I don’t like some of the ways they’re doing it however they should approach it a different way. An example is the prostitutes stay with the man to help them get out of Gambia. I feel like that’s sad that they have to do it to survive or get what they want. That’s why they want change in there country and I think they deserve it.
Some connections that this article has to Latin American Latinos is that, a lot of these countries where colonized by white or people from the west. I feel like a lot of Latino countries are still struggling with poverty in their land. I would say in some places there are social classes from the people depending where they live in the country; due to this there are also social inequality that can separate them. This is similar to situation happening in Gambia because they’re going through poverty and social inequality.
Ronald Tang
Response to Article
After reading the article, “The Gambia: The World We Live In” by Professor Daniel Shaw, I found myself intrigued by what I read. For starters I did not know that The Gambia was the smallest country in Africa. I didn’t even know it existed since it isn’t in the media and talked about often. I also learned about the village of Juffereh, which is where Kunta Kinte lived about two hundred and fifty years ago until Portuguese slave traders kidnapped him. The article was very informative about the way Gambia is today.
When I read about how poor The Gambia is I thought to myself how it could be that even though they have expensive resorts in Senegambia. However the country shows many signs of impoverishment, which goes to show their poor status. This is due to the misuse of foreign control over the country. In the end, I found this article to be interesting and informative. I learned many things about the country of The Gambia.
This is shocking, I dont understand why people love living oppressed by others and why they won’t stand up all together and face the problems. I wish Gambian community had stopped accepting the aquiescense since the beginning of time. In my point of view the European civilization affected not only Africa but also on the Caribbean and South America in many ways. Lot of young girls go out in the Caribbean and South America countries look for older man to hunting their fortune or just to survive poverty by selling their bodies. For example, I have heard that in the Dominican Republic the girls at a young age as 13-16 start getting pregnant or sick because they start having sex early to survive the economic crisis and thats the only way they see life out of poverty.
Poverty is not a justification for this actions that young people go through in a daily basis, either corruption. I believe is the education, the resources that they need to better themselves and standup to face these problems. As my colleague has stated, we should not be complaining about the way we live, poverty, or other matters because living in a place like Gambia as discribed in the text is worst. We should also not blame the White man but ourselves because we see things and actions that are not right and often stay quiet. We need to speak up to see changes, and to change the socio-economic system we live in.
Even though I have stated that we should not blame the White man, there is a great inequality among African and Anglo-Saxon. The white class has always superiority over the African race. There is no comparisons in job salaries between the two races, the white man will always be at the top. Lately these days they seem to match, but when a African-American person gain as equal as an Anglo-American they pretend to be white. Is like when you get money and you have a good salary, you start feeling like you’re also white. The language, people you interact with or how you speak changes, not only African-American but also other races as well.
The conditions Gambians are forced to live in are completely unfair. They have restricted rights in their own homeland. They are stuck under the dictatorship of Jammeh, who’s only goal is to make sure he and the foreigners are content. This article shows that young people living in Gambia see gaining the attention of an American or British tourist and being used by them as their only way of receiving freedom. It is horrible that the freedom all humans should be granted can only be given to Gambians if they allow themselves to be married off to a foreigner.
The foreigners and Gambia’s own leader seem to view Gambians as undeserving of any rights. They are not viewed as equals to them, though they are all human. In many third world countries, like Gambia, there are places where citizens are not treated with respect. Latin America is one of these places where there are citizens not earning the rights they should from their own leaders and not being viewed as equals. It is sad to know that kids growing up around the world believe that their only way to earn some sort of freedom is to give themselves over to a foreigner, because they have been treated by their leader and others as if they are not equal to them.
This article shows us the hard taking reality of our ancestors. Just to think that today Americans take so many things for granted while our ancestors in third world countries are still facing the reality of the same hardship spoken about years ago, today. Not much is being done because it is hard for one or two people to take on an entire country. America has earned its title of being the land of hope for these countries and it is very unfortunate that instead of people from these countries seeing us as their ancestors or someone they are proud of, we are thought to be just a “golden ticket.” Most third world countries have the same supremacy, through dictatorship.
Many of these countries are very similar in the sense of viewing American as a way out. Mexicans risk their lives to cross the border for opportunity, Dominicans marry Americans to get permanent residency and citizenship, and countries swim into Puerto Rico just to be on US Territory. Of course the list can go on and on. Puerto Rico faces a similar struggle and the island itself is considered U.S. property. The only difference is that IN Puerto Rico, it is the people against the government and police officials.
There are locations in Puerto Rico itself that police officials try to avoid entering such as “La Perla” in Old San Juan, which has the highest crime rate. Even with the bravest of souls entering fear for their lives. Crime rate submerged at number one. You have men with riffle guns ready to pull the trigger at anyone who does not belong. Of course the U.S. wants to maintain an image, so like every other country they have the areas where tourist can stay. These areas are beautiful, clean and welcoming, meanwhile not even half an hour away Puerto Rico is experiencing extreme poverty.
This article really makes me think of what this country stands for. How is it possible for the world super power who believe in the spread of democracy support such a dictator? Perhaps this revolution made a positive change for Gambia , however, just because a corrupt government is better than the previous government doesn’t mean that the dictator is justified. For a country who went through a so-called revolution calling their new leader a savior, the country is corrupt and money hungry while the average citizen make miserable wages. If foreigners are mistreated and basically robbed by the authorities simply because the authorities feel like it, the average citizen must be much worse off.
It is sad to see that a place like Senegambia still exists where the government controls the kind of people who enter. They control the amount of locals who enter and locals can only enter to serve the foreigner. It is all motivated by money. Foreigners are praised and it seems that as long as a foreigner has money, anything goes. The most sad thing is that the majority of the tourist don’t pay attention to what is going on and are completely oblivious to these harsh realities.
Looking at the troubles faced by the citizens of Gambia, it is obvious why arraigned marriages and other arraignments are highly praised when they can help get a visa. I see how this can relate to Latin America. With corruption in the government and harsh treatment, natives flee to enter the United States in search for a better home with opportunities to better their lives.
Being privileged with rights and the freedom that comes with being in America blinds us from the fact that there are places in the world just like Gambia where people don’t have it easy like we do. This article opened my eyes like many others to realize that there are social injustices in the world. We merely focus on the negative and aren’t fully aware that unlike most people, we are fortunate to be living in a country where we have the liberty to do what we want and go as we please. Traveling to places like Gambia we mainly focus on what we want to see. If you go to a foreign place and go to a spa we see it as nothing but a vacation. Meanwhile we don’t realize that these people live here and we aren’t aware of what they go through. For us it’s a spa, for them it’s the only money they will have for a certain amount of time. We live in a very selfish and greedy way of seeing thing and we don’t see things for the way they are.
Having the rights we have here in the U.S. makes us forget that we are privileged and we shouldn’t take that for granted. We have opportunities left and right that we should take advantage of that people in Gambia would die for. People from Gambia have to sell themselves to toubabs in hope that they can take them out of the dictatorship that their country holds. It’s sad to believe that being close to a foreigner’s presence is satisfaction enough for them because that’s the only time they have a sense of freedom. They don’t have the ability to get out of their country as they please. Much like most of our ancestors, those who escaped their homeland to come to America for not only a better world for them but for future generations.
Thoroughly reading through this article by Daniel Shaw, shows what a tough life some children and families have to suffer while living in these third world countries. A lot of these countries are always being stomped on and it isn’t fair to live in your country without having to go a day without living in fear. With the fact that young females at the age of 15 are being abducted and placed to become prostitutes just saddens the fact these young girls are taken away from their family in order to supply tourists or even their own people’s needs. Although is maybe one of the easiest and only sources of money for them, they are being lead to sickness and diseases at an earlier stage in life.
Whilst reading, I picked up that Daniel Shaw was also harassed by a man of whom he thought was a con artist at the border trying to hustle him. As he clutched Daniels arm, he was able to move his arm away making it seem as he was resisting authority’s demands. This lead Daniel to be placed into room to be questioned because of his actions. Now that this was done he had to go through a process leading him to be stuck for a while but ended up forking over $60 which lead him to be released quickly and easily. It goes to show that even with money, it’s easier for you to get away with anything in Gambia. This was the only source to get through so for those families who aren’t that rich or have a tough time to get through with the border, they can’t even go to see their other families.
This article was sad to read but this is unfortunately the life for certain people. From earning $500 a year to being abducted into slavery, life isn’t easy for these people. Comparing these conditions to other countries such as Dominican Republic, Guyana, Brazil; prostitution is a high key factor in certain villages just to help support their family. Recently visiting Dominican Republic over the summer, seeing the condition in which these kids are living in having to run around the market to shine the upper class men’s shoes for a few cents, it’s very sad. Sometimes they even scolded for doing something a little wrong. Not only seeing the struggle for the young kids shoe shining, but also seeing a young girl living in a secluded small house not as big as a John Jay classroom, pregnant at the age of 15 just so she can get some money to help her families cocoa business a little more. It is sad what other countries have to face in order to help support their family. Hopefully these conditions can change later on as time goes by.
The issues spoke about in this blog post reinsure my thoughts and sentiments around capitalism. Our economy has such an impactful influence on the world that simply visting a third-world country is an oppressive act. I remember visiting Mexico as a 16-year-old, and being in awe of the level of poverty the natives had to experience day in and day out. I could not make sense of it at the time, but it certainly hit home for me as I grew up in the South Bronx section of New York City – the poorest congressional district in America.
I felt sentiments of guilt as we were only on their land for a night of fun. Sex workers were lined up throughout the streets looking to gain a piece of the capital we had momentarily brought to their strip. Although I was an American citizen in Mexico, I noticed the difference in how the white Americans would behave in this context as I would in any other context. And, it was always with a more deliberate level of oblivion my white counterparts would conduct theirselves with, especially while in Mexico.
It came to a point where I felt like I was participating in the erasure of my own people with little option to do otherwise. It is moments like these that continue to shape my thoughts around capitalism and how it is conveyed in practice.
Lesley Rivera
Reading “The Gambia: The World We Live In”, definitely opened my eyes and realizing how much we take advantage of what we have in the United States. Everyday for the people in Gambia are struggling for survival. Many of the young woman of Gambia, wish for a better life. As stated, the woman of Gambia show much more affection towards men, they stay around hoping for an opportunity to get of the corrupt land.
Also, another issue that caught my attention was how low their annual income was. On average, Americans can earn anywhere from 40,000 – 60,000 a year. In Gambia, their annual income is $502 dollars, which means they receive $1 or $2 a day. How can these families provide for their young?
Reading how the gatekeepers bribed anyone coming through and treating them so horribly and rudely is just another reason as to why Americans should appreciate where they live. The authority in Gambia is corrupt as well as disrespectful as stated, “ If I lose my cool and didn’t play their game, I would only dig myself a deeper hole”.
The article is as informative as it is a reality check for most people. In Gambia these young women are lead to sell their bodies because they see no other way to survive in their country. Not only do they see no way out but they essentially do not have a way out.Their lives depend on the money that they receive from these men. Although people from the United States might perceive their actions as “shameful”, other countries can relate to Gambia. Women and men all over the world see themselves forced to sell themselves or become young “pimps”. Why? They don’t have the same opportunities that people in the United States have. Other countries are still living under a certain dictatorship, which is what they know as democracy. These people have never left their country and don’t have the same access to the internet and all new kinds of communication. They have no idea what it is to have “freedom”. Their only sense of freedom is the right to choose whether they want to plant and sell fruits and vegetables or sell their bodies.
As I kept reading this article, it seemed to be more of a flashback to when I traveled to Mexico. When most people hear “Mexico” they might think, tacos, mariachis, culture and tradition. However there are things that people who don’t live there aren’t exposed to. People in Mexico see what we may call “prostitution” as a way of living. Their jobs start once the moon starts to rise, that’s when their shifts start. Whether it may be selling their bodies on the corners of streets or selling a gram of cocaine at the nearest bus station. People tend to repeatedly judge without knowing the circumstances that people are under. Shaming and criticizing their way of feeding their children, while the same people who judge are the people who believe that this world is an ugly place. It’s only ugly when you judge how some people are living. The way they see it is, they are still alive and breathing. They didn’t dream of selling their bodies, but this is their best option at the moment. Not everyone has a goal to become filthy rich, some people only wish to live another day. Some people only wish to have food on the table for their children. Some people only wish to survive the day that their town gets bombed by other countries.
While I was reading the article, “The Gambia: The World we Live in” a variety of topics that was introduced by the article caught my attention. One topic was the idea of women and men offering themselves not for the need of one night with a foreigner or in other words a “toubab” but because of them hoping the possibility of the toubab taking them away from their country. The behavior of the citizens of Gambia demonstrate how their need for liberty is no longer a wish but an urge for them to live a better life. Furthermore, in the article a Gambian University lecturer named Bakery Baye stated, “This is what we have, an economy based on pleasing toubabs.” This demonstrates the idea how to Gambia, a rural country in Africa, sees foreigners specifically Westerners as the superior, which connects to the idea of colonialism. Social hierarchy does not only exist within the countries people but also among countries. Gambia is seen as a rural country where the citizens have to do certain circumstance in order to survive their land. The action of the sex workers brings up the idea of individuals having to leave to their country and migrate or take action on their hands in order to withstand the idea of not living. In Latin America, for instance Mexico, I believe the people are limited to the options of either working although they get a low wage, migrate to America with the hope for el “Sueño Americano” or take the easy money path. Similarly, in Gambia the citizens are limited to their economic life choices, which are either to have a job that pays one or two U.S dollars per day, or hope for a foreigner to show affection toward them.
To add on, this article brought up the interesting issue that rural countries like Gambia are ruled by dictators, where the leaders use military as their way of governing. This made me think that majority of the countries that are rural, yet still interact with Westerners, become ruled by dictators, proclaiming that they will make the country succeed. However their claims may in the most bring profit to the citizens but instead make the people become aware of the rules and obey them at all times. This concept shows how third world countries become exploited, not only by their rulers but also by the outsiders. Overall, Gambia’s exploitation, use of dictator, and citizens having the need to do certain circumstances in order to survive, demonstrates how developed countries like the United States succeed, however at the cost of third world countries remaining rural.
This article elaborates on how native people have lost power in their own country. It is a social injustice for a dictator to control a whole country and leave the people with little rights. It is the sad truth that many people living in America or Europe don’t realize. You don’t know the feeling till your live through it. The people in Gambia believe there is a better place out there. Little do they know the world is corrupted everywhere and equal justice is always an issue. It is a desire for every person to live in the West, as they hope they will have a better life. Which in fact for the Gambian people would be somewhat a little better. As for females selling themselves to the white man, it is in fact a common thing all over the world, for variety of reasons.
This dictatorship should be overthrown and if all the people come together he certainly will. Certain people just accept their condition in their country and try to escape. Not everyone can win the “golden” ticket by a white man and flee to the West. If they don’t stand up for their human rights then generation after generation in Gambia will suffer from their ancestors poor decisions. Defying a human being by their color of skin was socially created for the white man to feel superior over others. Thats why when they go to countries like Gambia they feel as if they own the place because their ancestors forced and kidnapped Africans into America. The West influences Gambia into building these luxurious private resorts so they can corrupt the people and show them what they are missing on. This tempts the Gambian people to wish for a better living and to believe they have no power over their home land.
Reading this article is enlightening. It is appalling to see that even the countries that the US believes to be “friendly nations” aren’t. It goes to show how ignorant we are as a country. Gambia and the people of Gambia are being denied their human rights. They are living in unfair conditions under the dictatorship of a selfish ruler who believes he is superior. As stated in the article, few people view their dictator as savior of the country the way some people view him. There is clearly more effort put into his safety than in the lives and equality of the people. Foreigner’s view of Gambia is limited to the beauty of the country such as beaches, hotels, and the services offered by civilians that are suffering from poverty and lack of opportunity. It is saddening to know that Gambians see marrying tourists as their only hope to free themselves of the corrupt system in their country. These people are basically prisoners in their own country. The social inequality in Gambia is horrifying. The people of Gambia live off of earning as little as one dollar a day. This article proves how little we appreciate the things have. It is sad to see that some people aren’t given the same opportunities as others.
In other countries there’s still the ways in which people suffer is unbelievable. In places such as Gambia they are living under strict dictatorship and they can’t even depend on their own people to help them live better lives. They’ve become trapped in their own country. All over the world people suffer social injustice, inequality and poverty. When you hear of how women and men out their use their bodies as a means of survival it’s always shocking. These men and women aren’t only looking for means to help them survive for the day it’s a means to get out and seek a much better life for not only their selves but family too possibly. People who travel to these third world countries most of them just ignore the real people around and just admire what they want us to see such as the expensive hotels and dinning, things that tourist would find more interesting. In reality no one really wants to take an honest look at all the troubles anyone may face. We choose to ignore it all over the world. There’s poverty all over and even in the US it’s sad and disgusting the amount of money that goes into building homeless shelters instead of making more apartment building for families.
Gambia is similar to Mexico, where I visited in early 2017. Gambia and certain parts of Mexico have become tourist areas. I studied abroad in Quintana Roo, Mexico for two weeks and one of our excursions was a trip to the city of Tulum. Tulum attracted tourists and non-genuine Maya people for entertainment. This is where I first encountered tourism in the worst kind. The individuals in Tulum were dressed very stereotypical of Mayas with a snake around their neck and were yelling “GUACAMOLE” before every picture that they posed for. I realized that there are Maya citizens who are influenced by tourists to falsely represent Maya culture. These individuals in Tulum chose to falsely represent their Maya culture in order to attract as much of a crowd as possible from tourists who will never understand the falsity of their behavior. Unfortunately this is one of the few ways that these individuals in Tulum find it fit to make money. The essence of Maya culture can be found in Felipe Carillo Puerto, the city where I lived while in Mexico. However the only image that tourists in Cancun and Tulum are willing to see is the false mockery of Maya culture. And as long as Cancun and Tulum continue to make revenue from tourism then poor, rural cities like Felipe Carillo Pueto will continue to be ignored by government leaders.
The toubabs, or the foreigners are very influential in the country of Gambia. As long as foreigners are satisfied then the true issues such as having a small economy are ignored to the detriment of that country’s citizens. The similarity of Mexico and Gambia is validated with the reality of the dependence theory in which citizens aspire to serve these foreigners either to provide more for their families or escape elsewhere to pursue higher aspirations. What has occurred in countries such as Mexico and Gambia can not be solely blamed on their respectively corrupt governments. Colonization has played a significant causal role in this cycle of the exploitation of underdeveloped countries.
This article touches on a lot of important topics; colonization, the concept of “third world” countries, tourism, and dictatorship. Like Gambia and Senegal, which is now Senegambia, countries that have been colonized for years are stripped of their culture and are left in a “spiritual void” as their people are stolen from their homes, brought to a new, unfamiliar place, and controlled by other nations simply because they have more money, weapons and power. A lot of these countries are countries that attract every day tourists from all over the world; however, are we considering the history behind the countries we visit? Is going to a resort for a week in a country like the Dominican Republic count as visiting a country? This is a problem we see every day, especially in the US. The same countries and cultures we judge, disregard and do not care to understand or learn about are the same places we are going for spring break and summer vacation. We cannot visit the countries whose cultures we constantly disregard and refuse to learn more about.
This article also explains the dependence many people in these poorer countries have on modern day tourists to bring money home to their families. Because the monthly salary of citizens in countries like Gambia and Venezuela are so poor, they rely on arranged (visa) marriages and prostitution with a “toubab” to get by. The same people that visit these countries are the same people citizens rely on to overcome the countries’ obstacles they may face that have been carried on for centuries because of the effects that colonization had on the country. Countries are left powerless, impoverished, culturally lost, and to try and fill the “spiritual void” that they are now left with.
Gambia, one of the smallest west African country where Portuguese slave trader’s adducted Africans for slavery in America. Thou the British divided Senegal and took over Gambia it seems that Gambia is just another example of the “Berlin wall” where families were divided and now with Jammeh as a Dictator who’s planning to stay in power for who knows how long, I wonder how it is for those for people who live in Senegal.
The average one and two dollars a day to survive in that country it got to be harsh, I agree is not safe to live there and I feel sorry for the ones that live there. When I read the part in the article “The Gate Keeper” I noticed that in that situation everything is about money and power. Is Funny how he named himself Babili Mansa (The Bridge Builder) but refuse in build a Bridge for his people because he knows very well this will benefit his Government. The incident where my professor had to go through with the agent was something I have being a victim of it too with the police officer on the road check point back in my country, they think because we from another country such the USA they think they can get some essay dollars out of me or any visitor with their false little excuses, in reality is sad and bad that some foreigner need to go through this for no valid reason.