The Tour starts-municipal councils..
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Today I 'Bulfaaleh' started a tour where I will be meeting Gambians from all walks of life. Some are outspoken,others wish to whisper for fear of retribution from the regime. These series will be so interesting to follow. They will be coming on the freedomnewspaper time after time. These series will unearth everything the current regime is doing,alongside expose the inner feelings of people who are usually not heard at all.
The Clerk I met
The clerk I met was so irate. He was irate because he had no receipts in his hand bag likewise he really hates the job he is doing. He was asked to go and collect "duty" or local taxes from market vendors,wood sellers,petty traders so on and so forth.
The clerk said he was not himself because he was totally confused. He was confused because he was being asked to collect taxes from vendors whose stalls were burnt to ashes moons back. Vendors who never received compensations neither did they have the audacity of lodging their heart-breaking complaints to any authority. Some of those vendors according to the clerk walk all the way from Tanji beach to Serekunda market early in the morning everyday.Carrying loads of bonga and other types of local fish on their heads to resell. They have to walk because paying for the fares on the Kartong,Sukuta,Gunjur,Brufut,Tanji taxi vans,"kaasambarrs" isn't all that easy for them. Some of the vendors say that the prices of fish have risen because the the price of gasoline or petrol has risen. Fishermen in that area use gasoline to run their canoes. These fishermen most of whom are either Ghanaians,Senegalese,Guineans and "Chouballos" from Futa Toro really feel unwelcome in The Gambia these days. Especially after the killing of the Ghanaians. Most of the non Gambian fishermen nowadays come,sell their catch then run back to Senegal or nearby Casamance only to resume the following day. These to and fro journeys add more heat to the already hot prices of fish.
My balad with the clerk
The clerk who was constantliy looking at his wrist watch because he was not ready to miss the time those vendors would start placing their products along the corridors of the SK market ,continued complaining endlessly. He was neither here nor there. He had to collect the local taxes as a job that helps feed his family, on the other hand he also had to sympathasise with the poor sellers. I joined the clerk two days back. We went together because he asked me to see first hand what he was talking about. I approached the clerk as a 'semestah' from Denmark. Told him that I have been abroad all these years therefore came home to see how I can invest in The Gambia. This idea was not welcome by the clerk. He automatically told me..."if you start business here you will end up digging a grave for yourself,this place has been destroyed by Yaya Jammeh" The clerk rethorically asked me if I do not read the news at all? I felt saddened by that helpless question but still maintained my calm posing as the soul mate 'semestah' from Denmark. First of all the clerk received D300.00 from me as a gift. He was so glad about that token amount.
Dead citizens walking-market vendors hungry and full of fear!
Upon arrival at the market I suddenly saw an old woman who was standing near a basket full of fresh fish showing us a fearful face. She was like a desperate(?) offender of the law. When she was naturally working hard to feed her kids. "What crime has this old woman committed to look so concerned?" I asked the clerk? He smiled back saying..."my friend this woman you think is old,left school two years ago. She is not old she is just frustrated..." I immediately pulled out D100.00 then gave it to the woman in question. She looked at me astonished and dumbfounded wondering why on earth did I give her the money. She said..."I think trying the beautiful girls who are chewing gum is better than trying an unattractive person like me.." My clerk friend intervened to clarify things for her,telling her to take that as alms or charity because the money was not meant for what she was assuming. The woman thought I was trying to seduce her in one way or the other. After realising why I gave her the money the woman cried bitterly. She simply told me these words..."God will reward you not me just go..." I could not control my tears at that point.
Before leaving I asked the woman why she was looking so scared when we were approaching her? She then explained how one of her friends was whipped by the PIU Police Intervention Unit when they were accused of refusing to obey another municipal clerk's orders some months back. At the end that very clerk who engineered the severe beatings of those poor vendors joined the ranks of the APRC as a member of the party's feared youth wing. She was thinking about the same beatings while looking at me and my clerk friend approach her place.
The Youths I saw smoking weed, wasted human resources in my book...
All of a sudden as my clerk friend and I were going through the noisy market I was stopped by a loud 'Eh Bro!' coming from a hoarse voice at a dark corner. As soon as I turned back to see who was calling,I saw a former intelligent sixth form student I knew before. He came forward covering his rasta braids with a huge hood-like hat coloured with stripes of the Jamaican flag, This youth had not seen me for a long time therefore my cover as 'semestah' from Denmark grow stronger. After hugging me he gave me the victory sign of peace then asked me where I have been. I smiled back then told him I was just coming from Denmark. That answer was like jump starting a car. The young man started raining every complain and painful experience he has been going through to me.
I asked why he did not continue reading after his A levels? I was so shocked when the young man pulled his WAEC results from his back pocket and showed me the series of A's he scored during his final exam. He then explained to me how he was denied a scholarship to Taiwan because his father is not a sympathiser of the APRC. He sobbed bitterly as he was narating the sad story of nepotism to me. He then said this to me..." bro! any day a rebellion starts here it will be bloody because I think it is better to die than live in this kind of condition. Bro! now worst of all Tony Daabaa(meaning a nick name for President Jammeh) has started jailing people who are deported from Europe! Who does Yaya think he is bro?" I tapped him on the shoulder then asked him to calm down.
The clerk provides ataya for the youngsters for reasons.
My clerk friend is really the man! Him and the youths smoking weed are friends for a reason that many of us would have never even thought about. The clerk pays them with such offers to help protect the helpless sellers who stay late only to get more money. These youngsters are there at a corner looking like gangsters but in reality they are decent souls when it comes to loving their country! They protect the helpless sellers when attacked by other unruly wild youths. They also peep and look through cars packed in the dark area where government big wigs use to exploit the vulnerable young girls of poor families. This is exactly why the clerk likes his boys. He sees them as wasted human resources too. The clerk himself has been part of the gang before he picked up his job.
These very youths are good sources. They know almost every member of the regime because people like Yankuba Touray and Lang Tombong Tamba use these youngsters to get the girls of their desire. We will come to that later in these new series of 'Bulfaaleh's' meet The Gambians tour...
We will also review the way some district chiefs,directors and others help distribute charities for President Jammeh. Black cows,white rams etc etc. These series will be so spicy and revealing. Instead of the greater Banjul area now our revelations will cause arrests from local government offices right from the provinces too. Before uprooting President Jammeh a lot needs to be revealed thus dampen the system itself. He will surely be shocked and get more paranoid as we continue this latest "stripe" of endless complains and scandals from the heart and mind of his own government. Stay tuned...