The Gambia

 Daily life in The Gambia, as in most African countries, is hard for us westerners to comprehend. Our excursion today gave us a brief glimpse of a couple of common activities: a food market, a private school, and a fishing village. The Gambia and Senegal are predominantly Muslim. The majority strongly object to being photographed, and let it be known if they see someone pointing a camera in their direction. (We had been warned beforehand.) 

A strong impression remains. Our local tour guide explained that life is very simple for most Gambians. They (pretty much exclusively the women) spend their day finding and preparing the next meal. The men try to earn some money. When their families have had enough to eat, the day is a success. They think only about what needs to be or can be done today. At the end of the day, they go to sleep. When they wake up, the cycle starts over. 

Eve points out that the feudal structure in Europe many centuries ago was probably not much different.

We drove past a lot of building sites during our excursion. Many looked abandoned. 

I assume that with Gambian logic they have used all the available material and when, some day, a fresh load of cement or sand or rebar shows up, then work will continue. 

At the harbor in Sanjul, a big shipment of cement was being offloaded from a ship to feed this supply chain. I shuddered. 

Of course, with the right kind of financing, some big projects might move faster. 

It is hard to write something lighthearted about The Gambia. It is a sobering reminder of how our lives in the developed world are really pretty good. 

What I will remember is the self confidence exuded by the people going about their daily lives in the markets and villages. The brilliant colors and intricate patterns of their everyday clothing. The shouts and laughter ringing through the air in the markets. I suspect that no Gambians suffer from loneliness or isolation. 

We had a very full day.