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faderabraham
203 Posts |
 Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 12:44:09
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20 years traveling to gambia my late wife and i,how times change i still spend long times in the gambia...BUT ALL THIS TALK OF GET THE TWO-BOBS MONEY THEY CAN AFFORD IT...i grew up with nothing in england POOR....i worked hard to make a living and provide for my family. now am retired they ok...and am enjoying my travels to the sun..HAS FOR TWO-BOBS.. are we any different from any other human on this planet ?. i have met many hard working gambian friends and the ...OTHER KIND....most gambians have pride--respect-and are very kind i could go on for ever but just a few words for thought at this moment DONT JUDGE ALL THE SAME..we all human and we all have to try to live with respect for others in this world
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toubab1020
12311 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2007 : 18:08:31
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quote:
Originally posted by faderabraham
DONT JUDGE ALL THE SAME..we all human and we all have to try to live with respect for others in this world
Yes I agree totally with that I know many Gambians who are very poor yet they are smashing people,but I know other Gambians who are total scroungers even though they are not poor by any means,and appear to have totally lost the will to work at anything! |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2007 : 16:02:30
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| i like it when i travel to the villages, they are poor but happy. the families i meet near senegambia and the kombos, have money, land, electricty and still want more. |
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kiwi
Sweden
662 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2007 : 16:15:18
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Jambo.
Also I have money, flat, jobb, food, clothes. I still want more! |
kiwi |
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mbay
Germany
1007 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2007 : 17:06:52
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How was it again hungry man is a angry man ?
today is just opposite .
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 05 Feb 2007 : 19:46:25
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Jambo the more people have the more people want. Jambo would land, money and electricity satisfy all of your wants and needs?
Peace
Sister Omega |
Peace
Sister Omega |
Edited by - Sister Omega on 05 Feb 2007 19:46:57 |
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toubab1020
12311 Posts |
Posted - 05 Feb 2007 : 22:22:22
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So, you basically agree with me then Sister,or have I got it wrong again?
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"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 05 Feb 2007 : 22:58:48
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I think it is human nature to strive to better ones lot in life. But perhaps that is a Western concept, because many people in Gambia sit back and wait, thinking their life is Allahs will and they will be rewarded in the next life.   Karl Marx said religion is the opiate of the people, and it certainly seems that way sometimes in Gambia!
Of course what we NEED and what we WANT are two very different things. Consumer society is very good at creating new wants or 'must haves'. This has nothing to do with the quality of life and happiness of people. Indeed if we are constantly striving we may never be content and truely happy.
To simply 'be happy'is a spiritual state that has very little to do with what possessions we have. I have seen happiness in the Gambia in its purest state with some of the poorest people I have met and likewise I have seen unhappiness with some of the richest people I know in the UK.
If we value what we have, have our basic needs met (food, water, light) have meaningful work and a loving family then we are indeed very fortunate. I am one of those fortunate people. I try hard to remember that every day.  |
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toubab1020
12311 Posts |
Posted - 05 Feb 2007 : 23:04:48
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Gambiabev,a great posting, who wants a fridge or electricity! |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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anna
Netherlands
730 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2007 : 07:13:44
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Toubab1020, what is a fridge without electricity? Gambiabev seems to think also that simple is good, but pay attention: she needs light (maybe sunlight will do?).
Bev, are you downsizing in your mind already? Then it seems to be indeed therapeutic as Jambo told you somewhere else on Bantaba. Yours was a nice posting to read so early in the morning!
But folks, one thing i would like to say: maybe money doesn't make you happy, but in my view money makes you FREE! In my case that would mean, free to travel to the Gambia more often than i am doing now (haven't been there for more than a year now) and to stay longer because i can tell my boss to forget about me for two months or so because i will be otherwise engaged!
The other side: my Gambian partner worked his back off last year here in Holland and he went back to the Gambia for two weeks to see his family for Tobaski. He came back a little sad and desillusioned, he must have felt like a toubab in the Gambia. Well...everyone's roof apparently needed repair, family members were very ill and needed medicine and most of all everyone wanted a mobile, a watch or you name it.
When i suggested to him to try and go again together for a week in May, he said 'Oh no, it will cost me a fortune again, everyone will know how to find me there'.
Faderabraham, are you named after this Dutch guy with the long beard who had a big hit with a rather silly song about these little blue 'smurfs'? |
When an old African dies, it is as if a whole library has burnt down.
Amadou Hampate Ba (Mali) |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2007 : 07:48:17
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Anna, going to Gambia is very expensive for me now. Paying for the flight and the accommodation is the easy part. Paying for all the requests I get is the hard part. I have tried to explain how high our cost of living is and how hard we have to work for our money, but most Gambians dont get it or dont want to get it and still ask for stuff from me.
I will help with rice or schooling, but why should I buy someone I posh new mobile when mine is 5 years old! LOL! Or new clothes when mine are old?! 
I NEED a house, a car, a mobile, clothes, food, electricity, fridge and TV and camera, books and so on to live the life I want to live.
I may WANT,but not need a posh car, a bigger house, designer clothes the top of the range mobile and so on.
I agree ENOUGH money makes us free to make choices about our lives. But too much money and too many possessions seem to imprison people too. |
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anna
Netherlands
730 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2007 : 08:15:12
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Oh come on, you don't really want a posh car or a bigger house or designer clothes and the latest mobile! These things are of no importance.
So, you see: it's a good solution to get your Senegalese man over to the UK. It will not take him long to see how things work over here. This morning at half past 6 i closed the door behind my Gambian, going to work on his bike (he has to cycle 9 km) in the freezing cold, dressed like for the northpole. He has to work till 5, comes home, takes a shower, makes himself something to eat (i'll be working from 11 am till 10 pm - evening classes to get some extra money for us)and goes to school for Dutch classes. He loves it, and he loves to see the money coming in that he worked hard for! you know why: because it makes him free, free of his dependency of me! He can take care of himself, help his family and save up for 'later'. Our car is old but dependable, our appartment is small but comfortable and we can pay all our bills. In the evening we laugh about funny situations we came across during the day and we have never been happier! |
When an old African dies, it is as if a whole library has burnt down.
Amadou Hampate Ba (Mali) |
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Lily
United Kingdom
422 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2007 : 08:55:22
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Sounds like a good life Anna.
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anna
Netherlands
730 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2007 : 09:28:01
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Simple is good (hope you don't mind, Toubab1020, that i stole your motto).
Yes Lily, and i am sorry if i sounded smug. I just wanted to tell this in connection with 'need' and 'want'. I think nobody really 'wants' to be dependent on another person, and the one who is depended upon will very soon have the feeling 'i don't need and/or want this in my life'.
To stay on topic: i understand perfectly well what Faderabraham is talking about (and Bev is obviously put off by it too). You cannot help everybody and it is realistic too show vexation if everyone comes to you because they think you 'just happen' to have money. In a way i am glad my Gambian man saw for himself how it is to visit the Gambia as 'someone from Europe'. By the way, it was not his family making strange requests, but friends-of-friends-of-friends (so-called). |
When an old African dies, it is as if a whole library has burnt down.
Amadou Hampate Ba (Mali) |
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LEMON TIME
Afghanistan
1295 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2007 : 09:49:30
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| Didnt I said Anna was sensible. |
There is no god but Allah |
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anna
Netherlands
730 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2007 : 09:58:21
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Lemon Time, my (grown-up) children didn't think that i was so very sensible when i introduced them 4 years ago to my much younger, very African Rastafarian.
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When an old African dies, it is as if a whole library has burnt down.
Amadou Hampate Ba (Mali) |
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