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Momodou
Denmark
11644 Posts |
 Posted - 21 Oct 2016 : 10:51:59
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The crack in Gambia's smile
BBC Online
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37716674
President Yahya Jammeh has ruled The Gambia since a coup more than 20 years ago
The Gambia is known to tourists as "the smiling coast of West Africa", but this masks something more troubling. On his last trip before his untimely death this week, journalist Chris Simpson navigated the different worlds that exist in the small country.
I had been in The Gambian capital, Banjul, less than an hour and here I was, car pulled over, explaining my business to a group of men in uniform.
A thrillingly sinister start to a week-long holiday? Not quite.
I had fallen into the clutches of the tourist police, identity badges to the fore, courteous to a fault. "Are you lost?" they asked.
They had guessed right.
A 12-hour journey from neighbouring Senegal had taken its toll and I had lost patience with my taxi driver's wearing "welcome to Africa" banter and general cluelessness.
Sheepishly, I agreed to a police escort. The commander jumped in next to the somewhat nonplussed man at the wheel and me, the slightly fake out-of-season tourist...........................
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Soundcloud Audio: https://soundcloud.com/westafricademocracyradio/daybreak-challenge-chris-simpson-former-bbc-correspondent-in-africa
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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The crack in Gambia's smile
