Cape Point Hotel Bakau

... Most common question asked of Mr and Mrs R (i) Can I have your mobile 'phone number?(ii) Can I have your address?(iii) Can I buy you a drink? (we wish)  Drinks (i) Cold fizzy beer(ii) Cold fizzy beer(iii) Warm flat beer  Average ...

... under Gambian law, FGM (female circumcision) is now banned, men and women have legal equality in marriage, and abortion is decriminalised. Other legal advances include prohibition of child marriage, improved access to land rights and the tightening up of violence laws. But a change in legality doesn't automatically translate into a change in practice. FGM for example is a ritual that an estimated 60-90% of Gambian women have experienced yet even now it is technically ...

... this might have meant adding a smooth beige color to the walls. At Etu's it meant converging on the outside walls of the hut with unrestrained color and creativity to make it match the rest of the village. The next morning after showing us the paint, Etu left us to our own imaginations and the "work" began. Though I am fairly well practiced in doodling, especially in the margins of all my notebooks, letting my designs loose on a house was a bit of a jump. But after we'd mixed the paints ...

... see these things, and I can only imagine how bare the well-paved roads of America will seem without them. One night I had one of those dreams that just leaves you with an irrational gloom all morning; I dreamt that I was home again, but when I greeted everyone with a warm "salaam aleikum," they only looked at me strangely and coldly. It was just a little bit heartbreaking to think about. This place has, in the short time I've been here, left a mark on me,. And come December 16th, I ...

... change and I heard shouts of my name.. it was Jonathan and Chris, they had been driven round and round in the same taxi trying without success trying to find the hostel booked on the internet. We stopped and chatted. I suggested they come with me to the hotel and off we set. I was surprised to arrive at Motel Anfield, decked out in red with football clearly at the heart of its theme. The husband and wife owners where there ...

... of my explanation that I "filled the wrong name". Eyeing me up and down trying to decide whether I am a terrorist, fraudster, or just genuinely stupid, he makes me repeat my English name over and over in an attempt to catch me out. By the time he is satisfied that this is indeed my name, everyone in the room, inmates included, can pronounce and spell my name perfectly. Whilst I'm filling out the paperwork a passionate quarrel breaks out between a policeman and an ...

... on, really turn around and tell me I wasn't equal to them? That is what they implied by refusing to compromise what is handed down to them by tradition. No one said anything. This included the one Gambian woman in the class. Another smcm student had gotten her opinion on the matter later. She said that yes, some more freedoms would be nice, but the second anyone told her it was violating tradition, she would stop. This from one of the few women we've encountered in ...

... us from making the completely unwise decision to go to this man's compound (luckily it was not so dangerous as it could have been, the streets were busy, the compound was filled with other people, and in general the Gambian style is not well set up for violent crime, most is pick pocketing and conning). Yet we were duped by a desire to be friendly and see and know Gambian people. And this is what makes this event more than just a ridiculous story to me. Sitting there, listening ...

... a lizard and a stick stuck in my toilet. Finally in desperation, with both bladder and heart rate at breaking point, I was forced to close my eyes and praying loudly, thrust my hands in (protected only by a flimsy carrier bag) and seize the struggling soaking creature. Running wildly through my house I hurled it out of the door, whereupon it blinked a couple of times dazed, and was promptly pounced upon by the cat. I am seriously considering digging a pit latrine in my back yard.

... they suffer permanent damage - Child Trafficking - children may be smuggled either out of the country or to urban areas within the country where they can be exploited - Forced Labour - many children are sent out to work instead of to school - Female Genital Mutilation (a common practice in 4 out of 5 of the major tribes here) These are not easy issues and there is often a culture of silence ...