In the summer of 2020, a young man from Gambia stayed with me because of the pandemic. He couldn't remain at school after graduation, he couldn't fly home, and slowdowns in government work meant he couldn't get a work permit in time to accept job offers. I was gone a lot taking care of my mother, but I learned quite a bit about the Gambia. The word means "river."
I asked him how Senegal felt about the Gambians taking both banks of the river. He said that wasn't us, that was the French and the British. This video tells that story. The Gambians and Senegalese get along fine, and share things like utilities and sports teams. However, some of the things I learned about West African politics made me feel very lucky to live in the US.
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Why Does The Gambia Exist?
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2 comments:
Without meaning to insult, a lot of us out here in other countries feel, in regard to U.S, politics, very lucky not to live in the USA.
I can almost smell the guns being cocked, but truly, at least here in the Antipodes, our politicians walk around amongst us without armed guards, our hospitals are paid for by taxes, not patients, and pretty much no one has a gun.
Sort of oozy caramel filled chocolate us to bread and butter USA to dried husk of wheat kernel Gambia ?
Perception is important.
Like most geo-political problems, it's the fault of something dumb the British did last century.
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