"To some extent, this malaise is constantly renewing itself because of the"display rituals" of " semesters": those who'd managed to get to the West, and who frequently, or not so frequently,come back for holidays. Some of these" semesters ", like peacocks, prance about town preeing their plumes in an unspoken but comic concours d'elegance. Very rarely would these "queens" explain honestly to people the price they have had to pay for their plumes: the sleeping on other people's floors,the sponging off of friends and enemies alike, the menial jobs,the cops,and as most of the West is racist, the almost systemic sapping of one's amour propre. The indignities that await the African in Europe are infact endless." Yes, some of us go to Gambia to clown around and yes, fluff our feathers, thanks to the few that manage to exhibit that image. I have run into this type in banks and other public places and believe me they can act the fool in outlook and behavior. Especially, the ones that come from this end of the woods, with their slangs, walk, and flash. Rappers don't have anything on them for every other sentence starts or ends with MF. Funny story, I was in line at a bank and all of a sudden I heard one of these freaks yell from behind me, "What's up ma Nigger". I instantly told myself, I hope this idiot is not talking to me, without looking back. Luckily he was talking to another buffoon from Georgia. You should have seen the hostile looks from the customers, but these two fools carried on with this noise for what seem like thirty minutes. When they finally stepped outside, the customers, mainly home based Gambians and some caucasians, unanimously registered their disgust and heaped it on the bank tellers for not putting the brakes on those two exhibits. It was really embarrassing the way they carried themselves, especially, when one of the caucasians commented that: "had a white person call them that in the states, then they call you a racist". So, yes, there are those types and they are representing. However, why do some of our brothers and sisters on the ground seem to cling to this myth that the above listed jobs/conditions is what most of us do for the most part in Europe and America? The ones that tend to do that the most are those that seem to think there is a competition between diasporans and them. By virtue of them being on top of the food chain in the Gambia, they seem to have the need to dangle this "Hai, Yen Daagne Fok, Nyuun Nungeh Dohal Fee Teh Deka Baange Doh - Toportor Gi". Good for you, so, where is the problem if things are working for you? Why does your doing good have to counter the state of being of any other from the outside? When you don't bite the bait, they shift gear to giving you advise that you need to buy land, build this and that, only to weave in what they are building etc.. That is what they wanted to tell you and to know your business so, they can be an expert on you. That is the Chuneh business that this crop like to indulge in. The levelheaded friends are a joy to meet and it is those lost memories that you miss when you leave them. I've heard the above many times during my trips and I just shake my head. Well, Monkey see Monkey do. Years ago, Yaya opened his big mouth and said that nonsense when we embarrassed him on his trips to the US. Am tempted to take this crop on, but I think it is best for them to continue to cling to their sweet dream and savor the complex they carry. "Saalowe", they can dangle it all they want, but none will say they are an expert on Joe, for I tell them zilch. That bothers them. They want so badly to use you to measure their ego, but nope, none of your business what I do or have. "Coumpa Gi Di Nah Leene Rey". You have not seen me for a decade and I have not told you anything about myself, why you priming me about buying land and circumstance? Is it not enough that I thought highly of you to look for you for old time sake? Naah! They have a need to shine on someone. Finally, the Observer missed the forest for the tree. If Yaya is doing so well for Gambia, that you seem to lie about daily, why you think the youth would rather die trying than live in the abundance that you seem to falsely write about? See, the joke is on the Observer, for it by default have revealed that was all propaganda. Poverty and unemployment is the reason, stupid! You measure how well a nation is doing by the state of its citizens, not the thieves that thrive off the bones of the masses. Write about that next time, will you? Please read on. Email This Page Print This Page Visit The Publisher's Site The Daily Observer (Banjul) EDITORIAL April 17, 2007 Posted to the web April 20, 2007 There is scarcely a youth in our country who does not harbour a craving to go to Europe or to the US . Its true that the bourgeoisie have been sending their kids to the West for further education, but the sort of craving we are talking about is the one that we used to call"nerves": a vague hankering for Europe or the US, irrespective of whether one had the fare or indeed a definite plan of what to do when one got there. This herd ambition to leave is so strong that a lot of people are now entrusting their lives to profiteering traffickers, whose perilous sea journeys have all too frequently ended in catastrophe. No amount of advice seems capable of dissuading these "hustlers" from making their hazardous journeys. The promise of El dorado has befuddled the minds of many would-be adventurers,and the glazed-over vision of the West which such a befuddlement entrails, is nothing but the glow of an illusion; soon to be dissolved by either death or the disappointing lineaments of the Western world. Relevant Links West Africa Gambia Economy, Business and Finance Rumours of richest have always induced people into making the journey which they hope will improve their economic lot;but in our case,it is difficult to assess whether the current scale of exodus is a direct symtom of our economic under-development, or an excresence of the psychological morbidities that have been detected in the post-colonial mind. Most of us,expecially our youths, seem haunted on our own soil, and the Western world is believed to offer the only possibility of an exorcism. To some extent, this malaise is constantly renewing itself because of the"display rituals" of " semesters": those who'd managed to get to the West, and who frequently, or not so frequently,come back for holidays. Some of these" semesters ", like peacocks, prance about town preeing their plumes in an unspoken but comic concours d'elegance. Very rarely would these "queens" explain honestly to people the price they have had to pay for their plumes: the sleeping on other people's floors,the sponging off of friends and enemies alike, the menial jobs,the cops,and as most of the West is racist, the almost systemic sapping of one's amour propre. The indignities that await the African in Europe are infact endless. It is unfortunate that the admiration and envy which these "semesters" arouse, tent to inflame our fantacies of the West, and all earnest advice is usually met with suspicious leers, if not hostility. Most of us take advice as the ancient Greeks took the prophecies of Cassandra---with a pinch of salt. But fantasy's bubble invariably bursts, when it crashes against the immovable boundaries of reality. _________________________________________________________________ Download Messenger. Join the i’m Initiative. Help make a difference today. http://im.live.com/messenger/im/home/?source=TAGHM_APR07 ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤