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Momodou
Denmark
11733 Posts |
 Posted - 05 Dec 2006 : 00:44:55
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Foroyaa Editorial
Cleaning The Streets By Depriving Beggars
In one swoop beggars and others who constitute the scum of society were swept away from the streets of the Greater Banjul Area. Those who were caught red handed committing the “crime of begging” because of poverty and deprivation were paraded like criminals into a courtroom to be penalized for causing nuisance in the streets. They have been ordered to “keep the peace,’ ie stay indoors for the next six months.
This is what Gambian society has degenerated to. The downtrodden are treated like thrash in the society. What the street beggars need are rehabilitation and jobs.
In fact Section 31 of the constitution states quite clearly that “(1) The right of the disabled and handicapped to respect and human dignity shall be recognised by the state and society.
(2) Disabled persons shall be entitled to protection against exploitation and to protection against discrimination, in particular as regards access to health services, education and employment.
(3) In any judicial proceedings in which a disabled person is a party, the procedure shall take his or her condition into account.”
Needless to say, cleansing the street of beggars is like sweeping the dirt under the carpet. Without employment and enlightenment the beggars because of sheer necessity –survival- will re-emerge. Every problem with its solution. The solution to the problem of beggars is their transformation into productive and dignified members of society, not the application of a colonial law.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 107/2006, 1-3 December, 2006
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2006 : 02:00:09
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| This sounded like my posting some days ago |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2006 : 13:27:29
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Kons, it is the same topic. These beggars are causing more and more embarrassment because their number seems to increase.
In September I saw poor people dwelling under a cover at a wall at Brikama Highway. I knew this from India, but never noticed it in Gambia before. If this should be the path Gambia is going to run, then good night... Millionaires in Kololi and Fajara, and beggars dwelling on the streets; it is a disgust.
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2006 : 15:26:22
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quote:
Originally posted by serenata
Kons, it is the same topic. These beggars are causing more and more embarrassment because their number seems to increase.
In September I saw poor people dwelling under a cover at a wall at Brikama Highway. I knew this from India, but never noticed it in Gambia before. If this should be the path Gambia is going to run, then good night... Millionaires in Kololi and Fajara, and beggars dwelling on the streets; it is a disgust.
fine words sister.begging need to stop but in human way.do not harrass the beggers just explain to them that it is bad. |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2006 : 16:20:52
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quote:
Originally posted by serenata
In September I saw poor people dwelling under a cover at a wall at Brikama Highway. I knew this from India, but never noticed it in Gambia before. If this should be the path Gambia is going to run, then good night... Millionaires in Kololi and Fajara, and beggars dwelling on the streets; it is a disgust.
i agree we cannot have a country where people have swimming pools in their houses and others are sleeping in the streets.
infact the really loosers in all this are the real people who need help, disabled handicapped people who cannot otherwise be part of the economy system, atleast currently.
in another posting it has been reported that a significant number of beggars are foreigners. there is nothing wrong will 'arresting' them. people should beg in their own country.it is not heartless but one has to draw the line.
one of the worst places on Earth to live is Kibera slum, just outside Nairobi. its one of the biggest slums on Africa, a terrible place and a good example of unplanned/uncontrolled urbanisation.we are lucky int he gambia we dont have slums and people should not be encouraged to create one!!!
it is more dignified to stay in one's own village poor than to go to an urban town/city only to beg and sleep in the streets.
slums create secondary problems that drag society backwards, where you have slums the countries are still struggling with dieseases from the 1940s. Dakar which is only 90 miles away is a classic example of rapid uncontrolled urbanisation full of beggars. Cholera is endemic. last time i was there in 2004 in only one week about 10 people died.
try controlling HIV/AIDS in a slum???
we are very lucky in the gambia and we shouldn't take things lightly. |
Edited by - njucks on 05 Dec 2006 16:22:00 |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2006 : 18:06:23
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quote:
Originally posted by serenata
Kons, it is the same topic. These beggars are causing more and more embarrassment because their number seems to increase.
In September I saw poor people dwelling under a cover at a wall at Brikama Highway. I knew this from India, but never noticed it in Gambia before. If this should be the path Gambia is going to run, then good night... Millionaires in Kololi and Fajara, and beggars dwelling on the streets; it is a disgust.
I cant agree more. Because they are begging, they will be called foreigners. You will be suprised with the level of "civilised" begging in offices. Well dressed gambians begging in offices is quite common these days.
Its a signal to policy planners that something is wrong. We need to create jobs. Wealth creation is almost dead in our economy.
No one wants to be a beggar and if only we could "live" the lives of these people for just one day, we would appreciate the difficulties they go through. I am sure all these beggars want to build their own Places if only only wishes were horses.
We should not be quick to condemn such people as lazy or nuisances. All of us are capable of falling from grace to grass.
My advice is if you climb the stairs of success, please be nice to those you pass along the route. Because these people might be the very ones who would give you help on your way down should you encounter an unexpected free fall from grace to grass. |
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kayjatta
2978 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2006 : 18:31:49
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I personally don't like to see anybody begging and swarms of beggers in the streets of any city or town is very undesirable.
In many countries such as the U.S. panhandling (begging) is prohibited by law. But there is social welfare system that takes care of the poor. I think begging should be outlawed in the Gambia , but this reminds me of Amina Faal Sowe's novel "Beggers' Strike" set in Dakar , Senegal.
The Gambia can probably afford to have the qualified poor register with the social welfare where they will receive a monthly check of government money to provide them with basic needs of food and clothing.
All the money wasted on the Vice Presidents house renovation ( if true) and other scandalous financial misappropriations that occur daily in the Gambia could be used to build a strong welfare system for the qualified disadvantaged members of the Gambian society. |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2006 : 18:48:58
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| Kayjatta, Njucks and Kons, I fully agree with you. I don't mean anybody should rest in the 'social hammock', as cynical German bourgeois like to call it. But along with the creation of jobs a welfare system for those who really need it (and cannot be fed by their families) should go without saying in a modern society. |
Edited by - serenata on 05 Dec 2006 18:58:57 |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2006 : 20:52:05
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quote:
Originally posted by serenata
Kayjatta, Njucks and Kons, I fully agree with you. I don't mean anybody should rest in the 'social hammock', as cynical German bourgeois like to call it. But along with the creation of jobs a welfare system for those who really need it (and cannot be fed by their families) should go without saying in a modern society.
sere. we are on the same side on this issue but remember the gambia with all its megre resources is a capitalist country. the market decides not the people. i can remember a quotation by julius nyerere he said ''were the market is the forces for people's livelyhood and control what society want ,that is you can buy and sell.what happens if you don't have any thing to buy or sell ,will the market still look after you ? he said no.if you don't have any money you cannot benefit the market''. this what is happening in the whole world. earn and spend ,if you cannot earn then alas war betight.rich people have the right to enjoy them self but they should remember the poor and needy. i was told kondo is quite rich and alhasan is very rich as well. momodou is an interpreneur and nyarikanbana is heavy weight in politics ,so sere we can form our own charity with the rich members of the forum as our sponsors.let us stop talking and let us act.
i will call it the beggars fund. i donate £10. |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2006 : 21:10:13
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quote:
Originally posted by kayjatta
I personally don't like to see anybody begging and swarms of beggers in the streets of any city or town is very undesirable.
In many countries such as the U.S. panhandling (begging) is prohibited by law. But there is social welfare system that takes care of the poor. I think begging should be outlawed in the Gambia , but this reminds me of Amina Faal Sowe's novel "Beggers' Strike" set in Dakar , Senegal.
The Gambia can probably afford to have the qualified poor register with the social welfare where they will receive a monthly check of government money to provide them with basic needs of food and clothing.
All the money wasted on the Vice Presidents house renovation ( if true) and other scandalous financial misappropriations that occur daily in the Gambia could be used to build a strong welfare system for the qualified disadvantaged members of the Gambian society.
Probably 96% of the population will qualify to be on such a register. Some are just too ashamed to beg openly, but visit homes in the evenings or go round the quadrangle for "van fares" home. |
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Newfy
Western Samoa
462 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2006 : 21:29:51
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This is outrageous -- it sounds like something out of Charles Dickens where families get sent to debtors prison or children become endentured servants.
this behavior can be found globally.
Read about the pushing out of beggars in San Francisco to outlying areas so that they could not be seen around the tourist areas, like Civic Center and other places in the U.S. or in the Pacific, where the homeless are moved off of state parks and beaches and put in jail as part of eviction. How many hidden beggars/homeless there are in the world, we cannot imagine. |
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kayjatta
2978 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2006 : 17:43:32
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Thanks Newfy for the reference to Charles Dickens. Dickens himself is from a very poor background , his father has been imprisoned for his debts. No wonder Dickens' writings including Oliver Twist and David Copperfield are mainly centered around the theme of poverty and the low side of life.
Kondorong , if you take an American standard or some other global standard may be the entire Gambian population except Jammeh and his secretaries of state will qualify for welfare assistance. But no we are not using those standards , we are instead using a Gambian standard.By Gambian standard 96 percent are not poor , not all those who ask for lift on the road side are qualified as poor.
In the Gambia today the general population will tell you of serious economic hardship but many of them are getting by daily. However , there is the bottom layer of the Gambian social and economic strata who are really wretched and destitude , handicapped and without the previledge of children or family to support them. They are literally "rotting" in the streets and represent an eye sore to civilization and a guilt to our conscience. This is a moral world in as much as it is a Darwinian world of the survival of the fittest.
If the gambia government set up a proper effective yardstick only the qualified few will be eligible for government support and the majority will be ineligible because they can or have the ability to manage on their own. |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2006 : 18:00:13
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quote:
Originally posted by kayjatta
Thanks Newfy for the reference to Charles Dickens. Dickens himself is from a very poor background , his father has been imprisoned for his debts. No wonder Dickens' writings including Oliver Twist and David Copperfield are mainly centered around the theme of poverty and the low side of life.
Kondorong , if you take an American standard or some other global standard may be the entire Gambian population except Jammeh and his secretaries of state will qualify for welfare assistance. But no we are not using those standards , we are instead using a Gambian standard.By Gambian standard 96 percent are not poor , not all those who ask for lift on the road side are qualified as poor.
In the Gambia today the general population will tell you of serious economic hardship but many of them are getting by daily. However , there is the bottom layer of the Gambian social and economic strata who are really wretched and destitude , handicapped and without the previledge of children or family to support them. They are literally "rotting" in the streets and represent an eye sore to civilization and a guilt to our conscience. This is a moral world in as much as it is a Darwinian world of the survival of the fittest.
If the gambia government set up a proper effective yardstick only the qualified few will be eligible for government support and the majority will be ineligible because they can or have the ability to manage on their own.
The unfortunate thing is, the government cannot account for her citizens. Until we know who is who, no such system can work. Forget about birth certificates or other documents. |
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LEMON TIME
Afghanistan
1295 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2006 : 18:22:35
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| How about ALKALO'S Certificates. |
There is no god but Allah |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2006 : 18:40:32
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quote:
Originally posted by LEMON TIME
How about ALKALO'S Certificates.
That does not exist. |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2006 : 21:14:10
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quote:
Originally posted by kondorong
quote:
Originally posted by LEMON TIME
How about ALKALO'S Certificates.
That does not exist.
IT DOES. IN TALINDING KUNJANG PEOPLE BECAME GAMBIAN'S WITH AN ALKALO CERTIFICATE. |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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