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Momodou
Denmark
11723 Posts |
 Posted - 19 Mar 2010 : 17:14:02
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Dailynews Editorial: The Tourism Development Area Should Be Demilitarized
The Tourism Development Area (TDA) needs demilitarization. The presence of the armed men and women around the TDA is not ideal, and above all it is not welcomed by many stakeholders. Tourism is one sector that contributes a lot to the economy of our country. The TDA is supposed to be a place of civilians and not armed men and women. Their mere presence sends the wrong signals.
Yes those authorities that deploy the armed security personnel on our beaches must have done it with very good intentions. They are probably looking for maximum security for the visitors, or even those who work on the beaches. On the contrary the presence of the soldiers on our beaches frightens our dear visitors.
If the information The Daily News gathered, observed and experienced are anything to go by, the tourism development area is under siege, out of reach to the public except for a few.
From Kotu Beach to Senegambia beach point, extraordinary "solitude," and "boring" is what could fittingly describe this usually engaged pleasing spot, our reporters gathered on Wednesday the 17 March 2010.
This area, which affords tourists a unique relaxation; birth and bask amid cool sea breeze as well as mingle with the locals - playing football or other games -, is almost decamped.
"Look here [at the beach]" an employee at Jullas Bar said pointing at the deserted beach.
And most, if not all the people our reporters talked to ranging from waiters to bar owners expressed outrage at the situation, blaming it on the presence of military personnel at the beach.
Even the tourists expressed dissatisfaction about the presence of military people around them. An old white woman (tourist) found at Jullas said. "They asked the boys to plunge into the river with their clothing as a form of punishment." That is not humane she lamented.
"We do not see them as nuisance so why should the government see them as such," a tourist lodging a Dunes Hotel but relaxing on the beach. "I think they are a bunch of lovely lads".
"They are very nice," another tourist found basking in the sun said. "The Gambia is called the smiling coast because of these people. But if you say hello to a soldier he would look at you as if to ask if you are really referring to him," an old woman who has been coming here for six consecutive years said.
The business activities on the beaches, especially the beach bars have dropped. Let us imagine how many people are working in those beach bars, and how many people depend on them? Yes security should not be compromised but one has to look at ways of taking care of such security matters without harming the economy.
Why can’t the stake holders including the Gambia Tourism Authority (GTA), the Gambia Hotel Associations (GHA), the Bumpsters and even the craft men /women brain storm over this and come up with permanent solutions. How many times have we seen the deployment and redeployment of soldiers in the TDA? Why the inconsistency?
Daily News would like to suggest that people who should take care of security on the beaches and other TDA places should be given a special training. People who can amicably deal with human beings, trainings that can afford such people psychological capabilities. Above all these people should not be in military uniforms.
In a nutshell it is better to demilitarize the TDA, as its militarization will not yield the ideal purpose. Military set ups are totally a different people with special indoctrination, whiles the TDA is purely civilian in nature.
Source: Dailynews
Related Topics:
1. Youths Decry Soldier “Brutality” in Tourism Area
2. Soldiers Detain Daily News Reporters
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