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Gambia News : Beach Boys Complain of Maltreatment By Soldiers And GTA

Isatou Bittaye

The boys at the beach, commonly called "Bumpsters", have raised their dissatisfaction over the manner they are treated by the soldiers and staff of the Gambia Tourism Authority (GTA) at the beach. Speaking to this reporter, Ebrima Darboe, a beach boy, said they depend on the beach to earn their living, but that they are being denied the freedom to do so by the GTA and soldiers at the beach. He said that he has a Bar where he sells soft drinks and beer and that he does not hustle or rob the tourists, but the soldiers treat him like a "bumpster". He said they always disturb him at the beach. Ebrima complained that the GTA set rules for them, which according to him are not reasonable, citing the GTA identity card as an example. He said that being at the beach could sometimes bring opportunities for them, as they can be fortunate to have a sponsor.

Ebrima added that they are not "bumpsters" who harass or rob tourists, but are there to help tourist's in order to get something from them for their living. He said that he is a bar-keeper and some of his friends are fishermen and juice pressers, that the only solution to their problem is for the soldiers and the GTA to leave them to have their freedom at the beach. He added that they are also urging the government to establish factories such as fishing companies, etc as an alternative where they can be employed to enable them to contribute to the development of the Gambia.

He called on the Hotel Managers to employ them in their hotels as entertainers. Sheriff Ceesay, another beach boy told Foroyaa that their main problem is the soldiers.

He explained that they depend on the beach to make ends meet, but the soldiers always disturb them. He said the soldiers sometimes arrest and detain them at their camps for 72 hours, punished them by forcing them to do hard work or even beat and torture them to stop going to the beach. He said this cannot stop them from going to the beach..

Sheriff said they sometimes have good opportunities at the beach, but these opportunities sometimes slip away due to the treatment meted out to them by the soldiers. He also called on the government to create employment for young people and for society to also change their perception that youths do no want to work, but rather prefer to sit at street corners drinking green tea (attaya). Sheriff challenged that everybody wants to leave a happy life and develop his family and the nation. He said that people should have sympathy and respect for each other. He agreed that there is occasionally one or two bad boys who cause trouble but that this is not a general problem that should be used as a pretext to deny them the beach.

Mr. Amadou Ceesay, the Director of Human Resources at the GTA, told this reporter that the tourism industry needs to be regulated in order to achieve the desired objectives. He said that the GTA understands that the frustrations of the boys are as a result of poverty, but they will not allow them to wreck the industry.

Mr. Ceesay said the GTA introduced the identity card to make sure that only people with bona fide businesses are allowed to go to the beach. He said before the ID card is issued to anybody, the person must register with GTA. He added that they have established the Tourism Security Unit (TSU) for the safety and well being of the tourists and they operate within all areas frequented by tourists. Mr. Ceesay said the GTA understands that the "bumpster" problem is a social problem and decided to tackle it in two approaches. He said the GTA has created employment schemes such as the official tourist guide scheme, which was introduced in 1997, that the scheme is a poverty alleviation scheme that trains and employs "bumpsters" as guides. He said they also conduct sensitisation programmes on the TV and radio and also go to schools to sensitise people on the negative effects of bumpsters and try to introduce people to ways they can contribute positively to the nation. He said that the reality is that everybody cannot be employed in the tourism industry and the beach boys "bumpst negatively"'. He said some juice presser's method of operation at the beach is unhygienic and can cause health problems to the tourists. He said they don't allow juice pressers to operate in an area where there is no tap. He said they have allocated places where they should operate but some boys do scatter along the beach.

He added that he received e-mail from a tourist that some boys were trying to harass her at the beach, which he said could drive tourist from the Gambia and that will be a great loss to the economy.

On his part, Lt. Ousman Bah, the head of the Tourism Security Unit, (TSU) said the unit is mandated with the responsibility of clearing the industry with all forms of illegal acts such as hustling, robbing, prostitution, bumpsting, drug dealing and other criminal acts under the Gambia Tourism Offences Act. Lt. Bah said they are trained professionally to deal with people, either Gambians or non-Gambians, and are to make sure that nobody harass or rob tourists. He denied the allegation that they arrest and beat or torture people, but noted that they arrest people they found hustling tourists and detain them for 72 hours.

He said during the 72 hours of detention, they normally ask the arrestees to perform cleansing exercises because they committed offences and that is their form of punishment and they feed them with three daily meals, which is sponsored by GTA. He said some boys did not have the valid documents to be at the beach and the TSU now has a drug squad and immigration unit and they monitor drug dealers and people without valid documents. Lt. Bah noted that they have rules governing them to provide a safe and secure environment for people doing business in the tourism development area. He said they operate from Atlantic Hotel to Sanyang on a daily basis to protect tourist, which is their responsibility, and the national interest is paramount since tourism contributes a lot to the country. He said some boys do not want their presence at the beach but they use dialogue to enlighten them on the importance of tourism.

Lt. Bah said they are trying to introduce a plan whereby anybody arrested will be taken to GTA to be recruited in their cleansing team. He said they know they are dealing with their own brothers but it is their responsibility. He said they are trying to build and foster civil-military relations and people should understand that it is their mandate to control and secure the beach.