My First Day in Gambia

      We've shared experiences from Ghana and Senegal. Today we are moving to the Gambia. In the story "Daddy, the Crazy Decision Maker," I spoke about how my Dad suggested I write the Nov/Dec examinations even before I entered Senior High School (if you haven't read that story yet, you can find it at the top right corner of this page). I opted to write the exams in Gambia since Gambia is quite close to Senegal. My Dad suggested that since I had never been to the Gambia, it was better to make the trip with someone who had an idea of the Gambian terrain. A church member who had stayed in Gambia for a while before moving to Senegal, therefore, made this trip with me. 

    By God's Grace, everything started going according to the plan. The bus left the terminal around 11 pm, and we reached the Senegalese border around 6 am. We successfully crossed borders. Please you should know that things might have happened on the bus and at the border, but since today's story is about the Ferry Experience, I wouldn't share them here today (I don't want someone to ask me later, I thought you successfully crossed borders, how come you are saying all these now? you sounded like you didn't encounter any issues). Well, that was just, by the way. 

    After crossing the borders, we picked a taxi to a place. It was a 20 minutes trip. Now, the taxi we picked was a 7-seater taxi. It was the first time I had seen something like that. It was more like an Opel taxi, but instead of having a large space as a boot, a seat was placed there. Now, this was the rule for the cab, the person who took the front seat by the driver had to pay extra; it didn't matter whether or not we were going to the same destination or whether you came first; the seat required that you pay extra. Now for the seats in the middle, the first three people to come could take those seats. Now, in order for one person to access the back seats, the center seat must be folded. As a result, if you arrive early and are given a middle seat, you will have to wait until the people in the back of the taxi have sat before you can sit.

    When we arrived at the place, I noticed a large crowd. Although the space was relatively large, it resembled a waiting room. It had about 300 to 500 people. I asked the guy I was traveling with what the place was. He explained that a giant sea separated some towns from the Capital of Gambia (Banjul) and that we had to pick a ship to the Capital. After he said that, I walked after him as we headed to purchase tickets.

I WAS SOOO EXCITED when I was told I would be on a ship. We all know that a Ferry is a boat or Ship for conveying passengers and goods, especially over a relatively short distance and as a regular service. Also, that is what it was called. This is why I named the story "The Ferry Experience." 

I reminded myself that this would be a beautiful experience. You know, before you encounter something on your own or someone tells you an adventure, you associate everything with movies; so when I realized I was going to be on a ship. I imagined myself standing in a long straight queue and walking majestically into the Ship after giving my boarding pass to the person at the gate. You get the scenario right. I bet you can name a few movies with such scenes. I anticipated it would be exactly like the movies. Because of this imagination, I grabbed my ticket firmly because I knew that was my only way of getting into the Ship. I was not going to allow my "House Witches" to rob me of this "Experience of A Lifetime." 

After some minutes, I heard a loud sound, and I was sure the Ship had arrived. Oh, the look on my face, so much full of joy (once in a while, I checked whether I still had that small special paper in my hand, every reassurance came with a bigger smile). After the Ship arrived, I saw a group of men directing cars. I knew they were directing the vehicles into the Ship (I still had not seen the Ship). I was pretty impressed because of how large some of the cars were. In my mind, I was like, "Wow, all these cars enter the Ferry, then it is huge." 

     A few minutes later, I saw a man approaching the big gate. As he drew closer to the entrance, I realized some sudden movements in the room. I realized people firmly grabbing their goods (those who had their stuff on the ground now put it on their head or shoulder), people started walking towards the gate, and parents began telling their children to stand up. I told myself, "Ah, where are these people rushing to? I mean, we all will calmly walk into the ship, so why the rush?". You see that sarcastic laughter you give when you believe everyone is wrong and you are right, yet they believe the opposite; well, that was what I was doing then. The movement got worse, so I turned and looked at my traveling partner with a facial expression that said, "What is happening?" He looked at me sternly and said, "When the gates open, get ready to run!!!!". I was shocked, like really, really shocked. At that moment, I wondered, "What do you mean by I should run."

A few seconds after he said that the man opened the gate, and I found myself running. As a young man, of course, I got past many people. While running, I looked around; it was so funny and weird. Everyone was so serious about the running. The young men and women, the school children, I mean everyone!!. Even the seller, who could not run because of the goods on her head, still found a way to move fast. I was expecting the children to lag, but I didn't see a single parent shout "Run" or anything of that sort. Even the kids knew what to do.  

     When I got to his location, I inquired about the frequency of the Ferry's back-and-forth trips. He told me three times a day. I also asked him when it does its last round, and he told me around 6 pm. After he said this, I tried to put myself in the shoes of a Gambian kid who had to take the Ferry daily to and from school. I convinced myself that this was the best justification I could ever come up with for being late for class and that if I wanted to stay over at a friend's house to play football or PlayStation 5, I could tell my mother that I missed the Ferry because she can't come pick me up. I imagined how nice it would have been to a Gambian student who used the Ferry.

     After making some jokes in my mind, I started having a serious conversation with myself. I told myself it was rather risky, dangerous, and scary for everyone who used the Ferry. I remembered how frequently I had to assist my parents and hence was running late to school. I couldn't have gone to class if I had been a Gambian student since the second Ferry wouldn't arrive in the Capital until after one in the afternoon. I recalled instances when I had to travel back home to retrieve something important I had left behind. I mean, what would I have done? I started to think about all those who knew nobody in the Capital, where they would sleep if they missed the Ferry. I mean, even a strong wave can harm the passengers on the Ship. If there was a heavy rainfall and you didn't pick an umbrella, you would have to stand for the rain to beat you continuously for 45 minutes. More and more scenarios came to mind, and all I could say was, "God, please be with every passenger." I'm sure you all have a couple of scenarios in mind too. 

      The Bible instructs us to put everything in God's hands and to worry about nothing. I'm aware of this and believe it, yet I still worry about many things. I always vow to stop worrying about issues after God has taken charge of something I was worried about, but a few days later, I start to worry again. I've come to believe that it's just human nature. We simply need to make an effort to remind ourselves to put everything in God's care constantly. To promise that you won't worry ever again, I don't believe it's achievable. Some of us also believe we have control over everything in life, so we tend to tell ourselves that if we do this, we'll get this. Well, I hope it always goes that way for you because if it doesn't, I don't know if you can take it. I don't think all the passengers like taking the Ferry, I'm sure some wish there were alternatives, but unfortunately, they don't have options. 

    As kids, we were taught that one always has a choice, so when we see that someone else has made a poor decision, we tend to criticize them first. I'll advise that you first sympathize with the person and know the person's thought process before drawing any conclusion. It's possible that the individual was unaware of the alternative options, and God sent you to help the person learn about them. I'm sure you know that when you judge someone, they feel uncomfortable around you and do not express themselves. Let's try to stop judging people. 

     Let's get back to the story. By God's grace, I got to Banjul, and I was able to finish everything around 4 pm. We then rushed back to the waiting room of the Ferry. We got there around 6pm. My people, when we got there, the place was empty. We missed the ferry!!!!!!. The sad part about this is that we could see the Ferry, meaning it departed about 5 minutes ago.

       I found this to be really bizarre. Just that morning, I was making jokes about how lovely it would be to miss the Ferry purposefully. I afterward considered how terrible it would be if someone needed to be on the Ferry but missed it. Where would the individual sleep and all that? It was now a reality, no longer just a fantasy for me! What I had mentioned earlier that day was happening to me. It felt sooooo unreal. At that moment, I asked myself, "Or is it because of the jokes I made? Lord, I'm very sorry; please forgive me; it won't happen again". Then I thought again, "Arh wait oo, when I was speaking this morning, did I say anything like I would like to experience the feeling of being left by the ferry? No, I didn't say anything like that". I seriously had so much in mind at that moment, but no words came out of my mouth. 

     We saw a small boat full of people getting ready to cross to the opposite side a short while later. I was overjoyed since, at the time, being on that little boat was preferable to sleeping somewhere I didn't know. The man I was traveling with held my hand as I made my way towards the boat and informed me that many people had died while using this mode of transportation. This connects back to what I was saying previously. I assumed that was my only choice at the time. Only God knows what would have happened if I did not travel with that guy.

      Earlier that morning, I talked about how a strong wave could endanger the lives of many on the Ferry, yet I was ready to move into a small boat where a little wave could subside. In the heat of the moment, we all occasionally make poor decisions. We seem incapable of even reasoning at that moment. When you encounter a problem, it is always best to remain calm and not react. Additionally, please consult the council of someone else (Your Pastor, an older person, or a friend) because they may be able to perceive the situation more clearly than you can. Yes, it's possible that they do not fully comprehend the circumstances; after all, the individual experiencing the problem is the only one who has the complete picture. It goes without saying that getting advice and listening to what others have to say are beneficial. Even if you don't always use the council, you should at least hear what the person has to say.

       The guy I was traveling with told me there was a place we could lay our heads that night. We went there, spent the night, and traveled to Dakar safe and sound. This time we didn't miss the Ferry. Don't forget to share. If you haven't read the other stories, you can find them at the top right corner of the page. 

References

Baldeh, D. (2022). “Kunta Kinteh Ferry Has Undergone Maintenance And Ready For Operation” – Gambia Ferry Service Assures. Retrieved from https://fatunetwork.net/kunta-kinteh-ferry-has-undergone-maintenance-and-ready-for-operation-gambia-ferry-service-assures/

Economist Intelligence Community (2022). Clashes break out on Gambia-Senegal border. Retrieved from  https://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=1911830774&Country=Senegal&topic=Politics&subtopic=Forecast&subsubtopic=Political+stability

The New York Times (2017). Defeated Gambian Leader Ends Standoff and Boards a Flight Into Exile. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/21/world/africa/gambia-president-yahya-jammeh-adama-barrow.html