BY Simon F Mendy
The Gambia which gained independence from Britain in 1965 is the smallest country on mainland Africa. It is a long strip of land situated on Africa’s west coast and is sandwiched on either side by Senegal. Here I hash out what it is about this country that has me so enthralled.
The Gambia enjoys relative peace. This is as a result of ethnic and religious tolerance. The country is an adherent to Nelson Mandela’s “nonracial democracy” which he says “respects diversity but values unity.” If you read or experience the wars and violent confrontations from Syria to Nigeria and the Philippines, you would not pray to fall prey to ethnic and religious tensions. No country would like to be like South Sudan, where thousands are dying because of ethno/religious violence. Gambians live creatively, peacefully and joyously with each other irrespective of ethnic or religious background.
The Gambia is blessed with skilled native-born men and women—human capital. Thinking in the context of an increasingly globalized world; no country can compete in business without a rich human capital. A key to the success of start-ups and mature companies is talented personnel—human capital. In a nutshell, human capital is central to economic dynamism. The Gambia can boast of successful writers, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs, computer programmers, Lawyers, Bankers and the most electrifying new startups in the continent.
Apart from sunshine and lovely beaches; The Gambia is most well-known -at least by bird watching tours– for its amazing bird life. There are about 600 different species of bird like Kingfisher birds, eagle birds etc. It’s no wonder that BBC’s Springwatch presenter Chris Packham quotes The Gambia as one of the best birding destinations in the world. The country is also rich in wildlife nature reserve — monkeys, antelopes, hyenas, crocodiles, few lions and many species. In fact the government provides a safe haven for flora and fauna to flourish without undue interference from man.
The rich history and authentic Gambian heritage, culture and traditions; and genuine warmth and friendliness of the people cannot go unnoticed. The spontaneous smile of Gambians has earned the country the name The Smiling Coast of Africa. The Gambian people conduct their dialogue with courtesy, gentleness and consideration “in the most kindly manner” to quote the Quran. There are always annual cultural festivals across the country—Kartong festival, Sanyang festival etc, where notable cultural troupes participate. These festivals do not only serve the purpose of bringing happiness to the people, and strengthening Gambians sense of community but also as a means of passing the legends, knowledge and traditions onto the next generation. There is also the ROOTS Festival–a biannual event organized by the department of state for tourism and culture, national culture for arts and culture and the Gambia Tourism Authority. This event consist of activities like investment forum, carnival, interface religious forum etc
So, when I think about countries, I think there is none like The Gambia in the world, for these reasons– ethnic and religious tolerance; human capital; unique and exotic animals and plants; Hospitality; glorious heritage, culture and traditions
About Author
Simon F Mendy is a social media intern with Gamjobs.com. He is an IT enthusiast who love writing and keep his readers always on the loop of latest happening around jobs and employment in the Gambia. Simon held a Bsc in computer science and mathematics from the university of The Gambia. He has strong interest in object oriented Software development process, especially using .Net and Java based technologies. You can follow him: https://www.facebook.com/simon.mendy.12
