A
concerned parent, who pleaded for anonymity, on Thursday walked into The Point
office, with a message for President Adama Barrow and the Coalition government
to help create a working environment in the country that would be free from the
sexual exploitation of young girls.
During
an interview with this reporter, she said as a parent she feels bad whenever a
young girl is told that she has to have a date with a boss in order to get a
job, even though she is qualified for that job.
“Our
young girls cannot get a job unless they sleep with the so called boss, and it
is worst in our hotel industry. When our young girls, who we struggled as
parents to educate, are sexually exploited all in the name of giving them a
job, what will happen in the future.”
They
want their young girls and women to be employed based on their qualifications,
and not to be sexually exploited first before being employed, she added.
She
added that letting tourists visit the country contributes to the economy, but
that should not make them forget to protect the dignity of their girls, and to
ban any tourist whose aim is to sexually exploit this young girls, from
entering the country.
She
said The Gambia should be seen as a hospitable destination for the tourists,
and not as a sex paradise.
She
called on the government to create more opportunities for the youths, to
prevent them from going through the “Back Way”.
She
said one of her sons was employed recently, and he is to be paid D1,300 with
no transport allowance. There is nothing more painful than waking up with the
news of losing one’s son to the sea due to the irregular migration.
She
added that anything the government is doing should be in the best interest of
Gambians, adding that, as parents, they are eager to see their sons and
daughters have good working conditions.
However,
she added, in doing so the government should not succumb to anything like
homosexuals or their ideas getting into the country to make the upbringing of
children difficult for them as parents.
She
said they want investors to come into the country to open more opportunities
for the youths, but the government should screen their products to make sure
that they do not pose a threat to the lives and well-being of Gambians,
particularly food products entering the country.
