Alead
story on the Monday edition of The Point captioned “Back-way migrants urged to
return, marry women” has produced an array of public reactions, both locally
and internationally.
While
condemnations of the views expressed by the tourism minister were not in short
supply, others also saw the statement as positive reflection of what obtains in
Gambian society today.
In
the story, Minister Bah called on The Gambia’s backway migrants to return home
and marry as many wives as they can in order to ease the burden of rising
single women on Gambian society.
In
a follow up interview with the BBC Focus on Africa programme aired on Monday,
Mr Bah said that he was urging those who left the country that in case they
want to marry, they should come back and marry their own Gambian women: “If
they can afford to marry more than one, why not, they should marry more than
one”
Bah
said that when he mentioned that the religion preaches and teaches men to marry
up to four women, “it was only fair that men who can afford to marry three to
four wives should really do so because our women also have rights to a
husband”.
Serious
demographic issue
“This
is comedic, and uncouth, in the way he [Hamat] expressed it, but it is a
serious demographic issue,” Kebba Samateh, a Diaspora Gambian posted on his
Facebook timeline.
“Hamat
is clearly no sociologist! I wrote and talked about this issue on the radios,
as the ‘Backway Syndrome’ issue escalated over the years into time bomb that is
about to blow up! Who is going to marry all those eligible young women, when an
estimated 4 out of 10 ( in some parts) young
men are either stuck in asylum camps in Western Europe, dead, or in
Libya, as a result of the ‘Backway Syndrome’?” Samateh argued.
“Honestly,
Honourable Minister, I think you should have given our youth a better reason to
return home. I expect you to tell them
what awaits them if they return (jobs, trainings, etc.). Remember this young people risked a lot to
reach their destination and most of them are breadwinners of their families,”
said Lamin K. Saidy, an activist for the group Safe Hands for Girls.
Yacca
Ceesay, a Gambian based in Italy, wrote: “Hi Honorable Minister, you are right
but remember many boys are yet still in Gambia when they want to marry them
(young women), it is so difficult. Can you ask them about that? Why do they
want only the ones in Europe?”
Amadou
Jallow, Tanji, said: “Mr. Bah, please tell your government to create job
opportunities for the ones at home first to help them support their lone wives
and forget about encouraging others to marry more wives when they cannot afford
their daily basic needs. Therefore, leave those migrants in their peace of
minds because they are there to fetch something better for their families.”
Ndey
Sarr, French-Gambian activist, could not also hide her displeasure with Mr.
Bah’s comments.
She
said a French journalist asked her if there is men shortage in The Gambia. “Of
course I told him no. If Hamat Bah’s government do not have plans for our
country’s youths, let them be honest to say they don’t or if they are looking
for a chance to encourage polygamy, let them say so.”
Be
fair to the minister
Kejau
Touray, another Diaspora Gambian in Sweden, said most [who have] taken offense
at Hamat Bah’s statement have foreign wives and husbands.
“To
be fair, Hamat Bah has a point with our male youths wasting in Europe and
[going] after other women…who will marry our women? No wonder we have men
shortage.”
Hamat
also posted on his Facebook page yesterday morning, saying: “I call on all
party members and sympathisers to be very open-minded with all criticisms and
negative comments geared towards me because of the publication made on The
Point newspaper. However, the beauty of democracy is to have different
opinions.”
