Sunday In The Shade

This Sunday we spent the day in Tujereng. We were the guests of The Village Alkalo (community leader), Kamaro Bojang. He was very well spoken and you could tell that he knew what he was talking about. The main reason we went was to see the community conflict resolution. A committee of experienced people (including The Alcalo) met under the shade of a tall tree to hear issues that people have with each other and try to resolve them.



When a person from the village has a problem, they can bring it to the committee and they help to sort out the conflict. Some examples of conflicts were land disputes (property lines) and contracted construction work that was far behind schedule. The conflicts that were brought up on Sunday used to be taken to the court system and would take weeks to solve and a great deal of money would end up in the pockets of lawyers. Instead, the conflicting parties sit down with the committee and come up with a solution in a few hours. Both parties must agree on the final verdict and enter into a contract. Kamaro Bojang said they can resolve about 90% of the conflicts that come up.

It seemed like a very effective way of settling disputes. The people involved in the conflict feel obligated to obey the ruling because the ruling is given by the community itself. If they do not, everyone in the community will see that they are not cooperating and it will not be good for them.

I also had my first REAL Gambian meal. I have no idea what it was called, maybe benachin? Anyways, it was a bunch of rice with some beef, plantains and something like cabbage. It was all served in a communal bowl (one big bowl that everyone eats out of). Very exciting. And it was quite tasty too.