Kebba Ansu Manneh
The Gambia’s tourism industry has been a fertile ground for job creation and employment for hundreds of nationals and non-Gambians until the strike of the global coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent declaration of State of Public Emergency (SoPE) by the government of The Gambia on 16th March, 2020.
The declaration of the SoPE was duly followed by the closure of all land, sea and air borders resulting to the ceasing of business and closed of many tourism facilities and enterprises.
One section of the sector that has been badly affected is female employees of nightclubs who were forced to sit at home due to the regulations governing the Covid-19.
The Voice Newspaper spoke to scores of female nightclub workers who expressed their ordeals regarding the impact of the pandemic, disclosing that the pandemic has drastically impacted on their lives, socially, economically and financially and at times psychologically due to misinformation and fake news.
“It has been difficult and still I can tell you, is not yet over because you can see still am not working. I have a family to support, pay house rent and pay school fees for my two kids one of whom is attending a training institute,” a female hawker working at Senegambia said.
She disclosed to this reporter that she is from the sub-region and has been living in The Gambia for 23years, noting that Covid-19 has affected her as a breadwinner.
“Before the pandemic I used to sell at the entrance of Woow Nightclub but now I have to divert to hawking because I cannot afford to sit at home,” she explained.
She also stated that many of her colleagues who used to work at Woow Nightclub are currently sitting at home, disclosing that the only support that she and few other workers benefited is two thousand six hundred dalasi (D2,600) support from UNDP at the end of 2020.
“Am really appealing for support on behalf of my colleagues working at the nightclubs because most of them are still sitting at home and that is not favorable. I would also like to appeal on behalf of other foreign nationals working in the industry, they need help,” she asserted.
Haddy Sambou, another nightclub worker who also spoke to this reporter explained that Covid-19 has sent her out of work with little or no support coming.
“It has been very tough on me and my family especially in terms of taking care of the needs of the family, sometime I have to seek support from relatives. Nightclubs were the first to be closed and no support has reached us and I want to take this opportunity to seek support from government and partners,” Madam Sambou appealed.
Fatou Njie, a single mother who was also working in one of the nightclubs in Senegambia also lamented the abrupt closure of nightclubs that sent hundreds of Gambians and non-Gambians out of work, arguing that Gambia government should look out for support for not only nightclub workers but to all tourism workers.
Score of others who spoke to this medium expressed similar sentiments calling on Gambian government and the tourism ministry to render support, revealing that the challenges to provide for families daily needs couple with medical and school bills remains a problem for all the nightclub workers.
#This story was produced with support from Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), through its Mobilizing Media in the Fight Against COVID-19 in partnership with Mai-Media and (name of the media outlet.
