By Aminata AP Ceesay
Some women selling in Brikama market referred to as market vendors have lamented the challenges they face every rainy season.
In an interview with them by The Voice newspaper yesterday women of this Brikama market emotionally lamented the difficulties and challenges facing them.
Marrian Mendy narrated that the market is always flooded with water whenever it rains and the “flood will have lots of insects.”
She explained that even when the rain stops it will take a few months before the stagnant water caused by the flood will dry from the market, “We would have to bring stones and arrange them by ourselves to place our feet or stand upon while we would pay wheelbarrow pushers to help carry our items.”
For Sonah Njie, “The rain always disturbs us in the market, especially the bad odor that always comes from the stagnant waters, whenever it rains we have to cover our items so rain will not spoil them.”
“During the rainy season, the heavy wind disturbs too, especially those that sit along the roadside. Sometimes it is difficult for customers to buy our items because of the dirty water surrounding us. Although, in our effort, we do gather money to help each other with cement and concrete our various places to prevent stagnant waters but not enough,” BintaJammeh explained.
Mama Saidy, also a vendor in the market, gave her opinion about this continuing challenge they face saying it is not only the “rainy season problem that we face in this market, the police are also another problem because they will ask us to get up along the roadside when we have nowhere to sell.”
In unison, they are appealing to the authorities to help them especially since the rainy season has started.
