By Sana Sarr
Thailand’s foreign ministry is reportedly upset with the Gambian government for offensive comments made by The Gambia’s Tourism Minister about Thailand. According to the “Bangkok Post”, Matichon Online reported that a Thai foreign ministry spokesperson has told them they have instructed Thailand’s embassies in Dakar, overseeing The Gambia and the Thai embassy in Malaysia, where the Gambian High Commission takes care of Thailand, to send letters of protest to their Gambian counterparts.
In a recent interview on Gambia’s national television, GRTS, our Minister of Tourism warned western tourists who are interested in sex tourism to stay away from The Gambia.
“We are not a sex destination. If you want a sex destination, you go to Thailand,” Minister Hamat Bah, who is also the leader of the opposition party, NRP, is reported to have said on a televised weekly talk show.
To many Gambians, Minister Bah’s comments could not have come at a worse time. The country is trying to recover from the twenty-two-year dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh, a period that saw us isolated from the rest of the world due to our earned reputation for gross human rights violations and through unproductive unilateral decisions of our former president, including renaming the country an “Islamic State”, withdrawing it from the Commonwealth and his unsubstantiated claims to cure HIV/Aids using bananas.
After finally getting rid of the dictator through elections in December 2016, we have been trying to repair our image and regain respectability in the international scene. We celebrated readmission into the Commonwealth less than a month ago.
Economically, tourism is one of Gambia’s main foreign exchange earners and employs thousands of Gambians, so it only makes sense that the government has been looking to revive the sector. Gambians generally pride themselves on the peaceful and respectful nature of our people. Our nickname as The Smiling Coast of Africa, is partly due to the friendly and welcoming nature of our people, so to see our Minister of Tourism levelling such unwarranted insults at a foreign nation is highly embarrassing.
We urge Minister Bah to show humility with a sincere apology to the government and people of Thailand for his regretful comments. We also hope that all of our government officials realize the sacred duty they have to represent all Gambians in a positive light and to always endeavor to show our best qualities. Words, especially in international circles, can have far-reaching effects and our nation can ill-afford public officials making flippant comments. We ask our executive to remember this responsibility so they hire individuals based on qualifications and not only on political expediency.
Olof Njie neh, “lu waai di wuyoe, dakoi nuroo”.
“Honorable” is not just a title for our officials to answer to. It’s a quality that must be reflected in their actions and words.
