By Yero S. Bah
At the overcrowded Brikama Main Garage, located the Ziguinchor and Bignona stalls for ticket sales. Amid humid temperatures, a peppery dust emanates from the dirty environment of the overcrowded garage in the middle of a global outbreak of Covid-19; a perfect situation that permits the deadly virus to strife better and make giant strides with devastating effects on a population.
On Sunday March 23, 2020, Mansa Banko Online reporter visited the said garage to get reactions of the drivers and travelers to outbreak of the coronavirus and its attendant impacts on their livelihoods.
It is evident from health experts that, the dreadful killer virus likes crowds as it is a known fertile harbor for this highly contagious disease.
However, by all indications, the people at that garage in Brikama, are not observing any of the safety regulations and measures put forward by health authorities to minimize the airy spread of the deadly coronavirus, as there are no visible signs of social distancing, regular hand washing, people avoiding hand-shakes, or even covering of mouths when coughing or sneezing.
Under such exposing circumstances, Mr. Musa Baldeh, a senior tickets seller at the Casamance section at the Brikama main garage, said that the coronavirus is from Allah and that people should pray to Him to alleviate the sufferings on the people, globally.
Transport wise, he noted that, there are almost no passengers at the moment compared to the time before the outbreak of the coronavirus. He explained that, before the outbreak, over 100 (hundred) 7-seater vehicles used to load passengers there and head to the border in Giboro/Seleti, for onward transportation to Ziguinchor or Bignona in the Southern Senegalese region of Casamance. But after the outbreak, only few are able to get passengers to the border.
“Before the virus outbreak, the least we could load was at least 75 or 80 vehicles daily,” he frustratingly, remarked.
On the suspension of public gatherings and border closures, Baldeh expressed a grim future, hinting it will be bad on the drivers and passengers since most of them live from hand-to-mouth, daily from the transport. He observed also that people are afraid of the disease and that is why commuters are no longer traveling as usual.
“If stimulus packages can be made available for us, we can observe the health regulations,” posited Baldeh, as he maintained that without such, it would be hard for them to stay indoors without food on the table.
In developed nations, citizens, especially petty traders, have been given stimulus incentives by governments for them to be able to stay indoors for the coronavirus Disease period.
But will the Gambia government dish out such economic incentives to the massive poverty-driven-citizens knowing the dire economic status of the country even before the outbreak? It’s anyone’s guess.
On whether people are checked properly at the border entry points in Giboro and Seleti, the Border Garage Chief {Chef de garage} at the Casamance garage in Brikama, Mr. Lamin Janneh, said people do wash hands before handing over their national identity documents from both countries; that there are health officials making sure that travelers adhere to the World Health Organization protective and preventive measures against Covid-19 pandemic which has affected them economically, socially and religiously. “It is not easy but there are no options, that is why we are coming here. But {there’s} no business at all,” he lamented.
Janneh is of the view that, coronavirus will afflict those that Allah has mentioned and anybody who is not mentioned by the creator will never attract the virus. He admitted that things have become difficult for them since it is from driving that they get their daily meager living expenses.
At the garage, one could hardly see mobile water taps in places for frequent washing of hands, and people could be seen shaking hands as usual. Some don’t give each other distances as preventive measures against coronavirus prescribed by the global health body WHO; the few taps available are put there by ordinary garage users such as the drivers and ticket sellers.
Mr. Modou Colley supports the decision to close borders, justifying that it’s normal since there are no other viable options for now.
Hear him: “I don’t know more about coronavirus but from the media, it catches a lot of people and is devastating on people and transport. We are praying for a cure, as we don’t know its source or where it leads to in the future.”
A retired driver from Koloro, Mr. Bubacarr Barry, said they are at the garage to get their daily fish money.
He lamented that, since the coronavirus disease outbreak, things are difficult for them. “Then it was fine but now, no passengers,” he uttered in a sad mood.
Barry said the suspension of social gatherings proves “not easy” but they have to follow the health authorities (guidelines) to control the widespread of the virus in the Gambia. He argued that since living is a must, they have to get out to earn that living on a daily basis.
Barry is concerned that Covid-19 could potentially “affect the sending and receiving {remittances} of monies from relatives in the diaspora, since the coronavirus has disrupted every aspect of life, globally.”
According to Beteng Bah, a driver plying between Ginani, a village in Casamance and Brikama on the border with Kalagi, noted that there is almost no passenger coming from that end to Brikama because of the coronavirus outbreak. He told this medium that loading food or other items help him earn something from his work; but people are no longer willing to travel from the villages to the Kombos, except in extreme exceptional cases.
“Now, I just load food and other items for shop-owners, otherwise, no money for drivers from our end as people are not commuting nowadays,” he pointed out.
