Let me just say that minorities in North America ain�t got sh1t on me when it comes to dealing with the woes of rac1sm and discrimination.
Being a white g1rl in Africa isn�t easy.
I�m charged different prices, I�m stared at, people don�t want to sit next to me on busses, I�m yelled at in the street, called names, children cry when they see me, people pick on me�
There�s something to be said for how far we�ve come in the West when talking about discrimination. We used to be just as bad, if not worse, but goddam, we�ve come a long way.
Never have I been so aware of the fact that I�m white. And not just that, but a White g1rl. The closest I�ve come is when I moved from (the all-white) Nova Scotia to go to school at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, where I was suddenly struck with the fact that I didn�t know anything about different cu1tures.
Small town, little White g1rl-Alice didn�t know what to think. Nothing bad, I assure you, but she got a wake up call to how little her world actually was.
But back to living in Africa. If there�s anything I hope to achieve by being here (outside of professional things), it�s spreading the word about how white folk don�t like to be called �toubab� or �bosslady� or any of the other names I�m called here. I�m helping pave the road for other white people (the tourists, most likely, that I spend my days cursing) to be treated like equals.
I tell the Canadian �Underground Railroad� story as much as possible. The Gambia was a place where a lot of slaves came from, so understandably, some are still bitter.
But what can I do about being discriminated against? I have no idea. I do call the locals on it, when it�s obvious. I ask people in the market (who don�t know me, and think that I�m a tourist), if what they�re giving me is a �toubab price,� and they usually grimace and the lower the price. I speak their languages to the best of my ability, and occasionally learn a new word or phrase. I�m as friendly as I possibly can be, small ch@t with most people who start conversations with me.
But seriously, you whiners back home, you�ve got it easy.
3:10 p.m. - January 06, 2004
Recent entries:
It's been twenty years. - September 07, 2021
Don't Delete Me, Dland! - October 20, 2004
Started Again - March 22, 2004
The End - January 19, 2004
Tofu - January 15, 2004
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