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Article: A hard life, especially for rural women.(Notes from The Gambia)
- Article from:
- World Watch
- Article date:
- May 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Worldwatch Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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(Editor's note: The people and places in this essay have been disguised to protect their identities.)
When The Gambia, the smallest country on the African continent, is written about in the Western press, it is often described as a sunshine-drenched tourist haven, a cheap beach party, a quick flight from colder climes.
On the coast, near the airport and the tourist hotels, the roads are paved and usually well lit. Normally there is clean water. There is often electricity. Sometimes there are usable sanitation facilities. Leaving the tourist areas and entering rural Gambia, however, the roads are so bad that vehicles have to crawl around the potholes and ...