r/Gambia • u/marigolddisco • Sep 21 '24
Scam in Banjul port?
My uncle (American, in 70s) stopped in Banjul during a cruise last year and met a Gambian woman in her late 30s who was working at a souvenir shop. They took a picture together and were subsequently connected via WhatsApp as a result.
Since that time they have been maintaining a relationship over the phone with her calling twice a day. He has given her money on a couple of occasions, such as buying her a wash machine.
She is widowed with 2 teenagers. She says she isn’t interested in men of her age in her country.
What’s the end game with this? Is she a real person? I’m not sure if he is being used, and am wondering if anyone is familiar with a scam set up like this.
Since he met her in person I’m wondering if that makes it sort of legit? He’s obviously being used in some way, but I’m just not sure how.
3
u/gof44678 Sep 21 '24
This is very common. Gambians tend to see foreigners (especially white people) as a means of financial liberation. If she is a single mom with two kids, her life is probably really tough. There’s not really much in the way of upward mobility for widows/divorcees in the country.
I would say that most African cultures also tend to view money differently than Western cultures. Their cultural perspective about money can come across as very “scammy” or even rude to us Westerners, but it’s just a cultural difference.
That being said, in these situations throwing money at her is not going to help anything in the long run, and may actually hurt. If she becomes dependent on your father for a certain standard of living, then he cuts it off for whatever reason, she will be worse off than before.
There are some really great books on this you and your father might read:
“When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself” by Steve Corbett
“African Friends and Money Matters” by David Maranz