A letter to the red cross
On behalf of Black Africa's poor
Plus a voice message: you can hear it up above.
From the Road of the Crown to the Avenue of the Red Cross:
Abs’s Taxi Service: appeal update
There were donations to Go Fund Me at https://gofund.me/c2c553df. When I wrote the proposal, I had not realised that Go Fund Me would simply pass on all donations within a day or two of their being made, so they never were “accumulated”, though I accumulated them so to speak in my own bank account.
When the children needed to go to school, however, and hunger struck (they had heavy rain as well, and their roof collapsed, spoiling many of their possessions), Abs asked if he might have some of the funds already. The pace of donations was so slow that it would have made no sense to deny him that, but I did keep reminding him what the money was intended for.
All told, it raised 240 euros.
The donors were all dear friends of mine. Some people declined to donate, even family of mine. The article I wrote in response was loaded with irony and was intended as a slap in the face, so outraged I was. But I can’t prise money out of people’s pockets:
If you read my Letter to The Gambia you’ll see my buddy’s reaction back then: the people’s education is kept minimal so as to exercise control over them. There is much in Africa that is not as it is in Europe, and, even knowing that, the differences can take you by surprise. Therefore, goods are cheap compared to here, but very expensive compared to services; and services are cheap because life is cheap.
I cannot give you a 100% guarantee that none of the nine reasons not to invest as stated in the above article applies. That I cannot do. But this I can say to you:
- ALWAYS when I have given something, I have received great thanks, from Abs, and more recently, from his mother, Jojo.
- Abs recently told me that Jojo would love to send me a message of thanks (recorded on Abs’s phone), but her English is so poor. I replied that she should give emotional messages in her own language: what is important is the emotion and the sentiment, not the language. But that she had already expressed enough thanks to not need to do more. I am not Ming the Merciless.
She was born on Kunta Kinteh Island. It is the island where the story “Roots” started. Slavery is a difficult subject, and I would one day like to visit Jojo and learn how she views the slavery question from the viewpoint of Black, modern Gambians, whose ancestors were exported as goods, and whose ancestors were also complicit in that trade.
- Abs doesn’t ask for more than he needs. In a year, I have sent maybe five food packages and paid for a freezer. He sent me pictures of the freezer and the bills to prove to me how honest he was. It was embarrassing, if reassuring.
- Abs is not a scammer in the sense that we know it. But he recognises me as his only hope. His government will not help him. His neighbours cannot help him, and there is a wall of “please don’t bother me today” on LinkedIn. One of our donors, however, is a Czech gentleman living in Switzerland who has had great troubles and travails of his own. We have a good relationship on Linked In; I call him my Czech Mate. He donated twice to the Go Fund Me. Vaclav is a lovely man.
- The Brussels friend who’s been in The Gambia told me: I was very sympathetic. They recognised that. It’s like a moth seeing a light in the dark. They are attracted to you because their hearts are filled with hope that at last there is someone who cares. I related to them and took interest in them. I scolded the police who prevented boys coming onto our exclusive beach to sell their trinkets (they demand a bribe). One of these new friends asked for a bag of rice, so I went with him to a grocer’s and took a bag of rice. “No,” he said, “the big one, twenty-five kilos.” I paid him his 25 kilos of rice, and then I said—that’s it, you get no more, now. This is all. I don’t want you back at me tomorrow. They didn’t come back. They had what they wanted, or what they needed. It wasn’t a scam, it is just how they are. Moths seeing a light in the distance, where all is dark.
Abs has, in one year, not given me any grounds to doubt his sincerity. But, just look at Robert de Niro and Sven Pichal. Robert de Niro is yelling in court what a load of nonsense the charges against him are—that he was a bully to his adviser. Sven Pichal resigned from VRT the night he was arrested. De Niro says he did nothing wrong. Pichal virtually admitted his guilt straight up. Assuming both men are guilty and that both accusations are equally bad, what marks the difference between de Niro and Pichal is the one’s contestation of his liability, and the other's immediate admission of his culpability. I think I trust Pichal more than I do de Niro. I trust Abs more than I don’t trust him.
But is he reliable?
Just after launching the appeal on LinkedIn, I was bombarded with interest from another part of Africa via the website. People who wanted to help commercialise the appeal. They knew how to get money out of people. They knew who would give most. They would help. And, I know, they would help themselves also. They were all in Nigeria.
I talked to Abs that night and he was very wary. I said, “I don’t know if these women are everything they say they are.” He replied, “How do you even know they’re women?” He wanted nothing to do with that. I said, “Abs, I have invested my heart and soul in this, late nights researching and writing for you. I want nothing for it, it is done gladly. But I would prefer to simply ask for assistance and, if it is given gladly, then we shall accept it with thanks. And if it is wheedled out of people, I shall not sleep at nights.” And Abs agreed. We would ask, but not strategise.
That doesn’t sound like scamming to me.
Oskar Schindler was a cold industrialist who warmed to the Jewish cause. And they warmed to him, because he gave them hope. When Schindler fled the Allies, his tears were real. How much he regretted he had not been able to do more. He saved many people from the gas chamber and all he could do was regret he’d not done more.
If you lose your money, then I was wrong. I apologise in advance.
If you don’t, I wasn’t right, because I’m not certain. I can’t be certain. All the same, I thank you in advance.
Image: Oskar Schindler. Public domain.
Below is the proposal: the target has been increased to 3,000 euros.
