Quite some time has passed since I wrote my last blog post. Getting settled in a new country is not easy, and it does take a lot of time and energy.
Today, I would like to write on the topic of „scarcity“. One thing becomes very obvious to me here in Gambia: I am simply a spoiled „Swiss Miss“ who grew up having it all. During my childhood, I’ve never missed one single meal, and I cannot even remember whether we ever had a power cut – I don’t think so! And the first time I’ve actually seen empty shopping shelves in Switzerland was maybe in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic when some people started hoarding and stocking up on basic alimentation.
Besides that, I am realizing that I am just as much of a spoiled Indian kid. Although I have lived in India for around ten years, I’ve never really experienced any scarcity there. The sumptous and colorful feast meals, the overwhelmingly decorated temples, the mesmerizing chants, the hustling markets…all of this filled my heart with a certain sense of opulence and satisfaction (although every-day life was very challenging on different levels). Moreover, Flipkart and Amazon in India deliver to the remotest, most rural areas of the country. So whenever some (material) desires popped up in my mind, I would just go online and order whatever it was that was bogging me.
However, things here in The Gambia are SO MUCH DIFFERENT! It feels somehow as if I was sitting in the remotest corner of the world. Things which I have previously taken for granted are REALLY hard to get here. Not one day passes without me hearing/reading/saying the word „container“.
Yes, Gambia is a „CONTAINER NATION“ indeed. Most of the items are shipped here from the rest of world – whatever it may be. And this makes the market so unpredictable, awkward and even bizarre here.
Bizarre, because I am seeing items (medicine, food items, toothpastes, etc.) that I haven’t seen in 20-30 years in my country; things which may even be banned there.
Awkward, because whatever the rest of the world cannot sell or doesn’t need anymore ends up here in West Africa. I have even come across one shop here which sells all the leftovers from the Swiss countryside store named „Volg“.
Awkward, because many of the food items have already expired, or are just about to expire.
Unpredictable, because there is no red line and steadiness (also not in the price). Going shopping here feels a bit like going on an exploration or a safari. Sometimes, you can be lucky and come across an article which you have been looking for since months. And whenever that happens, you’ll make sure to buy at least 2-3 of that article which brings us back to the topic of….hoarding!
Hoarding is something I don’t like and normally don’t do, and my spiritual teachers are condemning it, too. It’s also called „overcollecting“, or „accumulating more than required“. It can eventually lead to a lot of problems, because the very thing you are overcollecting will be the cause of your misery down the line. Moreover, the „hoarding mentality“ creates a mindset of deficiency and lack which is negative. Then – instead of enjoying the opulences the place has to offer – the focus lies on what is lacking. It’s an unhealthy attitude.
I have started making a list of the items I need to order from my country. Another list is there with the items I wanna order from AliExpress (yes – AliExpress DOES exist here, but the shipping charges are so crazily high that you just don’t feel like ordering anything). Yet another list is for the items I wanna order from Amazon. So these „lists of lacks“ contain the things we (Europeans) just take for granted…such as a Swiss potato peeler…a body scale…a tea egg…decent natural hair color…a picture frame…quality cotton underwear…eco-friendly packaging material…a comfortable mattress…certain spare parts for breaking machines…vegan puff pastry…leather-free lady sandals at my size (41)…the lists are long! And I just wish my Swiss friend didn’t mention the cheese „Gorganzola“ on the phone….because ever since he mentioned it, I am realizing that even this one is missing here! Getting these items shipped here might be impossible, or it might take weeks and months before I will get my hands on them…
So things are quite austere here in some ways, especially now during the month of Ramadan. Most of the people are fasting during the day, and there are hardly any cultural events taking place here during this month.
How can we deal with these existential fears of unavailability and inaccessability? How can we create abundance and opulence here (or even just a feeling thereof)? And how can we be happier with less? What kind of alternatives are there? How can we keep an optimistic and content mindset when the circumstances are so scarce? Can we stop comparing ourselves? And how can we stop staring towards Europe, please?