The recent sentencing of 21 beggars by magistrate B.Y. Camara of the Bundung Magistrates' Court has sparked off deep concern among the disabled people. Our sources have it that some disabled people and organisations are currently working on modalities to effect a review of the court’s ruling against their brethren.

According to Muhammed Kora, President of the Gambia Federation of the Disabled (GFD), letters have already been sent to the relevant authorities to query the court’s decision. Mr Kora expressed the belief that the begging syndrome among disabled people could be eradicated if the authorities give them logistical support to get disabled communities trained on various skills with a view to opening up alternative employment for them.

He said most disabled people are begging because they have no other way of earning their living.

“At our level, disabled people’s organisations like the Gambia Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (GADHOH), we are already embarking on rehabilitation and skills training for the disabled. So we expect stakeholders including the authorities to come on board to support these kinds of initiatives so that beggars can get skills as alternative means of employment,” the GFD boss pointed out. He said further action would be taken by GFD to challenge the ruling because, as he put it, beggars are engaged in begging to earn their living.