‘We are tired’: Gambians struggle after months of power outages

Gambia’s president Adama Barrow called for calm on Tuesday after protests over the country’s persistent power outages.

Residents of the capital Banjul and surrounding areas blocked streets and burned tyres overnight on Monday, and called for Barrow to resign.

The blackouts started in June and have become longer and more frequent as high temperatures drive up demand. Authorities have blamed climate change and supply chain disruptions due to the war in Iran.

“Our business is stalling because of the lack of electricity,” says fishmonger Nyima Sonko.

“All our fish is getting spoiled, and this is our only source of livelihood. Our business has perished.”

Jula Jagne is a market trader:

“We are tired of this problem. We sometimes go a full day without electricity. Sometimes we get power during the day, and sometimes at night. The power can be out for six or seven hours at a time. We don’t have ice to keep our chicken meat cool, which can cost as much as three hundred dalasis. We, the women of The Gambia, are tired.”

Barrow, who is running for re-election in December, called the outages “a national security issue” and “an emergency.”

He’s promised to increase supply by next month and called for people to be patient.