Musa
8:52 pm - 02 May, 2005
Feeling particularly bored last night, I indulged myself in a some Internet chat. Even if I'm not particularly involved in the conversation, it's sometimes nice to interact with other human beings.
Through the chat system, I met a girl called Musa. She lives in The Gambia and is at school, in year 10. She wanted money from me, but I told her I couldn't give her any. Although I'm sympathetic to her (she said she couldn't afford her school fees), I'm also conscious that people on the net aren't necessarily who they say they are. She asked me to e-mail her a bit about me and my family, which I did. She told me that her favourite subject at school is English, which is the country's official language. She also speaks the local language, although I don't know what that is. She asked if I had a wife, and when I said that I didn't, she said, "so can i be ur wife". I said that it was probably not a good idea. I found it quite difficult to speak to Musa.
Feeling the need to do something to help, I decided to make a donation to ActionAid, who do work in The Gambia. I sent them a cheque for £50. I did think of requesting that it go to The Gambia, but I didn't for two reasons: 1) because I like the principle that income and expenditure shouldn't be tied directly together (money is money -- if my £50 went to The Gambia, it would just mean that £50 less went there from other sources, so my contribution wouldn't really effectively be to The Gambia, but more general) and 2) because I think the charity probably has a better idea than I of how to spend their money. I still feel guilty for not helping Musa directly, but on the other hand I can't help being cynical. I think I've probably done the right thing.
