Gambians are by nature peaceful. Respect for ordinary decency has long been the order of the day for the ordinary Gambian. There are mechanisms in place at family, community and social levels to safeguard peaceful coexistence among people from different tribes or ethnic linguistic backgrounds. The joking relationship, for instance, helps people who had not met before to come to one another's aid, forge genuine friendship or family relationship from there, or even sort out their complex differences without any fighting.