Characteristic of my city is a multiplicity of terraces—open places along streets or on street corners where guests may sit and enjoy a drink and a snack. No sooner are you seated than peddlers start streaming to you, soliciting your attention and offering a wide range of merchandise. The stream is endless. Some come more than once, even after you have said that you’re not interested in their wares. 

On my first visit to the United States a few years ago, I noticed that a number of properties had a “No soliciting” sign in front. My friends explained the reason for the sign. Oh, how I wished I could carry around with me in my own city a banner with that message! Without it, I’m obliged to keep responding to unsolicited offers, no matter how many times they come or how insistent they are.

Such a sign or banner could be helpful not only on the terraces of Kinshasa but in a place we all frequent that is much closer to us: the internet. It’s hard to do without the internet. But as you know, it comes with its own peddlers: incessant pop-ups, or unsolicited messages, prompting you to look at something, whether a new game, an offer, an image—you name it. And many of these peddlers are not so innocent.