Having said all that, my personal policy is not to give bribes except in truly dire situations. Even then, normal practice is to bargain hard, although with a lot of smiles, compliments, and praise. Demands for large sums of money are often satisfied by offers of bits of food, used batteries, or (in the case of my former self) cigarettes. Mostly, the demands eventually evaporate with patience, inquiries about their families, and exaggerated ignorance of language or customs.
Surprisingly often, the key is offering business cards with demands that they visit in your home country--no one has yet actually done this, although I had a brief scare related to an officer in the Malian army who turned out to be highly-placed and scheduled for anti-insurgency training in, I believe, North Carolina.
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