Sankoh, the leader and founder of the RUF, was responsible for initiating the blood diamond issue where basic human rights were completely violated. Still healing from a horrific civil war marked by the struggle for control of the diamond mines, the casualties are still in abundance and form the image that most westerners picture when the two words of my nation are named. Tens of thousands were brutally murdered and millions were displaced or sought refuge in bordering countries. Poverty has become a customary way of living and families line the road-side with nothing to feed their brittle-boned children. This is the product of this guerilla war. Although the country is bursting with orphan children with rust-coloured hair, old women dragging skeletal legs behind their blown empty bellies and amputees struggling with broken wheelchairs, there is still a great sense of hospitality from the second you enter the country. Freetown, being the capital city, has a vibe like no other; it is filled with personalities and everyone is eager to befriend the stranger. One memory that will always be with me is my visit to Lunsar for the anniversary of my grandmother’s funeral, even though sorrow, grief and woe hung heavy in the air, my mother and aunts still found time to feed the 14 orphans my grandma had found homeless just after the civil war. This truly shocked me as I saw grown men in tears yet they found time to feed unrelated children, despite the personal sacrifice. This gave me an immense sense of pride in my country; it shows that through all the misfortune, corruption and hurt Sierra Leone has hope. Sierra Leone is now faced with a generation of young people who have lost their families, history and identity – their stories. You may have seen the documentaries and read the articles but you don’t feel the pain, sorrow and shame that a Sierra Leonean national does. Recruitment of child soldiers and the displacement of more than half of the country’s population were too big a loss from which to recover quickly, but I look to the future with confidence. “Sierra Leone is now faced with a generation of young people who have lost their families, history and identity – their stories.”
“ IT MATTERS TO ME. . .”
SIERRA LEONE : CONFL I C T
HOPE A N D
S ituated on the West African coast, Sierra Leone is a small country with a population of six million. Like many African countries it is a land rich with resources, which has been exploited by foreign corporations from colonial times. During the 1980s survival became even more difficult for Sierra Leoneans. The collapse of the state was the consequence of the three decades, just before the rebellion, of mass corruption and mismanagement. The government slowly turned Sierra Leone into a capitalist state but without the organization and infrastructure to survive in a capitalist way. The hope of making a change though democratic means was quickly lost and a rebellious group called the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was formed, creating an alliance with the Sierra Leonean army in an attempt to gain control of an already broken country. This coalition fought for just over a decade to take back control of the country’s riches. Foday Khalil Gbla of Year 10 was invited by the Master to reflect on his visits to his homeland. He will develop his ideas further in an assembly presentation for his peers.
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