The idea of Sierra Leone is nothing new. In fact, this secluded region in Africa is a region I’ve wanted to work in for years. I can’t quite establish why or when my interest with this country began. Was it the debilitating decade long civil war that instilled a desire in me to help with the reconstruction process? Was it the courage, hope, and strength displayed during this tumultuous time that piqued my curiosity? Or, was it my unabashed desire to visit a secluded, post war nation such as Sierra Leone? I can't succinctly determine what it was, but I suspect it was a combination of the above. There are event, however, which, when I look back, are entirely too curious to dismiss as purely coincidental. Nonetheless, my journey into the heart of a country the size of New Brunswick is about to begin.
So, I think it’s appropriate
to give you a brief history of Sierra Leone, no? The name Sierra Leone is said
to mean Lion Mountain. As Pedro da Cintra (some Portuguese sailor) sailed past Sierra Leone’s Banana
Islands in 1497 he observed that they looked like a big cat, and thus arose the
name Sierra Leone. I have yet to see the Banana Islands, but I’ll be sure to
report back and let you know if Captain da Cintra was onto something or simply on opioids.
As far back as 2500 BC,
Salone was a land of small communities working with stone and wooden tools,
smelting iron, growing rice, slugging salt, refining palm oil, panning for
gold, making soap from wood ashes, potting, weaving, sandstone carvings, and
recently, mining for diamonds. In the 16th century, Europeans landed
in Sierra Leone and traded swords and utensils for gold and ivory with local
chiefs. But then came the perverse realization that they could make a "killing" by buying and selling humans. In the mid 16th century, Admiral John
Hawkins, with his morally skewed compass, decided to buy slaves from what was
to become Freetown and ship them across the Atlantic for sale in Caribbean
countries and Lower America. It proved to be so profitable that even Queen
Elizabeth the 1st partnered and financed his second voyage. Classy,
I know. That was sarcasm for those of you who aren’t familiar with my humour.
By the late 18th
century, American slaves who had fought for the British and settled in Nova
Scotia were offered freedom in Sierra Leone. And so, 1,190 American slaves
living in Nova Scotia made the trans-Atlantic journey to find Freedom in Sierra
Leone. The idea sounded nice but little did they know, they were in for a ghastly surprise. Many died during
the voyage and upon arrival, as they were ill prepared for agriculture in the very hot and humid Sierra Leone climate. Slave ‘liberation’ continued for some time and
eventually resulted in Sierra Leone's capital being named Freetown. What’s
curious is, even though Sierra Leone was the destination for the soon to be
free slaves, the Sierra Leonean trade in humans continued until mid 19th
century and British enslavery of Sierra Leonean’s continued until 1928. Didn't make much sense to me at first either.
Now because the Brits were
not enthused of having Sierra Leone’s hinterland under their responsibility,
Freetown was made into a colony and the hinterland a protectorate under the
ultimate control of Freetown. Because Sierra Leone is composed of many
different tribes, with Krio predominantly controlling Freetown, the bimodal
political system gave rise to tension and, according to truth and reconciliation commission, contributed to the decade long
civil war. A few parallels with Rwanda, eh (Canadian lingo).
The civil war from 1991-2002
is somewhat hard to piece together due to the many players involved and the
highly dynamic environment and loose allegiances within which factions
operated. Regardless, deteriorating agricultural land, economic difficulties, a
corrupt political system, angry youth, and inter-tribal hatred all contributed
to the eventual bloodshed. The RUF (Revolutionary United Front), led by Foday Sankoh,
traded stones for weapons with Charles Taylor from neighbouring Liberia and
recruited youth under the pretext of a bright, healthy, and equitable future,
free from political corruption that favoured a privileged few. What remains mind
numbing, however, were the tactics used to achieve this end. Maiming of limbs,
mass rape, decapitation, arson, and violations against the human body - so severe
that I cannot even begin to imagine how an individual can inflict such pain on another human - was widespread for 11 years. As a result, and a
bit late in the game, Sierra Leone wound up with 17,000 peacekeepers, the
largest peacekeeping force in the U.N.’s history.
I know I totally cut
corners on this summary, but I feel as though I may be overwhelming some of you
by now. So, if you’re still interested, go the local library or amazon.ca and
purchase a book or two on this countries’ tumultuous history, a history with
ties with Atlantic Canada.
So, a bit about where I will be
working, yah?! I will be working in Kabala, located 300 km from Freetown (the
capital) in the northeastern part of the country and in close proximity to the
Guinean Border. Known for its weaving, Kabala was particularly ravaged by the
many forces at play during the civil war. I’ve read that Kabala is somewhat
cooler than Freetown but, considering the temp can reach above 36 degrees
centigrade, I’m curious to see what ‘cooler’ means. There's no electricity or running water, which promises to be an interesting change considering I’ve
been massively plugged in for the past 5 years – minus the cell phone, of
course (haven’t been able to justify this purchase yet). Regardless, I’m
thrilled about the opportunity to help people living in one of the poorest and
underserviced nations in the world. Among other things, I will be teaching women and children to read and write, educating women about sustainable agricultural practices, surveying communities to document the progress being made with the literacy programs, and likely help get the net-zero carbon footprint program off the ground. I’m not sure how often I'll have internet access but I hope you'll check in from time to time to see the work and, with a bit of luck, progress being made in Sierra Leone
