Sierra Leone is a beautiful country
rich in minerals, agricultural potential and tourist
potential. It has stunning long white sand beaches,
rich tropical forests, ocean access and abundant
wildlife. The indigenous people are a mixture
of Temne and Mende speakers who have elaborate
and extensive religious and cultural traditions.
The capital city Freetown, was settled by repatriated
slaves. They were then taken by Philanthropists
in an attempt to return them to their homeland
in Africa and moved to a tract of land in Sierra
Leone. Over half of these re-settled slaves would
die by the end of the first year but those who
survived went on to form the elite class who inhabited
the peninsula which today is called Freetown.
The British colonized Sierra Leone
until Milton Margai achieved independence in 1961.
But the long years of mismanagement and corruption
by the Siaka Stevens regime for 30 years left
Sierra Leone ripe for civil unrest. In 1991 the
Revolutionary United Front began a bloody and
horrific civil war that was to last until 2002.
The war was originally disguised as a fight for
equality and an end to poverty but quickly became
a fight to control the countries rich diamond
resources. Charles Taylor, backed by Libya’s
Gaddafi, supported the RUF in a plan to exchange
diamonds for weaponry and drugs. The drugs were
often given to the thousands of child soldiers
which the RUF abducted and forcibly recruited
by forcing children to kill their parents or commit
crimes which would sever their link with their
communities forever.
Sierra Leone has seen serious and
grotesque human rights violations since 1991 when
the civil war erupted. According to Human Rights
Watch, over 50,000 people have been killed to
date, with over one million people having been
displaced. The civil war is known for it’s
inhumane amputations which were inflicted on over
20,000 people with roughly 4,000 surviving amputees
who today are totally unassisted by the government
and many are left begging in the streets of Freetown.
More than 17,000 foreign troops disarmed tens
of thousands of rebels and militia fighters. The
British sent the majority of troops to help end
the war. The country now faces the challenge of
reconstruction. The tiny country of Sierra Leone,
with a population of 5 million became the UN’s
largest military intervention in history.
Today Sierra Leone ranks as the
second poorest country in the world by the UNDP
Human Development Index and the UN has ranked
Sierra Leone as the world's “least livable”
country, based on its poverty and the poor quality
of life endured by its citizens. The infrastructure
is in shambles, the war victims are unassisted
by the government, thousands of disabled and polio
victims beg in the streets. The government offers
little in the way of health care, especially for
the poorest who cannot afford care. There is no
national disability policy and the disabled suffer
some of the worst human rights abuses in the world.
The traditional superstitions and beliefs about
disabled people cause widespread discrimination
at all levels of society. But the desire for peace
is strong and the people are courageous and hopeful
that peace will prevail and bring a brighter future.
