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Tafarre's visit to Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is infamous for a war that ended just 6 years ago (2002). Evidently we saw on the news networks how; many people died and some even had their limbs cut off during a complicated war to say the least. The country with the 'Lion Mountains' which is what Sierra Leone means, is also popular for its wealth in resources such as diamond, gold, silver and new found oil.

When I told some family members and close friends that I was going to Sierra Leone they instantly thought the worst. As far as they were concerned; the war is still going on, it is still very dangerous and the rebels are still cutting off people's limbs! Furthermore the African airlines are not that safe and Africa is the last place to contemplate going for a vacation. I had to endure this for a while from people who haven't got a clue about the country, yet I was happy to venture to a place unknown to me. One could not really blame them as they got their information from the popular news networks, which will show what they want you to see. Prior to my trip, I did some research on the Internet (several web sites) which had the same idea such as; homicide is on the rise in Sierra Leone and the locals often attack tourists and expatriates plus the houses are all dilapidated. I then went and told the people I was going with of my findings, upon hearing this they laughed and told me that the war is over since 2002 and the country is now enduring a time of peace and the rumours are untrue. I decided to go with an open mind. At this time I was really looking forward to my first trip to Africa, Freetown to be exact. I guess Freetown is a good start as Sierra Leone has a rich history with the black slaves in the Caribbean and the USA where the Maroons from Jamaica and other Caribbean islands plus a few freed slaves from North America went between 1787 and 1860.

At about 8:PM I arrived at the Freetown-Lungi International airport in Freetown and as soon as I stepped off the jet, I suddenly felt the heat from the ground. We checked out and were making our way to the transport to get to the ferry. The Journey to Freetown was hectic but exciting as I saw locals selling food and drinks on the way. I'm not going to give you every single detail of my time in Sierra Leone. Indeed I enjoyed my stay in the country and have moments which I will savour, an experience which you could have only if you go and see this beautiful country for yourself. What I really want to share is my observations of the people, the effects of the war, developments, poverty, wealth, creoles and the different tribes (peoples) of the country as well as the potential growth and other relating factors.

In the time I spent in this beautiful country I learnt that Sierra Leone is made up of several different tribes such as; the Mende, Timlily, Fula's, the Creoles plus several others. Over the years new people such as: Lebanese and Chinese immigrants set up business and state their claim in the country. Despite the Creoles being one of the minorities in the country they are the aristocrats or most popular as Creole is widely spoken there and the culture is very strong. I suddenly noticed the similarities between Creole and Jamaican (broken English) patois and thought to myself 'this must have been brought back by the Maroons from Jamaica to Freetown'. Still the indigenous culture is widespread as I saw women wearing stunning custom clothes, still this is declining as more and more people are dressing more westernised. Freetown is quite a vibrant city where it is always busy, everyone is always on the move. I could see many people hustling (buying and selling; food, clothes and US dollars and Pound Sterlings) to make a living. These people are mostly vendors selling whatever you want whether it is; food, drinks, clothes and ornaments. This is not surprising as 70% of the population is unemployed so there is little opportunity but to sell items in the market. To be honest I was shocked to see certain occurrences when I reached Freetown as I didn?t expect to see; tall buildings and nice cars. I was amazed to see Hummers, X5?s and Chryslers in the country. I suddenly realised that there is a lot of money here! I saw immigrants from Europe and Asia really doing successful business here and local (rich) Sierra Leoneans making money. I did not expect this, call me naive but I was in for a wide awakening when I travelled throughout Freetown. There are houses in this country that we in England would dream of buying as they would be too expensive. Each mansion is protected with burglar bars and some even have their own security from the less fortunate (some criminals), which I will soon mention. I was also amazed to see how the locals appreciate football as when there is football on a Saturday or (Sunday) the roads are quiet as people are packed in ?restaurants, bars? where they would watch premiership matches on big screens. After the match you will see the roads packed with people mostly men talking and sometimes arguing about something regarding football.

The effects of the war

One will not have to look far to see the effects of the war in Freetown as you will see it from people who have lost limbs who desperately try to earn a living by begging. l also saw a few tall buildings where rockets were propelled into. Some buildings are left abandoned since the war ended. On the other hand, there are places in Freetown that look as if a war did not take place. Most buildings are in relatively good condition. On the other side of town one cannot ignore the poverty seen as I saw young children looking as young as 10 selling sweets, drinks in the market to help their families. I also saw children carrying huge buckets of water on their heads as obviously there are problems with getting clean water among the poor people in the country.

Distribution of wealth

Based on my observations, the divide between the rich and the poor is startling as I witness wealth at its peak in the country and poverty where you begin to feel sorry for the less fortunate. The war has just stopped (6 years ago) and the country is just beginning to find its feet so it is fair to say the country is doing well considering this. I can categorically say that Sierra Leone is the only country that had a war and is recovering so quickly. I expected a lot of violence but fail to see this as the people were so friendly; maybe the locals treat tourists different or maybe they saw what the war had to offer so they are making sure that peace prevails despite the hardships that they face. Whatever the reason, I did not notice anything of a high murder rate, where people are robbing and killing people senselessly like what happened there not so long ago. I was pleased to see a vibrant place with different people of different race and religions living together as Sierra Leoneans. Still, the rich poor divide is unmistakable.

If you are 'not poor' and live in Sierra Leone, it would not be an exaggeration to think that you are in paradise as there are so many beaches you may start to think you are on an island. Driving a Chrystler or Hummer to the beach would not be strange and you could be drinking 'Guiness and a 'Shark'(similar to redbull) with the cool sea breeze hitting you on a Sunday evening.I went to Lumley beach and Lakar beach, then another, and another then lost count. How many beaches are in Sierra Leone? One of my favourite sightings was a mountain that looks like a crocodile! (like I said you would have to go and see it for yourself). I witness many tourists from different races and nationalities, I suddenly said to myself: 'The charities could never show this on the news or TV as they would not get any donations!' :)

Even though there is a level of poverty, the locals must be thankful for their huge access to an abundance of fish, because of this; many children are healthy and happy. Maybe it's because everything they eat is organic? Almost everything most Sierra Leoneans eat is straight from the ground, sea or from the tree. A great contrast to western countries, where organic food is really expensive which means those in poverty could not afford to eat organic food. Sad 'facts' about Sierra Leone is that; according to a PHD's longevity blog, the country has a life expectancy of just 37! I do not know whether or not the war had anything to do with these stats, however a sharp contrast to this is that a woman by the name of 'Mammy Hannah Douglas' a Sierra Leonean is still going strong at 120 years old! Stories like these are not unbelievable as I saw several people of old age, even in poor living conditions. It is also reported that 30% of children do not live to the age of five. Despite these statistics I see foreigners there; setting up and maintaining businesses and living a great quality of life.

The fact is that there is wide foreign investment going on in Sierra Leone as the country is noted for its richness in resources as I mentioned before. The problem is when that wealth is not distributed (even to some small proportion)to all the people in Sierra Leone, which was a factor that started the war. In my opinion, all that is needed at the moment is just some good infrastructure such as good roads that connects villages to Freetown so markets and industries can open up in other places, which will effectively create jobs for the unemployed which would help to quell poverty. Even the simple idea of building better roads could be beneficial to the locals as I saw young people who would love to work. All they need is the opportunity to do something. Once the unemployment rate falls then the improvements could be fast and vast. As there is huge foreign investment I see people going to the country to take what they can get, not bringing anything good with them to benefit the locals. Factories and other ideas could prove very successful if expatriates and local government start to invest in their own country. This is just my opinion on how I think everyone (not just the wealthy) in Sierra Leone could live without poverty. I must make it a point that: like how foreigners come to this country to set up business, expatriates and other likeminded people could go to Sierra Leone and enter in any industry and do great things. Not only would they make a lot of money, they would make a whole lot of difference. I am reiterating that they too should look at Sierra Leone as a business opportunity to invest in something worthwhile and at the same time helping to build an economy and be a part of something great. This is easier said than done as media influence will tell you that Africa or in this case Sierra Leone is a bad place to invest because it is not safe and corruption etc, yet you will see foreigners from Europe, USA and Asia going to this same country and getting rich overnight. Why? There is a strong possibility that the country could be overrun by foreigners (investors) or tourists and most of the locals staying in the same position due to lack of opportunity. I believe the rich Sierra Leoneans should take this into their hands and come together to form conglomerates or multi industry companies. Still I see development in Sierra Leone.

You may notice by now that I'm mentioning the words 'poverty' and 'poor' quite a few times, however if you go to the biggest club in Freetown (Paddy's) for a night out you would not be able to tell whether these locals are rich or poor. This amazes me at how the locals even without jobs manage to look their best and be in the midst of the rich and famous without looking out of place. I notice how the locals work hard and play hard as they have parties on the streets almost on a daily or should I say nightly basis At these roadside parties a lot of trade does go on, so these are not just parties it is also business, which some locals use to have a good time but also to feed their families, whether it is selling peanuts or water, yes I said water.

As I'm writing this piece I could see that Sierra Leone is not an easy place to live; If you are POOR, if you live in poverty or struggling to get your next meal. As more than half the population is out of work it does make sense for them to want to leave the country and go to Europe and the US where job opportunities are better, which will in effect make their living conditions better. As humans I guess we gravitate to where standard living conditions are better available than where we currently reside. On the other hand, rich Sierra Leoneans do not need to leave this country unless they need a holiday to see somewhere different. This is because one will definitely live a better quality of life there than places where the less fortunate think is better. I believe mass migration and people wanting to leave this country can be avoided if they are given job opportunities, which means the development of industries and the creation of new ones. From the outside looking in I see the bigger picture and unlike many I see development slowly but surely happening in this country. Maybe it is because I had a pre conception of how it was before I actually visited Sierra Leone. One could say, Sierra Leone is starting from scratch again, considering the war they have done well and with future investment and the right allocation of resources could see the country make huge strides towards success.

And yes I really enjoyed my time there, have a lookout for a documentary on Sierra Leone that I'm working on. I am in the process of editing. This may take some time.

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