CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by A. Rashid Jalloh, Sierra Leone, Feb. 1999
THEME = CIVIL WAR
There was a time when Sierra Leone
was regarded as a paradise in West Africa,
but things are no longer as they used to be
After eight years of continuous fighting between successive governments and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels, with neither side winning, efforts are now being made by both the government and some West African countries, especially Nigeria, to bring both parties to the negotiating table. For the first time in eight years, residents of Freetown have been directly affected by the war. The invasion of Freetown by the rebels on 6 January 1999, created a nightmarish situation which many people are still finding difficult to cope with. The burning of houses by the rebels left over 150,000 homeless. "It's difficult for most of us to rebuild our houses, since we cannot afford millions of leons to construct a house", says Jemie Savage of Kissy, who is one of the thousands of victims.
About one third of the houses in the Kissy, Calaba Town and Wellington districts of Freetown were burnt down. Freetown itself also bore the brunt of the rebels' burning spree, but the magnitude of the burning cannot be compared to what took place in Wellington, Calaba Town and Kissy districts, very close to Freetown. Most workers are now finding it difficult to go to work since they've lost most of their personal items. "I've only got two pairs of trousers and a shirt to put on. I've lost everything I had, including my uniform. How can I go to work?", says Musa Sesay, a displaced Police officer.
Displaced people have to either lodge in relatives' houses or shelter in schools and hospitals. Conditions in these places are none too good.
Travelling from one part of the city to the other has become very difficult. Vehicles and cars parked on the side of streets, in garages and in homes, were burnt by the rebels as they retreated from the city. Apparently this has caused a shortage of transport.
Food is available in the market but at inflated prices. Many people cannot afford to provide a meal everyday. The rebels went from house to house extorting money and food from the people before they retreated to the bush.
The death toll is estimated at around five thousand though there are no records as to the number of people who have actually been buried. The rebels indiscriminately shot and killed people, sometimes in their homes. Some were burnt alive in their houses.
Trinity Church (an Anglican Church) and Truscott Church were razed to the ground. Those who sought refuge in churches and mosques were not spared. At Wellington, 4 miles from the centre of the city, a journalist, Paul Mansaray, of the Standard Times newspaper, his wife and two children and all those who had sought refuge in a church with him, were gunned down. Police stations were burnt down.
Can a similar situation be prevented in the future? Many local newspapers are now calling for dialogue with the rebels. In a nationwide radio broadcast on 7 February, President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah promised to dialogue with the rebels and allow their jailed leader, Foday Sankoh, to meet face to face with other members of his rebel movement in order to establish their demands. He stated that the rebels should lay down their arms and "be ready to talk peace without any preconditions. The message was received with sighs of relief by war-weary citizens.
Even though normality has been restored both within Freetown and in surrounding areas, the presence of a few rebels caught once in a while along the streets, has made citizens somewhat jittery. Immediately any member of the public identifies these rebels and their "collaborators", they get short shrift and are shot. Journalists are still scared to go about their normal activities. Even though newspapers are published, most journalists say they do not feel safe. It must be remembered that when the rebels invaded Freetown, they enquired about the whereabouts of journalists. At least six were killed. My house was raided twice and I got the message that one of the rebels had threatened to "deal with me if he were to see me." I had to take refuge in a neighbour's house.
Now the dust has settled a bit. Which way is Sierra Leone now heading? The biggest problem for residents in Freetown is to find shelter, food and clothing. The Government cannot afford to provide for everybody. Our only hope lies in humanitarian help from outside sources.
Living in what was once a paradise in West Africa, has now become a nightmare.
END
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