World Press Freedom Day

May 3rd is World Press Freedom Day.

In Freetown, the UN invited journalists to a reception at its new headquarters on Signal Hill. The SL Association of Journalists (SLAJ) president, Umaru Fofana, and the Information and Communication Minister, Alahji Ben Karbo, both addressed the audience of about 100 media professionals.



Unlike the situation in many African countries, reporters in SL enjoy relative safety and can work without the fear of state repression and harassment. But getting access to information and obtaining interviews with public officials remain considerable obstacles to those pursuing investigative journalism.

SLAJ and the Society for Democratic Initiatives are leading a campaign for the passage of a Freedom of Information Act. The minister announced that the bill is currently going through the legislative process in Parliament.

The 1965 Public Order Act continues to impede many stories from reaching the public. It criminalizes the release of confidential information by allowing prosecution on grounds of seditious libel. Journalists are eager for this piece of legislation to be repealed, but nobody can tell when this will happen.

In 2000, to reduce the number of such prosecutions, the Independent Media Commission was set up to mediate disputes between reporters, editors, and rival media houses.

Meanwhile, young reporters are learning on the job, often working long hours on a volunteer basis. They are the ones producing the news that comes out of SL. Sometimes they wonder if anyone beyond the country's borders is listening. But their motivation comes from the loyal local audience that relies on them for information.

Independence Day

April 27 is SL's national holiday. It marks the day in 1961 when the British colony became a sovereign country.

To celebrate the occasion, Freetown was in a general festive state for almost a week. On Wednesday the 22nd, a cultural performance was organized outside the stadium. Traditional dancers in colourful costumes, drummers with amazing stamina, jugglers, and various artists entertained a crowd of about 50 dignitaries and guests. The music soon attracted curious onlookers, food vendors, and area people with a few hours to spare.







Young and old, tall and small, everyone had a role to play in this showcase of SL history and culture.





Representatives of the Gullah Kinship Association, a group that is developing ties with descendants of slaves taken to America's east coast (the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia) in the 18th century, were on hand to answer questions and recruit new members.



More than 30 women from the SL Traditional Healers Union made their entrance to he sound of Krio music and songs. In their official t-shirts, African skirts, and urban handbags, they seemed to be having even more fun than the enthusiastic spectators.





On Sunday, the eve of the national holiday, thousands of people filled the streets of Freetown for the lantern parade, a procession of hand-crafted floats. Some represented historical events, others were recreations of popular landmarks or showcased a civil society group's message. Each one either had a sound system on board, or was followed by a car mounted with large speakers.





On Monday afternoon, Lumley beach became a playground for impromptu football matches, family gatherings with lots of kids, and groups of friends eating and dancing by columns of speakers powered by generators. Many Sierra Leoneans can't swim, so they play in the shallow waters, often in their clothes.



The best aspect of the multi-day celebrations is that no political clashes were reported and all events gave diverse people a chance to party peacefully.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

SL is one of 28 African countries where FGM continues to be practiced. Because of the secrecy surrounding the procedure, no systematic survey has been conducted, but it is believed that around 90% of women living in SL have been subjected to FGM. Worldwide estimates range between 100 and 140 million women and girls.

WHAT IS IT?

Regional variations and respective tribes' customs generate considerable confusion about what the procedure entails. The World Health Organization (WHO) divides FGM into 4 types, the most prevalent of which being the excision of the clitoris with partial or total removal of the labia minora. One type refers to the burning of the clitoris or the introduction of corrosive substances inside the vagina.

Defenders of FGM prefer the term "circumcision" to mutilation. This is medically inaccurate. Western advocates of a culturally sensitive approach to the controversial practice use the word "cutting". They are often anthropology or African studies scholars, who have not had the procedure done themselves and would never submit their own daughters to it.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?

The potential health complications associated with FGM are both numerous and severe. Beyond acute pain and shock, they include excessive bleeding, urinary incontinence, infections and vulnerability to disease, an increased risk of fistula, and complications during pregnancy and child birth.

WHY DO IT?

Women and girls undergo FGM for a mix of overlapping reasons: tradition, preservation of their virginity and hence of the family honour, acceptance by the community, suitability for marriage, and perceived increased sexual pleasure for men. Sometimes they are told that it will improve hygiene and enhance fertility. Exactly the opposite is true.

HOW DOES IT HAPPEN?

FGM is the culmination point of an initiation ritual that can last up to several weeks. Typically, adolescent girls are taken to the Bondo Bush, the term used for a remote area on the outskirts of a village, where a group of women teach them the skills they will need to be submissive and hard-working housewives. They are taught how to cook, sow, clean, dance, and please a man. Then, to mark their entry into womanhood, older women called sowies perform FGM, using, and re-using, a knife, a razor blade, a shard of glass, or a sharpened piece of stone. There are no surgical tools in the bush. No sterilization. No anesthetic. No doctors or nurses. No emergency services.

Being a sowie is a job that provides financial sustainability and confers significant social status. For their services, sowies are paid money and given bags of rice, bottles of palm oil, pots and pans, fabrics, and a selection of other everyday items. Some families save up for months to be able to afford their daughters' initiation.

For girls and young women who pass through the hands of sowies, the health risks and complete lack of legal recourse following a botched intervention are very similar to those encountered by women who turned to unqualified, back alley, abortion providers in the pre- Roe v. Wade era.

WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY ABOUT FGM?

In SL, no law forbids, regulates, or even defines FGM. The procedure is too entrenched culturally for any government to risk electoral support by acknowledging its dangers and undermining its practitioners. In the last general election, in 2007, the party that now forms the opposition (Sierra Leone People's Party), openly offered to pay for families' FGM expenses in exchange for votes. This led to some families sending 2 or 3 daughters to the Bondo bush at the same time, regardless of age.

The current official position is that FGM should not be performed on girls without their consent. But when dealing with children, consent is relative. The peer, family, and community pressure is often overwhelming for a young girl, who faces being marginalized and passed over for marriage if she refuses FGM.

The ministry of education is concerned that the initiation process takes girls out of school for a number of weeks. The health problems following FGM can keep them away even longer. The ministry's solution is to encourage parents to send their girls to the sowies during the Christmas break.

CIVIL SOCIETY'S RESPONSE TO FGM

Several NGOs are working very hard to reduce, even eradicate FGM in SL. An umbrella organization called the National Movement for Emancipation and Progress (NaMEP) coordinates the efforts of some 20 groups operating in different regions of the country.

Using a participatory approach that takes into account legal frameworks, psychological and physical health, education, and religion, NaMEP partners so far have managed to convince local Chiefs in a handful of districts (Kambia, Kono, Moyamba Junction, Port Loko) to introduce restrictions on FGM, such as minimum age limits. But it remains difficult to monitor whether sowies follow the new guidelines.

THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA

On April 16, JHR and NaMEP organized a workshop for journalists on the topic of FGM. The gathering focused on three objectives: harmonizing language on FGM, informing reporters about ongoing initiatives to reduce the prevalence of FGM, and sharing best practices on interviewing and producing news reports on FGM.

The event brought together more than 40 print and radio journalists, NaMEP members, and, what is most unusual for a reclusive group that does not appreciate the prying eye of the media, 5 sowies, including the president of the National Council of Sowies (in red dress). The informative conversation and moderated question period represented a unique opportunity for reporters and sowies to engage directly, clarify previous misunderstandings, and listen to each other's concerns.



NaMEP's national secretary and the sowies watched as reporters volunteered to take part in a role-play illustrating the dilemmas parents in rural areas face when deciding whether to send their daughters to the Bondo bush.



It will most likely take generations before SL abandons FGM completely. But the fact that sowies were willing to sit in front of a room full of journalists, and that all participants showed respect for opposing views and restraint in their language and tone, is a small yet significant first step. The next challenge will be to transfer this good will into well-researched, fact-based media reports that inform the public and don't serve as platforms for their authors' personal views on FGM.

Tiwai Island

Tiwai Island is a wildlife sanctuary on the Moa river, in the south-east of SL. Located between the Gola West Forest Reserve and the South Kambui Forest Reserve, it is home to 11 species of primates, including the endangered colobus and Diana monkeys. Pygmy hippopotamus are also known to live on and around the island, but they rarely allow themselves to be seen by visitors. A total of 135 wild bird species have also been identified.

Tiwai is SL's only community conservation program. Surrounding the 12 Km2 island are 8 communities that have a stake in the initiative's success. Since the reserve reopened after the civil war, villagers, especially the kids, are used to seeing SUVs and motorbikes dropping off white guests in hiking boots and backpacks with cameras at the ready.



Catherine Kerr (left in photo), a VSO working with the Environmental Foundation for Africa, spent several months on Tiwai, hiring and training staff, assisting with the logistics of food preparation, book-keeping, inventory, transportation, and safety measures. Most importantly, she has been the driving force behind an outreach program that sought to consult the local communities on Tiwai's potential for environmentally sound development.



To generate a small income for the communities and the sanctuary, a villager makes and sells pretty straw purses and hats. We modeled the merchandise before buying a number of items.



Spending a night on the island, sleeping in tents set up on concrete platforms, visitors fall asleep to the sound of crickets and other unidentified creatures, and wake up to an agitated forest filled with chirping birds.



A two-hour walk under the busy canopy turns into an exciting search for primate movements and high-pitched conversations. It is much easier to hear them than to spot them as they dance between tree tops. On the ground, interesting finds such as sleeping butterflies and spice plants dot the path.





Taking a trip up the river in a traditional canoe is another fun way to discover the island's flora, colourful birds, and artisanal fish traps.





As our day of exploration comes to an end, we can't resist relaxing in small hammocks while the sun sets in the background.



At dinner, when solar-powered bulbs are turned on, a battalion of moths materialize to mate in the light, eventually shedding their tired wings. There are so many of them that the friendly staff light candles and catch them by hand and drown them in a bowl so visitors can eat in peace.





After another night on the island, it's time to begin the long journey back to Freetown, leaving Tiwai's communities to their daily activities.

Riots in Freetown

On Monday, March 16, the centre of Freetown was the scene of violent clashes between supporters of SL's ruling All People’s Congress (APC) and the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).

The chaos was the culmination of days of tension.

The previous week, by-elections in the southern district of Pujehun had to be postponed because of fighting that resulted in several people being injured.

In Kenema, a town in the south-east, a minister’s car was set ablaze outside his house.

On Friday, March 13, the mayor of Freetown, Herbert George Williams, unveiled a newly refurbished clock tower in the east end. He had apparently invited supporters of his own party, the APC, but not those of the SLPP. Following the ceremony, the mayor, dressed in a traditional mask of the Limba people (a tribe from the north, where the APC draws most of its support), along with his acolytes, danced in the streets and reportedly insulted SLPP members who had by then gathered alongside their political opponents.

The cantankerous procession made its way to City Hall, which happens to be located right next to the SLPP headquarters. The police asked the mayor to use an alternative route to avoid the agitated SLPP supporters who had massed outside their building. But he refused, arguing that as the mayor of Freetown, he can go wherever he pleases, whenever he pleases.

Not surprisingly, it wasn’t long before tempers flared up. Invectives turned into projectiles, windows were broken, fire was set to the SLPP headquarters, and general mayhem broke out. The police eventually intervened and, with much difficulty, dispersed the rioting crowd.

When it was all over, several people were seriously injured, the SLPP offices were vandalized, equipment was looted, an array of individuals were being blamed for sparking the clash, and the authorities were being criticized for their handling of this serious threats to public safety.

On Saturday, in an attempt to calm the situation, the vice president suspended both parties’ radio stations as they had begun to incite their supporters to take action against their opponents.

Sunday was calm.

But early Monday morning, a few hundred supporters from both parties again filled the area outside the damaged SLPP headquarters. The police tried to enter the building to seize an alleged ammunitions and weapons cache, and to arrest two individuals whom they said were responsible for the unrest. But they didn’t have a warrant so were refused entry by SLPP members.

Accounts of what happened next include two black SUVs making their way through the crowd up to the door, individuals being retrieved from the building and driven away; one of the President’s bodyguards, a man known as “Leather Boot”, going in and extricating a number of people whom he later said he was holding in an undisclosed location; more fighting and rock throwing; more looting; and six women being raped inside the SLPP headquarters.

At approximately 1 p.m., the police moved in on the crowd, using copious amounts of tear gas and firing warning shots up in the air. An hour later, Freetown was back to its regular routine, almost as if nothing had happened. That is, for those of us who were not injured or raped.

THE AFTERMATH:

1) A total of 22 SLPP supporters have been arrested, charged, and arraigned.

2) President Ernest Bai Koroma issued a statement condemning the violence and urging all citizens to collaborate in the rebuilding of a peaceful and prosperous SL. The opposition responded with its own press release, pinning the blame for the unrest on what it considers the APC’s inept leadership and influence over the police force.

3) The head of the Independent Media Commission (IMC) reminded everyone that the power to suspend media organizations rests with her, not government officials. She then accepted the vice president's apology and said the regulatory body would uphold the suspensions while it investigates the role of the radio stations in the days leading up to the violence.

4) SLAJ, the SL Association of Journalists, unconditional defenders of the right to free expression, condemned the IMC for its support of the ban.

5) WIMSAL, the SL association of women journalists, issued a statement expressing their disappointment at the president’s address because it did not condemn the rapes of women inside the SLPP offices.

6) The U.S. Embassy condemned the violence, called on both parties to bridge their differences for the good of the nation, and said it was disturbed by allegations of rape.

7) An alliance of women’s groups requested a permit for a march in support of women’s rights, and to raise awareness of the gender-based violence that took place during the riots. The police denied their request.

8) Used condoms were reportedly found in the SLPP offices. Party officials claim they are proof that gang rapes took place. A male gynecologist, and head of a government hospital in Bo, told a local newspaper that the condoms are an indication of consent. Another male doctor commented that the use of condoms can cast suspicions on rape allegations.

[The Pope is currently in Africa telling stadiums full of people not to use condoms because, he ignorantly claims, they encourage the spread of HIV/AIDS. While health agencies struggle to counter that idiotic and criminal message, when they somehow convince men to use condoms to protect themselves and their sexual partners/victims from STDs, we now have doctors in SL effectively defending aggressors by insinuating that rape must have been consensual sex. So women, and often their unborn children, continue to suffer the ravages of diseases while sexual predators are enabled by the catholic church and patriarchal African doctors.]

9.1) The 20 or so injured who had been taken to Connaught hospital were discharged in the following days, except for one man, Alpha Samuel, a poor bloke from Kono district, who says he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. He recounted how he was taken for an SLPP supporter, thrown to the ground, beaten with rocks, and then stripped of his shoes, phone, and money. The police eventually intervened and brought him to hospital. With multiple gashes on his head, bandages on his back, and pain in his hip bone, Samuel could barely stand. Desperation filled his watery eyes as he strained to explain what had happened to him.

9.2) Samuel will need medical care, but he has no money to pay for it. In the courtyard at Connaught hospital, Alpha pointed to the doctor who had treated him. He was sitting in the shade with other doctors, less than a hundred yards away. When we gestured for him to come and talk to us, he replied with a gesture of his own, making it clear that it was Alpha who should walk over. Leaving the injured man to sit down, I went over and asked the doctor what would happen to his patient. The answer was simple: If he has money, he will be treated. If he can’t pay, he will be discharged.

10.1) It has been reported that the police possess a limited quantity of tear gas and that importing it into SL is not easy. This is a cause of concern: When they run out, will they no longer try to stop riots, or will they use their guns to control crowds?

10.2) On Sunday, March 22, after a gas tanker delivered its cargo in Freetown's east end, the pipeline leading to the different oil companies was breached. Private security officers charged with guarding the facilities are being accused of intentionally damaging the pipe. They were seen openly taking money in exchange for the seeping gas. Poor onlookers tried to get a piece of the action and began scooping up the gas in all manner of containers. The police intervened to prevent further pilfering, relying again on tear gas. A smoldering canister ignited the petrol on the ground and on people's bodies, instantly killing the officer who launched it, causing severe burn injuries to at least 25 people, 14 of whom have since died. There are reports of additional burnt bodies at the scene that are too charred to be identified.
[March 27 Update: 7 more people have died in hospital, bringing the total to 21]

11) On Monday, March 23, the anniversary of the start of the civil war, the day in 1991 when the first shots were fired, a truck loaded with 70 young men from Kailahun district bound for Freetown was intercepted. Some passengers fled into the bush at the site of the police, and the SLPP councilor who organized the trip is under investigation.

LOCAL INSIGHTS:

Several people interpret the violence as the latest sign that the SLPP does not accept the results of the 2007 general election. After years in power, the party now finds itself in opposition, and many affirm that it is letting its less sophisticated followers in the provinces believe that the APC stole the election.

It is widely acknowledged that the SLPP is using disaffected, uneducated young men from the provinces, some of them former child-soldiers, to stir up trouble and foment instability in order to paint the government as weak and ineffective.

Members of the Peace Society at Fourah Bay College, all of them students of conflict studies, explain that poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy are combining to create a "devil's workshop" of despair and resentment, where hungry and angry young men are easily manipulated by political factions.

A number of observers are disappointed by the international media's coverage of last week's events. For instance, Reuters mentioned the presence of machetes in the SLPP offices. It remains unclear if there were any. Some feel that the news agency created an image of the violence that needlessly linked to the atrocities of the country's recent civil war.

According to some, the BBC correspondent, who happens to be the president of SLAJ, also hyped the violence.

Aljazeera, in a 1:49-min video on air and on its website, inserted footage of maimed victims from the civil war in between scenes of Monday's unrest.

However, to their credit, the Qatar-based network subsequently sent a team to SL to produce a 7-minute segment on the difficulties journalists face in trying to investigate controversial stories. They are in Freetown for a week, talking to those involved in last week's events as well as to a number of local media professionals. They interviewed me yesterday.

This is an ongoing story. A narrative where extreme poverty, high unemployment, widespread corruption, and a grossly inadequate infrastructure are dragging down sustained and creative local, national and international efforts to increase literacy rates, provide basic sanitation and health services, promote human rights, and solidify the rule of law.

On April 27, SL will celebrate Republic Day. The APC has promised that on that day, electricity will finally begin to flow to all parts of the country. The National Power Authority has been working hard to make that vision a reality. Many suspect the SLPP of working just as hard to make sure that light does not shine on the APC and its anticipated development success.

In SL, it's all about power.

Goodbye Alpha

He was only 8 and very small. But he had a quiet wisdom about him. He charmed all of us ex-pats instantly with his bright eyes, gorgeous smile, and delicate demeanor.

Last week, on the morning of March 3rd, after a restless night of uncontrollable fits, our beloved Alpha, our delightful little basket seller, quietly passed away.

His distraught father, Amadu, now walks around crying and confused. He says he doesn’t understand why God took his beautiful and gentle boy. Nobody knows what illness killed him, but it was sudden enough that Alpha probably did not suffer very long. Unless of course, being the reasonable boy that he was, he kept silent about the headache pounding inside his head. He had mentioned it a couple of days earlier and was given tablets, which made him well enough to play with his friends. The relief did not last.

I am still stunned and finding it difficult to imagine Lakka, the small beach community many of us go to for fresh air and a relaxing swim, without him. Even after seeing the tiny mound of dusty soil covering his body in the village’s non-descript cemetery, I still expect to see Alpha cheerfully walk up along the shore, straw baskets dangling from his fingers.

He is what child mortality statistics look like. In SL, he is one of thousands of young children who will die this year.

But he was our Alpha. And we will miss him so very, very much.

Guilty, Guilty, Guilty

At exactly 2 p.m. today, before a packed gallery at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in Freetown, the presiding judge, Canadian Pierre G. Boutet, began reading the verdict in the case against three senior commanders of the Revolutionary United Front. Commonly referred to as the RUF trial, it is the international community's attempt at bringing to justice members of the main rebel faction in Sierra Leone's decade long civil war.

Established in 2002 by the United Nations and the government of Sierra Leone, the SCSL's mandate is to "try those who bear the greatest responsibility" for the atrocities perpetrated during the conflict. Contrary to other ad hoc international tribunals, such as the ICTR (Rwanda) and ICTY (Yugoslavia), the SCSL relies on donor countries' voluntary contributions, not on regular UN dues, to operate. Canada is among the Court's major funders.

The joint trial of Issa Hassan Sesay, Morris Kallon, and Augustine Gbao opened in July 2004. Foday Sankoh, the RUF's notorious leader, was also indicted on several counts, but he died while in custody.

After 308 days of audiences, 171 witnesses, and 32,096 pages of transcripts, the three-judge panel was finally ready to share its findings with the Sierra Leone people and the world. The reading of the summary judgment took just under two hours. The full version is expected to total more than 600 pages.

Each defendant stood accused of 18 counts of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other violations of international humanitarian law. Specific charges included murder, extermination, abduction, rape, mutilation, pillage, enslavement, forced marriage, forced labour, attacks on UN peacekeepers, and the widespread recruitment and use of child soldiers.



Issa Hassan Sesay: guilty on 16 counts.



Morris Kallon: guilty on the same 16 counts.



Augustine Gbao: guilty on 14 counts, with a dissent from judge Boutet on 13 of them.


The verdict is especially significant for the future prosecution of combatants in civil conflicts, where warfare systematically targets civilian populations.

Count 8 refers to forced marriage as an "other inhumane act" that is distinct from sexual slavery. Chief Prosecutor Stephen Rapp calls it "the bush-wife phenomenon" or "conscripting women in the role of consorts to rebels" and argued successfully that the practice should be considered a crime against humanity that goes beyond repeated rapes.

Count 15 makes it a war crime to attack personnel involved in humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping. The SCSL and the International Criminal Court (ICC) are the only international tribunals to explicitly define this crime. Proceedings have begun at the ICC to arrest those responsible for last year's killing of 7 international peacekeepers in Sudan. Last week's bombing of 11 peacekeepers from Burundi in Somalia could bring forward another case. Devastated as he was by the execution of 10 UN peacekeepers in Rwanda 15 years ago, Roméo Dallaire will likely welcome this RUF verdict.

The sentencing hearing will take place next month. Two to three weeks later, both sides will be invited to submit appeal notices. The appeal phase itself will begin shortly thereafter. It is anticipated that the Appeal Chambre will render its decision before the end of the year.

The convicted RUF officers will join 5 other detainees currently held in individual cells built within the fortified SCSL compound. Where they will serve the rest of their respective sentences remains undecided. The president of Sierra Leone has expressed the desire to have them relocated outside the country. In Africa, Benin, Mali, Rwanda, and Swaziland have said that they would consider incarcerating them. Negotiations are underway.

In view of the spectacularly violent acts committed during the civil war, and keeping in mind that the conflict ended a mere six years ago, the atmosphere in the courtroom was surprisingly calm. Not one outburst, not one arm raised either in protest or in celebration. When it was all over, people filed out quietly and it was difficult to discern any feeling on their stern faces.

Scarring a generation's soul, they know, will never be recognized as an indictable offence.

The Children of Yele

Yele sits at the geographical centre of SL, half-way on the dirt road linking the traffic hub towns of Makeni and Bo. The journey from Freetown takes approximately five hours. The village used to have electricity, but the infrastructure was destroyed during the civil war. As they swept through the area, the rebels torched all the nice houses, forcing their occupants to flee. Many never returned. At first glance, the place looks sad, faded, rickety...





Until you move in closer and you begin to notice them: The children of Yele. Everywhere, they seem to magically appear from behind doors and trees and clothes lines and abandoned cars. With dozens of smiling and waving kids calling out “apoto, apoto” (white person) it isn't long before Yele feels like a sprawling kindergarten.





They all want their picture taken, and go absolutely wild when seeing themselves on the camera screen.





Some like to pose... Others rush to extend their little hands to check out what white skin feels like... Or push to the front, where they are too irresistible not to be picked up...







A few look on attentively, approaching with caution...



SL has a fertility rate of 6.5 children per woman.

It also suffers from the highest maternal mortality rate in the world: 18 deaths for every 1,000 women giving birth.

The mortality rate for children under 5 is 282 deaths per 1,000 births. That means 28% of children do not live to the age of 5. Only 54% will make it to 40.

SL's public expenditure on health is 1.9% of GDP.

Like their children, mothers are happy to stop for pictures and show off their bouncy babies...









Interestingly, it is almost always the men who ask white women how many children we have. They strongly urge those of us who do not have any to procreate. "You must have at least one," they say. When I put the same question to them, the answer is never straightforward. They typically have several "pikins" from different women. I often inquire how old their children are. Responses commonly begin with "Well..." and include "about" and "I think" and other vague references.

Somehow, it is a little bit easier to empathize with the mothers...