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.