Drumming Out the Year

Walking on the edge of Kroo Town, the dense area of Freetown where merchants sell produce and fish, we were attracted by the sound of rhythmic music and clapping down the street from Diaspora, a bookstore-cafe. It wasn't long before we came across Pikin Wit Den Culture, a group of traditional dancers. Jumping and shaking to the beat of a drum, they were entertaining a rapidly growing number of kids and onlookers outside a small bar.





The dancers are part of a school where up to a hundred young students train and perfect their acrobatic moves. We exchanged numbers and, one day, I hope to invite them to perform at a party on the beach...

Christmas at Lakka Beach

Happy Holidays to All!
We are having a lovely time at Lakka Beach, south of Freetown.



No turkey and stuffing this year. We dined on deliciously fresh crab, lobster, and bonita fish...



All caught a few hours before we sat down to eat...





On Boxing Day, the quiet beach came alive with music, dancing, football, and lots of kids running around and playing in the waves. It is an annual ritual: Families and friends congregate on the beach for a charmingly festive afternoon of fun fueled by home-cooked food and a few drinks.

We made some friends...





They would like some books and pens. Alpha, a 5-yr old basket seller (in the red top), said he could really use a pencil sharpener. Unable to grant him his wish, we bought 3 baskets and shared our fruit cake. On our next visit, we'll stuff a stocking with school supplies.

Telecom Acoming

Exact numbers are difficult to come by, but SL likely has several times more cell phones than library books. Or toilets.

Everywhere you look, people are either texting or talking on their mobile. Very often they are shouting. While I was getting my hair cut, the hairdresser was on the phone. When commuting on the back of a motorbike, I regularly answer calls or text replies.

The main telecom companies, Africell, Celtel-Zain, Comium, and Tigo, offer similar pay-as-you-go phone rates on scratch cards. Since the country has virtually no land lines, the Internet is accessed via wireless slot cards or plug-in modems. But few can afford to buy a laptop or pay the monthly packages.

Earlier this year, Hirondelle Foundation, a Swiss organization that supports independent media in conflict zones, conducted a survey of media use in all of SL's 14 districts. A representative sample of 2,000 individuals aged 15 and older were interviewed. The results are telling:

* 75% own a battery-operated radio

* 40% own a cell phone

* 7% own a television

* 0.7% own a computer

* 0.3% access the Internet

Undeterred, the telecoms go to great lengths to raise their profile and attract new customers. In Freetown, they are responsible for what seems like the only fresh paint. In fact, the houses and fences bearing their respective logos look immensely cleaner and more inviting than the city's other commercial buildings and shabby government facilities.









They also pay small shack owners to plaster their colours on the outside and sell scratch cards.



Calls between subscribers of the same provider are cheaper, so many people carry two or three phones to save on units. Some devices are designed to hold two SIM cards, which reduces the fumbling when a call comes in, especially for women who tend to keep their phones in large handbags.

I am with Celtel, the company started in 1998 by Sudanese billionaire and philanthropist Mohamed Ibrahim. Celtel is now part of Zain, a multinational based in Kuwait. Zain operates in the Middle East and in 15 African countries. It has more than 50 million customers, but, just like its rivals, it is actively recruiting new ones. In addition to the ubiquitous publicity on billboards, spots on the radio, and full-page ads in the papers, the telecoms vie for attention through sponsorship deals and promotional events. The national stadium in Freetown is the site of more than sporting competitions: The outside is covered in Africell's colours and logo while the seats inside spell out Comium.

A few Sunday nights ago, as I was heading home from the beach, I came upon a lively stage show with music, comedians, and a t-shirt giveaway. I tried to resist but the enchanting siren call of free stuff reeled me in...

Tombo Town

About 50 km around the western peninsula lies a busy and colourful fishing village called Tombo Town. I reached it after a bumpy one-hour ride on the back of my friend Demba's motorcycle. The road, a mix of tarmac stretches and rutted dirt, goes through the Krio village of Regent, where one of Sierra Leone's smallest and oldest churches still stands. From there, we passed a string of hamlets bearing grand colonial names such as Hastings and Waterloo.

Tombo, which means "land registry" in Portuguese, is off the power grid. At night, its 30,000 inhabitants seemingly disappear under the cover of hundreds of corrugated metal roofs. When morning breaks, they set out in their wooden boats to compete with an increasing number of foreign vessels trawling inside territorial waters. Some estimates put SL's annual losses to illegal fishing at $26 million.




Fishermen used to load their catch directly onto a train of container wagons departing for Freetown. But today, the lonely rails rust in the lapping sea.



Sweaty human heads have replaced steely piston heads as the main motor force for fish transportation.



A strong smell of drying nets and smoked fish fills the still air along the winding alleys packed with children and chickens. The tender white fish and the traveling white girl are on their way to the city.

60th Anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights

Today, we celebrate 60 years of efforts promoting and defending human rights around the globe. That is, some of us are cheering and feeling good about our modest cumulative impact while many more, especially women and girls, continue to suffer all manner of violence and indignities.

Canadian Louise Arbour, whose term as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights ended in June, spent years trying to broker agreements and extract concessions from leaders of societies where women are second-class citizens. As she left the post, she reflected on her achievements. Grand proclamations and stern admonishments are not where progress is made, she admitted. Instances where negotiations kept a single person or small group out of harm's way are, she said, the small victories that kept her going.

Arbour's successor, South African Navanethem Pillay, deserves our best wishes and will need our active support.

Experts agree that patriarchal societies, where men often take up more than one wife and hold titles to land and dwelling, have a detrimental effect on women's ability to advocate for gender equality.

Soyata Maïga, special rapporteur for women’s rights at the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, is familiar with the obstacles many women face when they are victims of abuse. In certain African countries, doctors won’t give a medical note if a woman comes in with injuries caused by her husband, she says.

Maïga contends that efforts to help women and girls must move beyond the ratification of agreements and declarations. She points to article 4 of the 1995 African Charter of Rights, which calls on member states to deal with violence against women, as an example of good intentions that lack enforcement powers. In 2007, she says, of the 53 signatory countries, only Algeria, Tunisia, and Rwanda filed the Charter’s required human rights reports.

This is Nene, a little girl I met on the beach in Lungi, north of Freetown. Will she grow up to be a small victory or an anonymous victim?



Respect for human rights is fundamentally incompatible with endemic poverty and the malnutrition, disease, illiteracy, unemployment, homelessness, and violent conflicts that flow from it. Until rich countries deliver on their promise to allocate 0.7% of Gross National Product (GNP) to Official Development Assistance (ODA), neglect and oppression will thrive.

In 2007, Canada only managed to commit 0.28%, its contribution ranking a lowly 16th out the OECD's 22 donor countries. Incredibly enough, the last name of Canada's International Cooperation Minister is... ODA. It is under her watch that Canada's International Development Agency (CIDA) has stopped releasing official statistics on how and where foreign aid money is being spent.

They might like to know. Their human rights could depend on it.

Field Trip to ABC TV

When I began teaching in October, I promised my students I would take them to a real newsroom so they can get a glimpse of the production process. Since ABJ, our multi-talented intern, also works at ABC TV, I asked him if he could give us a tour. He graciously agreed. I was very pleased to see that all 18 students showed up for the extra-curricular activity this Wednesday.

ABJ began with an overview of ABC TV, currently the only privately owned station in Sierra Leone. He then spent more than an hour explaining the nature of interviewing for television, and discussing the challenges of working with minimal equipment and often poorly trained reporters. He patiently answered the students' many questions.

The tour of the main studio, control room, and editing suite was a hit.



A quick lesson on the use of the teleprompter.



They seemed impressed by all the monitors and technical equipment.



ABJ mentioned that ABC TV was exploring the possibility of accepting interns who would help with the daily newscast. Half the group wants to apply.

Today, one of them sent me an email to thank me for the visit. "You demonstrated a love that you have for us to fully participate in journalism," his message read. Next visit: the UN radio station in Freetown.

My New Home

Following much deliberation, and after having visited half a dozen apartments and houses, on Monday, Dec 1st, I moved to the Posseh Hotel.



Here, I have running water, electricity from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., a clean room with a fridge, small balcony, and television with 3 channels: a British one showing Premiership football matches, CNN’s international feed, and SLBS, the national broadcaster that transmits conferences and workshops from a single camera angle. It is aiming to be like the CBC, but watching it is more of a CPAC experience.

I also have access to a large patio with a distant view of the ocean. Just opposite the road is a primary school, which means lots of adorable kids around when I leave in the morning, and peace and quiet when I return in the evening.

I will not miss the six barking dogs inside the compound at the previous place. Instead, I now listen to the enchanting voice of Madame Posseh chatting with the staff in Krio. She sounds eerily like Nina Simone. A strong yet kind presence, she makes the house a safe, comfortable, and friendly haven. Feeling Good indeed!

Morning at the Scrap Yard

Scrap metal is big business in Freetown.
The roads are gridlocked with cars that look like they have come here to die. Unbearable humidity levels soon turn any faded shine into flaky patches of rust. But determined welders and mechanics salvage every little piece of metal and engine parts they can get their hands on.

In Kissy, the massively overcrowded area east of the centre, they also do repairs and fix electronics out of a converted container. This morning, they were hard at work on the undercarriage of this carcass. I was told they were actually re-conditioning it with a view of having it back on the road in about a week.





The yard itself has the feel of a village, with houses overlooking the busy lot. The less fortunate live in shacks among the rotten cars, where they prepare food and sell it to hungry customers.





While we waited for my friend Michael's car speakers to be connected, we came across next month's lunch special...



And George W. Bush's next wheels...

Fishing Off Lumley Beach

Freetown sits on the northern edge of the peninsula, but a short ride around the base of the hills leads to a 4-km stretch of white sand and rolling waves. Lumley Beach faces west, which makes it a therapeutic spot to watch the sunset after a day in the humid and noisy bustle of the city centre.

The idea of an open-access beach devoid of exclusive resorts is an appealing one, especially in a place where relatively few can afford the 30-minute ride to the more secluded beaches down the coast. But unfortunately, the city council’s limited resources prevent it from enforcing proper sanitation measures. Regular garbage pick-up, the building and maintenance of public toilets, and the prohibition of dumping from foreign cargo ships all remain on the official “to do” list.

Traditional fishing is one of the lower-impact activities taking place on the beach, right next to swimmers, and under the intrigued eyes of mostly white onlookers. The work is very physical. It requires all involved to synchronize their efforts, pulling at the nets in successive motions. Timing the crew's movements with the incoming waves, a man calls out the rhythm.





When the nets are in, it is time for the wooden boats to come back to shore.



Again, nothing happens unless everybody leans into the task.



Women will now leave the beach for the market with buckets of fish on their heads. Tomorrow, they will start all over again.

Women In Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL)

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the SL Association of Women Journalists (WIMSAL).




The evening celebration attracted more than 100 people, all supporters of women’s empowerment and defenders of their right to pursue a career in what remains a very patriarchal society.

WIMSAL has 80 members working in print, radio, or television, either in Freetown or in the provinces. Their emancipation is a step toward SL’s achievement of gender equality, one of the much hyped Millennium Development Goals.

Harriett Turay, president of the 50/50 Group, a local NGO collaborating with the Ministry of Social Welfare’s Gender Desk to increase opportunities for women across the country, was a guest speaker at the event. She told the women of WIMSAL that they would be tomorrow's role-models, and that their names would be written down in history.

Her counterpart at the Gender Desk, a feisty woman by the name of Susan Sesay, deplored the fact that the candidates for next week’s election of the SL Association of Journalists (SLAJ) executive committee are all men. She encouraged WIMSAL members to run for a position next election, in two years. Repeating the ministry’s official slogan, she told the audience: “Men of quality do not fear women equality.”

Today, I am giving a workshop on the 2007 Gender Acts with a representative of the International Rescue Committee, an NGO that played a major role in drafting the new laws. One of the young journalists who attended the WIMSAL party said she would put her name up for SLAJ's vice-president position next time. When I asked why she wasn't considering the top job, she said that tradition dictates that a man should lead. Another student added that he thought women should get involved in SLAJ... in 10 years.

Back at the official ceremony, the next one to address the audience was Bernadette Cole, president of the Independent Media Commission. An authoritarian and opinionated woman, Mrs. Cole is also the head of Fourah Bay College’s Mass Communication Department. She complimented WIMSAL for having merged with the country’s other association of women journalists to create a single, unified body.

Established as a result of a workshop organized and funded by the Iranian Embassy, WIMSAL is hoping to recruit new members, and to continue advocating for better employment conditions and increased responsibilities for women within newsrooms. The event Chair, Sylvia Lynden, is the only woman owner of a newspaper. She says she started Awareness Times because she wanted to improve the quality of print reporting. But she is a controversial figure whose paper, like most others, often ignores basic rules of media ethics.

In the near future, her competition will come from familiar faces.

Community Forum

We held our first Community Forum this week. The theme was: The Role of the Media in Raising Awareness of Human Rights Within the Community. About 30 journalists and NGO representatives made their way up Tower Hill to the British Council Hall, a bright and spacious venue overlooking the eastern section of town.

The event was billed as a forum with three guest speakers: Aisha Ibrahim, a language studies lecturer and feminist scholar at Fourah Bay College, Charlie Hughes, a local human rights activist now working as a consultant for DFID (the U.K.’s Department For International Development), and Fatimata Carlton-Hanciles, a lawyer at the Special Court for SL.



I had decided the format would consist of brief presentations by the panelists, a moderated debate, and questions from participants. But whenever an NGO puts on an event, most people refer to the gathering as a workshop. This is what they are used to from us: presentations, flip charts, handouts, pens, certificates to show they attended, and of course, a meal with soft drinks. In fact, it is generally agreed that nobody will show up to an event that does not include food.

The main points to come out of the discussion were:

> The media does not follow up on initial stories involving human rights abuses

> NGOs need to build partnerships with journalists, help them develop specific beats such as health, justice, education

> While women journalists have no role-models in the media, there are plenty of prominent women in SL they can look up to for inspiration

> It is too easy for individuals with moderate financial means to start their own newspaper and then use it to fuel personal rivalries

> Journalists need more information on the three Gender Laws enacted last year

> The Official Secrets and Seditious Libel Acts should be abolished because they intimidate journalists and limit press freedom

Following the forum, a reporter from Culture Radio came up to ask me a handful of questions, the answers to which he duly recorded for the evening broadcast.

The next day, the random nature of attribution and quoting, an unfortunately prevalent aspect of journalism in SL, became very apparent.

Only one of the papers, The New Citizen, ran a story on the forum. While this was a bit disappointing, I was nevertheless eager to read the quarter-page article. It started well, then mentioned me as the JHR trainer and debate moderator. So far, so good. The next paragraph referred to a comment I had made. The paraphrasing was close in terms of the general meaning, but it also embellished the message with typical NGO-speak (capacity-building, stakeholders, etc.) which I had made a point of avoiding.

Then I was quoted. Words I had never said. I might have expressed something approaching what was on the page, had the reporter interviewed me. But he didn’t.

We still have a lot of work to do.

God Is Everywhere - No, Really!

They will leave no soul unturned!
The number of churches and ministries and mosques in Freetown is beyond belief – literally. Banners inviting followers and new converts to faith conferences and meetings and celebrations with fiery sermons by charismatic preachers are plastered on walls and strung up at every roundabout, or turntable as they are called here.





Estimates vary as to the prevalence of SL’s major religions. According to some reports, there are six Muslims for each Christian. Others indicate that indigenous beliefs and practices guide almost half the population. It is impossible, and arguably pointless, to try to sort it all out as most people tend to adapt and integrate traditional teachings and institutionalized dogma in ways that make sense to them. Call it the great melting pot in the sky.

As far as declared Christian groups are concerned, a myriad denominations have established centres in Freetown and in the provinces. They run schools and health clinics, organize vocational training workshops for unemployed youths, operate radio stations, and shepard a number of other faith-based initiatives.

In general, they seem to offer hope, which is nothing to look down on in a place where close to 70% live below the poverty line, and where each woman on average gives birth to six children. But churches seem to be sending mixed messages. I was recently implored by an educated male friend to rethink my decision not to have children, even though I am 40 and not in a relationship with a man. In a casual conversation with a stranger, a colleague mentioned having no kids. She was immediately reminded that ‘the Bible says you must procreate.’

From a societal standpoint, with life expectancy at 41, encouraging women to keep having children is counter-productive. When parents die, who will feed them and put them through school? It is also dangerous: in SL, women who go through eight or more pregnancies are 1,250 times more likely to die in childbirth than British mothers bearing their eighth child.

But the churches keep proselytizing and people seem to take comfort in their generous counseling. I met a woman last night who said she used to be a depressed chain-smoker and a heavy drinker. Last year, she found God and he helped her get rid of all her nasty habits. She now goes to church every week and listens to the Believers Broadcasting Network (BBN), a Christian radio station. Next to her, another woman, beer and cigarette in hand, told me she was resisting all attempts to make her change her ways. They remain best friends.

Back on the streets of Freetown, almost every poda-poda (mini bus) has a slogan praising God or Allah painted on it. Vendors sit behind their displays of framed 'photos' of Jesus, who looks rather chipper considering the heat. Overhead, while some banners appeal to a sense of self-empowerment...



Others use more graphic and apocalyptic language to tempt unsuspecting pedestrians...

Obama! Obama!

Witnessing the election of Barack Obama from Sierra Leone has been quite a treat. While I longed for the saturation coverage of the U.S. networks and cable channels, the enthusiasm generated in Freetown made up for the absence of Rachel Maddow, Donna Brazile, and other favourite commentators.

But I have to admit I would have given just about anything to be back in Grant Park on Nov. 4, 2008!



People here are huge Obama supporters. For obvious reasons, they believe American foreign policy under his leadership would prove more favourable to Africa. They figure he would at least know where it is, and what it is. Newsweek’s recent revelation that Sarah Palin “didn’t understand” that Africa is a continent is deeply disturbing.

In the days leading up to the vote, Obama’s name was on everybody’s lips. BBC Africa was in full campaign coverage mode. Monday evening, our group of ex-pat and local runners went on its weekly ramble around Freetown. At one point, as we made our way around crowded backyards, young boys on a porch began to shout “Obama, Obama!”

On election night, I attended a reception at the U.S Embassy, where Ambassador June Carter Perry addressed a crowd of more than a hundred guests. Whatever the outcome at the polls, a historical precedent would be set, she said, also stressing that America would emerge as a united nation, firmly rooted in democratic principles, and looking to the next generation for inspiration. Later, one of her assistants announced the results of the mock voting booth, where non-American citizens had been invited to cast a paper ballot. Obama had won in a landslide.

Following the reception, a colleague and I got a ride back in town on the shuttle bus taking the large day-shift squad of security guards down Signal Hill. Although their conversations were mostly in Krio, it was easy to get a sense of their enthusiasm for Obama’s chances of becoming the first African American U.S. president. Their admiration for him appears boundless, their belief in his power to change the world, unshakeable. Only one of them said he was a McCain fan. His reason had something to do with the Middle East. The others boisterously argued with him, asking if he wanted to be sent to Iraq.

A few hours later, some of us watched the coverage on NBC via the U.S. Armed Forces satellite service. By 1 a.m. local time, Pennsylvania was called. When Ohio and then Florida also turned blue, it became clear that the voodoo vote counts of the past would not taint nor invalidate Obama’s victory. As the sun came up in West Africa, tv sets and radios were tuned to Grant Park. In the heat of the night, the world had indeed changed. Everybody knew it. Nobody missed the old days. I suspect even that security guard will get used to the new paradigm.

At 9 a.m. on Wednesday, my motorcycle driver called to say “Hey Marie-Jo, Congratulations!” He knows I am Canadian, but on that day I didn’t mind being lumped in with a country that has finally opted for progress and inclusiveness over fear and division.

The local papers went to print well before the first polls closed. One of them stretched its deadline and put Obama’s win in New Hampshire on the front page. But on Thursday, articles about the new President Elect filled the news and commentary sections. Sierra Leone’s president, Ernest Bai Koroma, released a statement of congratulations.





While we think of “elect” as “in-waiting,” people here focus on the plain definition of the word. My journalism students were fascinated by McCain’s concession speech and his promise to collaborate with the new administration. In a country that last year saw its first peaceful transition of power in over a decade, young adults are learning new political habits. For them, “elect” simply means “legitimate,” a rare and precious assurance that the inauguration of a new leader will not lead to civil unrest and violence.

By embodying the democratic process’s transformative potential, a victorious Barack Obama has already begun to influence the world community. This week in Freetown, the daily miseries of life in one of the world’s least developed countries were put on hold. But in January, when the Harmattan wind begins to blow, people will expect it to bring change. Africa is used to waiting. Maybe this time it won’t be in vain.

Freetown Hash Run

Last Monday, I took part in my first ever Hash Run.

Started in 1938 by a group of British colonial officers in Kuala Lumpur, the non-competitive runs are now held weekly in 178 countries across all continents. The friendly gatherings attract a mix of ex-pats and locals for a few miles on the roads and a few drinks afterwards.

The name comes from the simple food the British officers used to eat in Malaysian thatched houses, from where the runs would begin.

There are now 1,878 chapters, or kennels, whose members, called Harriers, chase a lead runner, or hare, around a different improvised course every Monday night.

On Friday, the Freetown group organized a special Halloween edition, complete with drinks, food, and a t-shirt or tank top. About 50 people turned out for the scenic dash along Lumley Beach.



We left from the Beach Apple bar, ran all the way to the Royal Hall bar at the Family Kingdom complex, where we had a beer in the drizzle. On the way back, we stopped midway at Chez Nous for another beer, before returning to the Beach Apple for music, hot food, and a special treat from Bliss Bakery, one of the run’s sponsors.



I met Michael, Becky, and Laura from the U.S. Embassy. We talked about the challenges facing SL, the Koroma government’s ongoing efforts to extend the power grid to many of Freetown’s neighbourhoods, the buzz around Tuesday’s U.S. election, and of course, the spectacular intellectual vacuousness of the Republican ticket.



Like everybody else, I run for the opportunity to socialize as much as for the physical benefits.