Visit by neice Heidi and Independence Day Activities

At the end of April my niece, Heidi Hoops, came to visit us which motivated us to travel places we had not yet had a chance to visit. It was her first visit to Africa and she really enjoyed it.

Heidi came a few days early so she could get here in time for the Independence Day activities. Sierra Leone became independent April 27, 1961 So the night she arrived, even though she had been traveling straight through from Denver we dropped off her luggage and headed downtown for the “Lantern Parade” at about 10pm. It was difficult to get there due to all the crowds but our taxi driver had arranged for us to meet a policeman who would escort us to a spot near the reviewing stand where the President was also watching the parade. In the end we had several policemen helping us and we finally found a great spot with a few open chairs where we could sit and not have our view obstructed by crowds.

Lanterns are like floats with lights and intricate moving parts manned by people under the float bed. Different neighborhoods build lanterns based on a theme and then drive or roll them though the streets. Everyone that is involved in building the lantern joins the parade so in addition to the float there are lots of chanting, celebrating people surrounding it. Because of that the parade route got very chaotic and even seemed dangerous at times with all the people passing by the reviewing stand. But there were a lot of policemen doing crowd control and so we felt pretty safe.

But as the evening got later and later we were worried about how to get back to our taxi. One man with a radio offered to help us, found us another escort and we barged through the crowd back to our car where our taxi driver was waiting for us. The policemen who had helped us earlier joined our escort and so we were well protected. Then Bob had to tip everyone who had helped us! That’s how they earn some extra money. In our case we were very glad to have their help because crowds here, as everywhere, can be dangerous or at best unpredictable.

So we truly had an amazing experience; one that few international visitors have as you can see from the photos. And fortunately Heidi was ready for an unusual experience.












And it didn’t end there because the next day there were also lots of other independence day activities and again she agreed to come along. We visited a trade fair and did some shopping. Here is Heidi in her very stylish Nigerian headdress. Too bad she didn't buy it!





Then we found a safe place to watch the traditional “devils” parade through the city and traditional dancing.





















After a day of rest in Freetown we went off to visit a nature preserve called Tiwai Island, which is inhabited, by lots of varieties of monkeys and chimpanzees in the wild as well pygmy hippos. Unfortunately they are hard to see and I didn’t get any pictures. We just got glimpses of the Red Colobus monkeys flying through the trees. The setting of this island rainforest surrounded by the river is fairly pristine for the moment. But it will only survive if the camp has good relations with the nearby villages and where the local community sees some benefit from the people who visit.











On the way back we visited a school and dropped off some school supplies that Heidi (along with her family) had brought along to distribute to the school children here. Heidi was a big hit when she was teaching the children how to throw a Frisbee.

Human Rights Speaking Tour

We finally got out of Freetown for an upcountry tour organized by the American Embassy and using me as a Fulbright scholar to speak on human rights and alternatives to violence. This gave us only our second good look at the rest of this country (we had taken a quick trip to the second largest city, Bo, earlier). With us from the embassy, organizing the trip, was Amy Challe who added a lot to the meetings.





On our way we discovered that roads ranged from paved and smooth to unpaved, dusty and rocky, but with some new road work evident. When good roads reach more interior cities and towns, it will boost commerce and farming. But we were in an air-conditioned, four wheel drive Embassy vehicle so it was generally comfortable.

In the villages we saw lots of thatched roofs mixed with zinc roofs, walls typically of mud bricks, and plenty of empty, unfarmed land along the way, and in many villages, not much activity. The quietness compared to the noise and bustle of Freetown might be a welcome change but to my eyes life looked rather boring (but then I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and St. Louis). On a separate trip, Betty saw more activity in villages around Bo, especially. This is also the reason why a lot of young people leave the villages for the cities.

But the main features of our trip were the meetings with hundreds of secondary school students, teachers and community leaders who came to our 2-3 hour sessions.





The sessions mainly focused on Human Rights. In Port Loko town we expected dozens of high school students but some 100 showed up. Even so I divided them into groups of 10 (Betty had to step outside because the noise of moving that many metal chairs and desks was ear splitting) and asked them to consider human rights questions then report back to the whole: alternating between male and female student ‘reporters.’









In Makeni, we met with secondary school student and teachers.











In Bo, and Kenema, we met with varying size groups of students and faculty.










And in Bo, one of the more interesting sessions was with key community leaders, including the mayor, an army chaplain, the head of the police, a woman judge, and NGO leaders.







Among questions the participants examined in their groups were these:
You notice the son of your neighbor is going to school but not the daughters. What do you say or do?

You hear screams from your neighbor’s house and realize the man is beating a women (whether his wife or not). What do you do? [Domestic abuse, spouse abuse, was outlawed more clearly in recent legislation]

Preparations are underway for a girl 12 to be circumcised despite her strong protests. The grandmother insists this is the only way for her to become a true woman. You are a member of the girl’s family: what do you do? [Most females in SL undergo circumcision, often at a very young age: even infants have been circumcised. A new law prohibits it for anyone under 18 and then only with the subject’s consent. Chiefs in one area recently supported this limitation. Traditionalists consider it a rite of passage accompanied by cultural training to become a (traditional) woman.]

The local chief (45 years of age) intends to marry a girl 14 whose parents have consented. What do you do? [Early marriages are not uncommon; many young participants during our presentations spoke against it.]

The other main theme focused on was Alternatives to violence. Borrowing a few pages from the Alternatives to Violence Projects started by Quakers for prisons, I asked those in attendance to try a stand-up exercise on violence:

Stand facing someone palm to palm with them. On the count of three, one person pushes the palms of the other. The person on the receiving end usually pushes back, but this doubles the level of violence present. Other options are to hold firm, or avoid (step aside). Leads to lively discussions.







At Bo’s Njala University campus one female student quietly said she never (later she said ‘rarely’) gets mad. And when someone pushes her (is angry) she says “I’m sorry” rather than trying defend herself and cause more anger.



Like students in my university class here (the course this spring has about 60 students – so far), many young Sierra Leoneans are serious about becoming ‘peacemakers’ and helping make their country a good place to live.