Week 4

“There was no law, no justice, just the legal trappings of a corrupt colossus that moved unhaltingly forward, engulfing everybody in its path.”

I may as well continue with the theme of starting every post with a literary review, this time The Devil that Danced on the Water by Aminatta Forna. As the daughter of one of Sierra Leone's most respected politicians in the early1970's, it is a very interesting look at the political situation before - and the hopes and dreams of the population following - independence, and documenting how the all too frequent slide into corruption and despotism that has plagued West African politics took hold, which ended in the framing and execution of Dr. Muhammed Forna for treason. The account, written through the experiences of the daughter, has reminded me a lot of Aung San Suu Kyi's story of her exile and time abroad, and both have shared many similar experiences as children of famous and ultimately doomed political figures. Army coups, sudden flights to safety, hiding from secret police, both stories have all the makings of a spy novel. It was amusing to learn that the Sierra Leone Daily Mail was as equally sensationalist, conservative and inflammatory as the UK tabloid namesake is today, both serving to alarm, rather than inform.

The main 'baddie' in Forna's account is the former president Saika Stevens, the man elected to stop the country descending into a one party dictatorship – the irony being that under him, that is exactly what happened. Initially very popular, his corrupt handling of the diamond fields and the ruthless way he treated anyone who criticised or opposed him quickly eroded his popularity, and the country began its downward slide. It is directly because of Stevens' actions that the civil war had the space and fuel with which to ignite twenty years later – massive youth unemployment, abject poverty, spiralling inflation, endemic corruption and an army kept under-funded and under-trained to avoid coup attempts. Little wonder that the RUF was able to easily recruit to its ranks - including many soldiers - on a mandate of anti-corruption and power to the people – the very same people they would attack and mutilate with such reckless abandon for the next fifteen years. It is with surprise then to see that one of the two major roads into town, along which I walk every day, is Saika Stevens Street. The country is either very good at forgiving, or just better at forgetting the negative parts of its history than most; Russia and the former Soviet States have renamed most of the former Stalin Streets.

(Gate at the original landing site of freed slaves, now the city hospital)

Last weekend, the UK volunteers and three of our counterparts visited Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, which is pretty much the only tourist attraction in the country. It is an amazing locally run place, with a dedicated and well trained staff, doing a wonderful job of saving, rehabilitating and finally releasing into the wild orphaned and rescued chimpanzees. The only negative is that is it mainly foreigners who visit, or indeed show any interest at all in the plight of Sierra Leone's wildlife, and I feel for the constant battle the staff face in their work. Situated on the edge of the national park which covers most of the Freetown peninsular, the jungle was gloriously cool and quiet, and it was a shame we had to return to the city so soon. On the drive we passed the newly built US embassy, a suitably massive and impersonal concrete complex, sited miles outside of the city. The new Chinese road is the nicest I have seen in the country, and largely empty up here. The surrounding area is certainly leafier than the city but clear deforestation blights the view. Afterwards we visited two expat cafés down in the posh west side of town, and they fit the model around the world of such places: Arctic air-conditioning, smart and attentive staff, Wi-Fi, milkshakes and western food, as well as the usual assortment of cripples and beggars outside. The contrast between what is only offered to foreigners – at a hugely inflated price – and what locals receive down-town is huge. Indeed, it is almost incomparable, especially when it comes to customer service, with staff who seem to care even one iota about their job and their customers being a rare find.

Despite bringing a backpack full of books with me, I have read almost all of them, and set out on Sunday to the Victoria Park market to find some more. Once a focal point of city life, it has been fenced off and closed now for a number of years, a real shame as it is the only green spot in town. If you are after out-of-date textbooks, trashy novels or communist theory then you are in luck, and with only a couple of stalls open, I left with Leon Tolstoy's The Russian Revolution and a collection of three novels by Joseph Conrad, including Heart of Darkness, £4 for the lot. While I have a kindle with 30,000 odd books, I both prefer reading paper books and supporting reading where I can - I have seen very few people reading here. It being a Sunday, the streets were much quieter than normal, with only Muslims out shopping and working, while smartly dressed Christians made their way to and from church.

The park is near the presidential offices, and therefore has a strong military presence. I always find it interesting to see which country has trained and/or supplied a nation's army, based on the uniforms of the soldiers. With each of the major superpowers having their own camouflage design, this is somewhat easier than it sounds. In Armenia the soldiers used Russian designs, in Georgia it was American, and here the soldiers wear the distinctive British BDU pattern, a legacy of British involvement in bringing about the end of the civil war, and its continued role in training the armed forces.

I have been asked to talk about my host family, so here goes. I am staying with Claudius Taylor, his wife Chris and two kids, Claudius Jr (9) and Claudia (3), so remembering names certainly isn't a problem, and I will get a photo soon, I promise. Claudius is the director of the Y-Care programme here, and lives in a top floor apartment in down-town Freetown, a twenty minute walk to the YMCA. Simple but comfortable, it highlights both the priorities of Claudius, and the strange contrasts found in the city. We have no running water inside, instead relying on water carried up each day, yet have a – albeit manually refilled – toilet, and a huge flat screen TV with 400 channels (and at $100 a month for the package, consuming a sizable chunk of his salary). I had an interesting conversation with Claudius last night about life in Freetown during the war, and having read about the horrors, his candid recollections of daily life was very sobering. Despite the YMCA building being very close to the presidential offices, it was largely unscathed by the fighting, and became a refugee centre for YMCA members from across the country, at points being at 300% capacity. The staff were not left unscathed however, with a number of senior management being killed in the heaviest fighting which centred on the east of the city. Unlike the 'states' I visited last summer for my Masters dissertation, which still show visible signs of warfare (often on purpose as a propaganda tool) Freetown has been remarkably quick in patching up the architectural scars. The same of course, is impossible for the physical human ones, with the rebels (RUF) tactic of chopping of arms and hands ensuring that there are daily reminders of the war in the city, and making it that much harder to move forward.

I have also been asked to elaborate more about the food here. Rice is the staple carbohydrate, with fried plantain making a regular appearance (like a semi-sweet banana, very nice). On top of this goes a 'soup', normally made from cassava or potato leaf – and less often peanut - with (lots of) chilli and bits of fish and meat added. On the side may be a piece of fried fish or chicken. My favourite dish thus far is a bean stew, with fried plantains, and I will make sure to have the recipe before I leave – you have been warned! Mangos, bananas, papaya, avocado, coconut and oranges are all common, and popcorn, cashew and kola nuts are available everywhere.

(Mango tree)

In order to slow down my book consumption slightly, I have started watching a documentary series I brought with me, Cosmos. It is a fantastic look at the current extent of scientific human knowledge, centred around cosmology. It is presented in a very slick and clear format, and is remarkably approachable, even for those new to the topics covered. It is always nice to learn something while I am abroad, and this is most certainly aiding my knowledge on the subjects covered. While I don't think it is on TV in the UK , more information about it can be found here: http://www.cosmosontv.com. Despite being a Fox programme, the show is about as far away from the anti-science, pro-ignorance Fox News drivel as possible!

The thunderstorms are increasing in regularity, heralding as they do each year the onset of the rainy season, which lasts here from May to September, reaching its peak in July/August. This means less blue sky, and more overcast grey ones, yet the temperature hasn't really changed, being a steady 30-35degrees during the day, and 27-29 at night. Fine when the electricity works, but given the erratic nature of supply, that is not so often. Most houses and offices have their own generators but with the relatively high price of fuel (about half that of the UK), they are used sparingly. This lack of power also means lack of internet in offices, and is very disrupting to business and communication, and is something that certainly needs fixing if Sierra Leone ever wants to improve upon its woeful economic position as one of the world's poorest countries.

I monitored a gender conference held over two days at the YMCA, Transformative Masculinity organised by Barbara, an Austrian lady working here on gender issues, and facilitated by two very good African NGOs. Attended by most of the male staff here, as well as some local partners, it was great to see such a workshop in a country that is so heavily dominated by the masculine. It was interesting to note that when asked how many people in the room had ever had a female boss, only about half had - the YMCA here has never had any senior female staff. While 90% of the answers and comments here would be applicable back home, it is the 10% that makes the workshop here so important, as they are the ones unique to Sierra Leone. When combining a list of extreme 'male' characteristics, to the usual list of strength/aggression/drinking/womanising/lack of emotion, corruption was added, which certainly wouldn't be on one in the UK, and highlighted the cultural differences apparent at all levels. Arguing whether actions and beliefs relating to 'original sin' were cultural or natural characteristics was something I wasn't prepared for, and again wouldn't have surfaced at a general meeting in the UK. There was a heated debate on the secret societies that are still strong in rural areas, and for people in power, and the central role they take on topics such as FGM. Their function, to teach girls how to be women, and boys to be men, is at the very heart of the whole debate surrounding gender stereotypes here. Without change to the power of these societies, little social change will happen. The fact that were was a debate about it here though, with loud descenting voices was heartening to see though, suggesting the process has at least started.