Reconciling the war
Over the weekend, we went out to the rural communities further to the south and east in Sierra Leone.
We started the ‘consultations’ in the communities and made very valuable experiences in terms of what the population sees as necessary for the country to really move on after the war. I don’t want to go too much into the details of the program, but let me just say that it was so, so interesting and heartwarming to experience people who have all been affected by the war; some miss their limbs; most miss some family members or friends, sit down and talk together about how to move on. No talk of revenge. No talk of prison or death penalty. But a lot of talk about traditional methods of healing and resolution. If only western countries could embrace such a thorough and holistic approach to justice..!
Besides from that, there was a lot of Sierra Leonean food: cassava leaves, rice, fish (pronounced Feesh), meat. Pretty much it. Still have to fully adapt to the Sierra Leonean cuisine, I must say. A lot of rice. A lot of chilly. I will probably have to frequent Burger King and Emir’s Falafel when I reach New York!
We stayed one night at a Catholic convent-thing. Time for self-indulgence. Very nice! Walked around the palm-groves with sentimental music on my beloved iPod and thought out life and its simple meaning.
In conclusion, I had a great weekend. Too many bumpy roads. That’s really the only downside of traveling in this country.
I will return with more soon. Hope, for one thing, to just be outside in the sun before too long. Perhaps even getting a little color… We’ll see.
Stay tuned and remember to read more about Fambul Tok
January 17th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Sounds really interesting. Keep us posted about life in the world. Life in Denmark is same-same as usual.