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| Children were not spared from mutilations (BBC, 2010) |
Today my topic will be Sierra Leone, a country in Africa that is bordered by Guinea and Liberia. I will be taking a look at their government, education system, and gender equality, but much of the focus today will be on the civil war that took place in Sierra Leone from 1991 until 2002. In 1971 Sierra Leone was declared a republic, and in 1978 the new Constitution declared that Sierra Leone is a one party state, with the All People's Congress as the only legal party. Fast forward thirteen years and we find that a former army general named Foday Sankoh and his Revolutionary United Front have begun a campaign against the president, and are capturing towns on the border of Liberia. From 1991 to 1996 there are a number of military coups, and Ahmad Tejan Kabbah is elected president. He is soon deposed by the army, and flees to Guinea for international support. He is able to make a triumphant return in March of 1998. Sadly, in 1999 5,000 are left dead in Freetown, after an attack from the RUF rebels. In 1999 the UN also intervenes and a peace agreement is made. Through this peace agreement the rebels are given posts in government, and are assured that they will not be prosecuted for war crimes. Pretty awful, huh? Unfortunately it is far from over. In 2000 several hundred UN troops are abducted, but finally, in 2001 the disarmament of the rebels begins. In 2002 the war is declared over. Also in 2002, the Government and UN agrees to set up a war crimes court. Unfortunately, Foday Sankoh, the man who spurred on this terrible civil war was never tried in court, as he died of natural causes before his trial. I say unfortunately because his rebel troops were responsible mass rape and serious mutilations during the war, from which children were not spared. A form of justice was served in 2009 when three senior leaders of the RUF are given long jail sentences for their part in the civil war (Timeline: Sierra Leone, November 23, 2010). The aftermath of this tragedy is that more than 2 million people were displaced, and tens of thousands were left dead. Democracy is now being reestablished, slowly, but it is moving forward. The government is putting its focus in furthering development, creating jobs, and getting rid of corruption (The World Factbook, April 2011).
The UN seems to believe that Sierra Leone could be a success story, as they have already started down the road to becoming a stable and peaceful nation, however they do not doubt that true success will take awhile to achieve, and it will be a struggle (Security Council, 14 September 2009).
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| A school in Sierra Leone (BBC) |
One of the struggles that Sierra Leone is facing is low literacy rates, adult literacy is only 29.6%, and youth literacy is hardly better with only 38.2% literate. There is hope that by 2015 there will be universal primary education and gender equality, as supported by the UN's Millennium Development Program (BBC). It is quite shocking to see how low the literacy rates are, and I truly hope that they are able to get the help they need to improve this. However there are many other things that they need to overcome before the literacy rates can improve. For example, most of the schools are made out reeds and branches, so when the rainy season comes it is common for the schools to be extremely damaged (BBC). Furthermore, many of the schools are without water, toilets, and blackboards. Children are also expected to help their family, and are often pulled out of school for child labour (BBC). Clearly a lot needs to be done before the literacy rates can improve, but Jane Koroma, an education co-coordinator has not given up hope that things will not get better. She says, "They have no trained teachers just volunteers from the village, no buildings. But the situation will get better." (BBC).
Something that is really bothersome about the treatment of women in Sierra Leone is the fact that women who are victims of rape, torture, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy, and other terrible sexual crimes committed during the civil war are not receiving the treatment they deserve. These women are now called "rebel wives" and are not given access to health care, jobs, and schools. Tania Bernath, an Amnesty International researcher on Sierra Leone says that, "The government has still not fully addressed the unimaginable brutality of violations committed against Sierra Leone's women and girls, although the crimes are well-documented" (Amnesty International, 1 November 2007). This just seems awful to me. These women should be given the utmost care and rehabilitation, but instead they are shunned by their families and communities and are forced to live in poverty because of crimes committed against them, that they had no control over. I can only hope that there is something being done to improve this situation, as it just seems completely unfair and cruel to me.
Sierra Leone has definitely come a long way since their civil war, but they clearly have a long way to go before they can ever reach stability and peacefulness.
