Every Day Is Special: Sierra Leone

Showing posts with label Sierra Leone. Show all posts

August 22 – Happy Birthday, Tinga Seisay

Posted on August 22, 2017

He was an activist and a diplomat - someone who went into exile for an entire decade - someone who agitated for democracy.

Tinga Seisay was born on this date in 1928 in Sierra Leone, a small nation in Western Africa.

He was lucky enough to be born in a pretty prominent family. And he never stopped learning. He was an adult and a police officer, but then he decided to travel to Europe, where he earned a university degree in Sweden, majoring in engineering. A long time after that he went to a university in the United States, where he earned a higher degree in political science and worked on a PhD (I am not sure if he ever completed the latter).

But only some of "learning" happens in schools and universities - most of it happens everywhere else we are in life. In Seisay's case, an important chunk of learning happened when he met Martin Luther King, Jr.; this meeting caused Seisay to become very interested in nonviolent activism.

In 1968, Sierra Leone was being ruled by a non-democratic military government, but a group of sergeants overthrew that government, and a new government used Seisay as a Deputy Commissioner of the police force. He was so good at his job that he was assigned to the United Nations - which is why he ended up living in the United States. (The U.N. is headquartered in the U.S.!)

Sierra Leoneans waiting to vote

But the new leader of Sierra Leone declared the country a one-party state - which meant that, although there were elections, there was only one candidate allowed. So it was pretty much like NOT having elections. Seisay criticized his government for being undemocratic, and he helped Sierra Leoneans who fled their country to get political asylum in the United States. He was devoted to the cause of making Sierra Leone a better, fairer, more democratic country - which it is, now.

Check out some photos of Sierra Leone and Sierra Leoneans:

Also on this date:

Author Ray Bradbury's birthday

Author Dorothy Parker's birthday

Birthday of aviation pioneer Samuel Pierpont Langley

Hopi Snake Dance

Be an Angel Day

Anniversary of the demonstration of the steamboat

Russian Flag Day

First Female Editor of American Newspaper

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April 27 – Independence Day in Sierra Leone and Togo

Posted on April 27, 2016

Two West African nations celebrate their independence today.

Here's a difference:

Togo became independent of France on this date in 1960, and Sierra Leone became independent of the United Kingdom on this date in 1961. Because of this difference, Togo's official language is French, and Sierra Leone's is English.

Here's a similarity:

Both countries celebrate in typical ways: speeches by government officials, marches and parades, work holidays and gatherings and banquets.

Here's a difference:

Togo relies mostly on agriculture, but Sierra Leone is rich with mineral wealth, such as diamonds, titanium, bauxite, rutile, and gold. The latter is also blessed with one of the world's largest natural harbors.

Here's a similarity:

A majority of the people in both nations are poor, and life expectancy in both nations is low, people averaging lifetimes of only 56 or 57 years. These sad truths must stem partly from the fact that both nations were ravaged by centuries of slavery and partly from the fact that the governments of both nations have been unstable; Togo suffered from a military coup and 38-year dictatorship, and Sierra Leone suffered from a deadly civil war and the recent Ebola outbreak.

And here are some interesting things to see in Togo and Sierra Leone:

TOGO - Koutammakou, land of the Batammariba, with their two-story mud “tower houses”

SIERRA LEONE – Bunce Island features a British “slave castle” – thankfully, now long unused and being reclaimed by the forest!

TOGO - The fetish market, where you can buy feathers, skulls, skins, and herbs

SIERRA LEONE – Outamba-Kilimi National Park features loads of wildlife plus ancient rainforests

TOGO – The Grand Marche, an open-air market extraordinaire!

SIERRA LEONE – The “banana islands” are rather banana shaped – and lovely!

TOGO – Hikes and sights near Kpalime

SIERRA LEONE – Lumley Beach is becoming far more developed, but parts still look like this

To learn more about Togo, check out this earlier post. And this post is about Sierra Leone.

Also on this date:

Babe Ruth Day

World Tapir Day

Anniversary of the discovery of hahnium

Freedom Day in South Africa

Civil rights activist Coretta Scott King's birthday

Anniversary of Beethoven's composition of Fur Elise

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April 19, 2012 - Republic Day in Sierra Leone

It's one of the top spots for diamonds in the world! There are diamonds in several regions, just lying about in alluvial sands—accessible to anyone with a shovel and sieve!

It's also a major producer of gold. Other minerals important to modern technology are mined in Sierra Leone, too, including titanium and bauxite (Sierra Leone is a leader in production of both!).

Yet Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world!

A major reason for Sierra Leone's economic woes is that it suffered from more than a decade of civil war. In the early 1960s, Sierra Leone declared its independence from the United Kingdom (a.k.a. Britain), and on this date in 1971, this West African nation became a republic. But in 1991, the Revolutionary United Front tried to oust the government, and shortly after there was a military coup d'etat; armies fought over diamond-rich land, and so-called “blood diamonds” were used to pay for more violence. Much of the nation's infrastructure was destroyed, more than two million people were displaced—mostly fleeing to other countries—and more than fifty thousand people were killed!

Those of us who live in countries that are ruled by law, that replace governments through elections, and that enjoy internal peace should not take these things for granted. Sierra Leone called itself a republic, had democratic institutions with elected officials such as a president and lawmakers, had a constitution that outlined the powers and responsibilities of the three branches of government—legislative, executive, and judiciary—but still, it did not have a longstanding history of rule by law and free elections. And despite the lip-service to democracy, it was ruled by small groups of military leaders that fought each other and dragged the whole country into battle. Since the civil war ended in 2002, things have been getting better and better. Thank goodness!

People who work in the tourist business in Sierra Leone are trying hard to change the war-torn image in people's minds and to encourage travel in their nation. Here is a video about this effort. Warning: there are some brutal images of violence and war in the middle section of the video, most from a movie called Blood Diamonds.

And here is an official tourism video with some great shots of beaches, chimpanzees, and jungle-covered mountains.

Also on this date: