June 15 – Special Court: How do you impose justice post-war

Previously I mentioned that many of the ex-pats I have met here in SLE work with the UN Special Court of Sierra Leone so I would like to let you know what this court is doing because I find it quite interesting.

At this point most of you know of the civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia that took place in the 90s/early 00s. The purpose of this court is similar to Nuremberg trials after WWII and more recently, those held in the Hague regarding Kosovo. They are putting various war criminals on trial for atrocities that occurred in this country.

One of the biggest stories/trials is that of Charles Taylor the former president of Liberia. (1997 – 2003). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taylor there’s a good bit on this page about the SLE civil war too.)

The revolutionary campaign that started the war here was supported by both Muammar Qaddafi and Taylor. Among other roles it is said that these two men supplied the rebels with arms in exchange for diamonds and helped the leaders of the revolution to organize their armies. Basically he supported the war in SLE and later was became Liberia’s president.

On 7 March 2003, the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) indicted Taylor, charging him with crimes against humanity, an indictment which still stands. The trial work began when he was captured and turned over to the UN in Sierra Leone in 2006. The actual trial started June 4th in the Hague and the legal teams are headed their next week to support the trial.

Many of the lawyers I have met here are working on the case including on both sides of the courtroom and all have their own opinion on the purpose/value of the Special Court and the prosecution of war criminals in general.

I would be lying to say that I have never thought through this concept before. I have always been interested in the aftermath of WWII and all of the effort over many years focused on bringing justice to the world. I’ll keep my opinion to myself and let you take a look at the following article:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/06/03/taylor.legacy.ap/index.html

Some of the things in this blow my mind and it all makes me remember (again) how lucky we are to live in the ‘free world’.

On a much lighter note, big plans for the weekend.  Look for loads of updates on Monday and enjoy yours!

June 11 – Babies and Another Hash!

Another Monday….woohooo. Only three more before my departure which is bitter-sweet. Today Moosue brought the receptionist’s grandson to our shed to visit. Issac was a cutie pie but he definitely didn’t like Conor. In an attempt to change my flight home to a week and a bit earlier as requested, Nana and I headed to downtown Freetown to the BA office.

I wish I had brought my camera because downtown in the middle of the afternoon was chaos. So much to see. People selling everything from flip flops to stationary and car parts to Persian rugs. The streets were full of people going about their business to and fro. We managed to find a spot to park, well maybe not a spot but an area that wasn’t already in use and headed to the BA office. Let’s just say the visit wasn’t fruitful and we’ll have to visit again to get the ticket changed.

After work we headed to King Harmon and the old Railway for our third hash. The run was good and VERY hilly. We even got to cross a bridge I had only seen from the road high above. Hashing is a fabulous way to see a place. We ran through all kinds of yards and roads and even saw the cutest little puppy along the way. We even got free Freetown Hasher t-shirts. My first SLE souvenir!
Tired and sweaty we headed home. Quick stop at the supermarket for some instant oatmeal (which turned out to be pretty decent) and home to bed.

June 10 – Weekend of Bananas

So, let me tell you a bit about the weekend. Friday I stayed in to try to kick the end of my ‘illness’. Watched a little TV, read my book and went to bed. I know, exciting.

Saturday morning I decided it was time for a ‘long run’ so I got up at 8am and headed to the beach. I ran from end to end and back in just under an hour. It was HOT and I was TIRED. I have never run on the beach like that and it was amazing to listen to the waves and feel the sand beneath my feet. With the added bonus of watching the locals haul in the fish nets all along the beach and of course the usual, ‘hello white girl’, ‘thank you Canada’ (my running shirt has a flag on it) and ‘how da bode?’ to which I responded with ‘tired!’ each time. All in all a great run and a fabulous way to start the day.

Spent a while lazing about and eating breakfast. Finally got the internet connection to work at the hotel and had a bizarre one-sided Skype with Jay. Is it ever weird to talk in response to MSN questions while sitting by yourself in a gazebo at a hotel.

Later that afternoon the gals (Laura, Anna, Quirien and I) headed off on the journey to Banana Island. The drive to the beach was amazing with some stunning sites and a paved highway that reminded me of northern Ontario. Manny (Laura’s driver) had some ‘mad skills’ in maneuvering on some harsh roads and delivered us to Kent beach to meet the Banana Island Guest House boat.

The highway to Waterloo, Kent and Bureh.

Manny told us the next day when he came to gather us that he stool on the shore for an hour watching us cross what was perhaps a 3km crossing. The weather was not calm and the sea matched. It was a rough ride to say the least and we were soaked when we arrived on the island.

The 'shuttle' to the island. That's the islands in the background.

The guest houses were right on the shore in Dublin. There were four huts each with two rooms. The rooms were quaint and well-equipped with nice furniture, showers and flush toilets. The guest house is powered by solar power so, since it was a dark day there was no power but we enjoyed our night anyway.

We ordered dinner and after some typical SLE delay we ate like kings. I ordered lobster and watched the guy pull it out of the trap, let it run for a bit on the beach and then carry it off to be bbq’d. Dinner, rose and UNO led to an early night under a mosquito net. I love sleeping under mosquito nets!

Catching our dinner. Man are lobsters ever dumb.

Sunday was a great breakfast! I ordered French toast which I didn’t have high hopes for but which turned out to be fabulous. We went on a walking tour of the island to see all the beaches, the old and new churches, the fishing port and the new well and hospital that are almost finished. We even encountered a SNAKE but luckily I was in the back of the tour line so it had slithered off before I got anywhere near. YIKES!

We spent the afternoon playing UNO, snoozing and eating and then took a much calmer ride back to the beach and a lovely drive home. I did some yoga and headed to bed. I think I’ll need another day to recover from my weekend.

My camera battery died in the middle of the weekend so for further photos see Quirien's photo album at: http://picasaweb.google.nl/quirienvanstraelen/BananaIslands

June 8 - Who is Nana Bampoe

Greetings everyone. Since yesterday was our dear Ghanain team-mate Nana's birthday and since I talk about him all the time on this blog I thought it appropriate to let you know more about him.

Nana Bampoe:

• Nana Bampoe was born in Ghana many many years ago. (he claims he's 40 but I don't buy it)


• He has had many jobs through his years all in IT including working with banks and software development firms.


• Nana has 7 siblings and all of their names are Nana except his eldest brother who is named after his father. (Eugene I think) He says the family has no trouble telling each other apart as they use different intonations for each Nana but when someone called their house for a Nana it was often chaotic.


• Nana is the Technical Implementation Coordinator for our ChildData team and works with all the global offices to make sure they are ready to roll out the new system. He really knows his stuff.


• He is always ready with an analogy or a methaphor in any situation.


• Nana cares A LOT about his friends and family and is always there to help.


• This fellow can tell a story like you wouldn't believe. It will last hours and at the end will simply leave you scratching your head. Apparently his Grandpa teleports and he is descended from Royalty.

Here's a photo from his birthday party at Sierra Lighthouse last night.

Clockwise from nearest: Laura (British High Commission), Nana (Plan - ChildData), Kwame (Nana's friend), Roberto (Nana's Friend), Anna (Plan - Programs), Conor (Plan - ChildData)

June 6 – A bit more about Sierra Leone/Freetown

Thanks to all you folks who have given me suggestions about what to write on my blog. I hope to get to all your great ideas but I think I’ll start BIG with a bit more about the country I am in, in general.

Sierra Leone is located on the west coast of Africa close to the equator. The country has a population of just over 6 Million who suffer from extreme poverty. The most significant factor contributing to economic conditions was the long civil war, which lasted for a 10 years - only ending in 2001, when a UN peacekeeping mission was mandated. Since 2001 the country has been relatively stable and efforts to improve life here have been made, assisted most significantly by the international community with grants (like those from Plan) and debt reduction programs. Many NGOs (non-governmental organizations) pulled out of Sierra Leone during the conflicts but, from what I have seen driving around this city, they have all returned (CARE, Save the Children, ActionAid, etc)

Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation, with economic conditions characterized by tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed. Serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF (International Monetary Fund) has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity, such as the rehabilitation of bauxite mining.Some key comparative facts emphasize the current situation to give you a look at Africa-to-Africa and Sierra Leone-to-Canada.

All that ‘high-level’ stuff is great but what do I see here in Freetown. One has to remember that Freetown is the capital and by far the largest and most infrastructure-rich city in this country. The layout of the city is far from that of a normal city and even far from most capitals in Africa. There are some large buildings which are mostly UN, US or UK built. There is a football stadium and grocery stores, restaurants and bars but these are few and far between. Much of the trade occurs from small huts on the side of the road and hand to hand between the people. There is no mall, there are no stoplights, streetlights or sidewalks. None of the comforts of home really but this is developed SLE.

The people here (who I will talk about more in a subsequent post) seem happy. They are much better dressed and have much more style than I thought. They maintain clean appearances, they drive okay cars and they are very friendly. Not what you would expect from a country so ravaged by war so recently in the past. The soldiers of war live amongst the people now having dropped their weapons and re-assimilated. There are rarely violent incidents except when thievery is suspected. They take their possessions very seriously.

People ask me if it is dangerous in Sierra Leone. The plain answer is that there are dangers that are rather different than those in first world countries like Canada and great care and awareness are necessary. Health care in Sierra Leone is poor and social issues need to be understood. I have a very reasonable standard of living, clean water and have an opportunity for a healthy diet. I am very well taken care of by both Plan and my ex-pat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriate) friends who are always willing to give you guidance and a lift home.

Living and working in the developing world, where conditions may be fairly basic, definitely demands a certain level of physical and psychological fitness and health is clearly of high importance. For those of you who witnessed my preparation for this trip I had 13 shots for everything from rabies to yellow fever and happily take a pill each day to prevent malaria (these pills have done crazy things to my dreams too!). After my illness on Sunday Nana has threatened several times to take me to the hospital for a malaria test and I know he is watching me closely for signs and will haul me there if I look to be at risk.Certainly personal safety is a concern but risks seem to be very manageable.

The people have been nothing but honest and I prepared well by not really bringing anything I worry about losing. I protect my passport, laptop and money well and follow my instinct always. In fact sometimes looking around I wonder why anyone would want to rob me considering how much more put-together the Sierra Leonians and some of my new friends seem. I appear simple and I think that helps me out.

I hope this helped you get a better idea of where I am and the social setting. Keep the questions coming!

June 5 - A weekend of nothing, an illness and a couple of flat tires.

Well I appologize that it's been a while since I wrote.

Just to make up for the pause...here are some of the turkeys on site at Family Kingdom. Seriously and they are NOT afraid of anything...cars...people...

The Weekend -

Friday we went out for dinner. I'll save you the details but needless to say they don't make very good pizza around here and even the dogs at the restaurant wouldn't eat our 'scraps'. After dinner we headed to Atlantic which is the friday expat hangout. It's right on the beach and you can even walk out to the beach with your drinks. A pretty low key night.

Spent Saturday just hanging out in the sunshine. Reading and sitting on a patio. Very lazy. Here's the view from my book (top) and from the patio (bottom).

Saturday night we finally made it to dinner at the Sierra Lighthouse which is a hotel right on the edge of the beach. We had tried twice before with no luck so it was good to finally make it. Anna had introduced us to the 'Chapman' which is a local SLE drink (don't ask what's in it..I'll find out though so I can make them when I get home) We enjoyed a couple of special Chapmans then hit the casino. Actually I didn't hit the casino. I wasn't feeling well and wanted to watch the Sens game anyway.

That's right...I got the Sens game on tv in my room in Freetown! It was blurry, in french and in the middle of the night but it was on nonetheless. And they won...maybe I am good luck!

Sunday was rainy spoiling our beach plans so we slept in and then Nana brought us our 'wheels'. He has lent us his second car which is standard making Conor our new chauffeur. We now have a bit of freedom which is nice.

We wanted to take it for a practice spin so we headed to our friend Laura's place. I should call it Laura's castle. She works for the British High Commission here in Freetown and lives in the nicest apartment I have ever seen anywhere! Polished marble, chandelliers and a huge tv. We sat in the lap of luxury and watched Anchorman. How's that for a non-African afternoon.

Later, we went to find some dinner and discovered Bliss Bakery. It was Bliss! The food was great. The coffee was REAL (all I had had here until then was instant...blech) and the pastries look brilliant! Unfortunately this was the beginning of the sickness for me so I wasn't able to enjoy. I'll have to go back.

We popped over to the grocery store for some water. The store isn't all that different from those at home but they all have VERY varying prices and all contain houshold goods. Everything from lamps to towels to toys. Oh and liquor...tonnes of liquor. I'll do some scouting and let you all know about prices. Eating breakfast at the hotel and lunch at our desks has made for little need for supermarkets aside from water.

My first Illness - Sunday afternoon introduced my first illness in SLE. I'll spare you all the details but let's say I didn't eat much from Sunday lunch until Monday lunch. BLECH! Feeling much better now though. :)

Hash #2 - Monday night was our second Hash which we managed to be 20 minutes late for. If there's one thing harder than hashing it's hashing without the crowd of people to follow. Luckily Conor was nice enough to run with me until we found the crowd and the locals were more than willing to help us by pointing the direction that the other runners went in. We never once thought that maybe they were lying to us or tricking us. That's just an indication of how nice everyone is here in this city. We managed to make it home and I think I sweated out the sickness trying to keep up with 6'2" Conor. Can you say 'big dog, little dog'?

Crazy Tire Fun - Well we knew it would happen. The driving here is rough. The roads are quite pot-holey and there are always people all over the streets. Conor has done a great job driving so far. We were taken down this morning by a rock that totally destroyed our front right tire. :(

Conor managed to manouver off the road and before we were even out of the car a local had blocked our back tire and started to change the tire. It was amazing! He moved so fast and had the spare on in about 5 minutes. The problem then was that the spare was flat...seriously!

So, this man took the tire and got in a shared cab (more on cabs here later) and rode to the petrol station to fill the tire. We started to wonder at that point if he was going to come back but there wasn't much we could do but hang out on the side of the road with our three wheeled car.

At this point we realized again how safe this country was. If we had been in Nairobi or Jo-burg we probably would have been in some if not great danger but not Freetown. Someone from Plan stopped to see if we were okay and went on to tell the logistics crew of our problems.

Well the guy came back with the tire, put it on and had us on our way in minutes. We gave him some money (which we later found out we didn't have to do but come on...he saved our bacon and it was only 20,000 Le which is about $7CAD. Enough to feed his family for a while or buy 80 mangos!) and were on our way before the Plan crew made it to us.

We joke now that we solved our predicament by looking like foreigners and having a little cash. Puts things in perspective a bit.

Tonight is again movie night and we are actually going this time. MI: III. Yay Tom Cruise running! Thursday is Nana's birthday so that should be fun. I'll try to catch a photo of the ellusive man for you all and give you the details of his illustrious life.

I have also gathered some requests for topics from folks but if there is anything you particularly want to hear about from here just add a comment to this blog.

toodles..here's a lizard to keep you occupied until my next post!

June 1 - Weekend Plans

Well, it's friday again, what a fast week. Craziness. The week was busy but nothing amazing to report. Dinner party and some hockey (like three minutes) on Wednesday. Goodbye dinner for Ellen last night and tonight Atlantic. We shall see.

I am trying to get my butt to a hike on Saturday morning up by the American Embassy but it's early so we shall see. Definitely some working out, chillin and working this weekend.

I 'borrowed' this photo from Conor. I think it's great photography. This is one of the slums in Freetown. I promise to blog more about this place on the weekend.

Everyone enjoy. Happy Birthday to my EVIL brother Chris!