NEO•GRIOT

SWEET SALONE 

PORTRAITS FROM CONTEMPORARY SIERRA LEONE

     SOPHIASPRING

ABUBAKAR KAMARA, 19

Abubakar was only 8 years old when he watched his father and grandmother being murdered by rebel troops. On that day his left leg was also amputated,  in what can only be described as an act of senseless cruelty. Today, at the age of 20, he is surprisingly nonchalant about the horrors that he faced at such an early age. Perhaps this is because his story is not unique in a country that saw thousands of men, women and children brutally dismembered during the violence of their decade long civil war.  Abubakar actively shuns sympathy, and feels that his disability should not hinder his future chances of success. As a member of Sierra Leone’s amputee football team he’s already accomplished a great deal, and is something of a local hero in this football mad country.

JOHN MACCAULEY, 20

John was 10 years old when he made the staggering decision to leave his family and join ‘The House of Jesus for the Disabled’ – a community of  around 50 disabled men and women that life on a small plot of land in the middle of Freetown.  As a child he would play with the children in this community, and as a result of the friendships he forged he decided that he would like to dedicate his life to helping them. He was the first ‘healthy’ to join the ‘The House of Jesus’, and is now  an invaluable member of it.  He spends his days there repairing wheelchairs and making new ones out of old prams.  John is also an adept tailor, and teaches many in the community this skill.  The ethos of  ‘The House of Jesus’  is to move away from a culture of dependency, and to move towards a level of self-sufficiency.  By learning certain skills, such as tailoring,  they can earn an income to support themselves and their families, instead of being completely reliant on aid and the generosity of others. 

       “All I want is my baby to be healthy, 

                   to grow up and to go to school “

                                    ADAMA KAMARA, 25

ZUBAIRU KAMARA, 36

MARY KOROMA, 57

Mary moved back to Sierra Leone from Virginia in 1993, after 18 years in the U.S.A.  In 1995 she founded Afro-Metric, a school that trains women to become beauty therapists. In a country where the women change their hair more often than their clothes her school has proved enormously popular. Since Afro-Meric opened around 2000 women have been trained, providing them with a qualification that has enabled them to contribute financially towards the upkeep of their families.  Mary prides herself on being one of Sierra Leone’s first businesswomen.  Along with Afro-Meric she owns several petrol stations and a handful of salons..  Her move from the comparative affluence and safety of America back To Sierra Leone at the height of its conflict appears surprising. But Mary shrugs this off explaining that she felt duty bound to return to Sierra Leone and her family in those troubled times.

“l have an unshakable faith in the

        future of this country... why would 

              I not choose to invest in it? “

‘This is the first time in over 20 years 

      that I have studied. I work very hard, 

but I don’t mind because I love 

      what we learn here…….one day I 

   would like to set up my own salon’.

        HALIMATU KADIA CONTEH, 34

JAMES JAIAH, 19

James is the goalkeeper for Sierra Leone’s Amputee Football Team. He and his team meet every Sunday morning to practice on Lumley Beach, where this picture was taken. It’s hard to believe when watching them play that any of these men are without limbs, such is their speed and talent.  James, who was only 5 years old when he lost his arm to rebel soldiers during the civil war, is one of an estimated 10, 000 amputee victims in Sierra Leone  (or shockingly 21% of the worlds total amputees). Like many Sierra Leoneans he has a somewhat fatalistic understanding of his circumstances. He explained to me that as a member of the team he gets a level of support that he would otherwise not receive, including help with his education and housing needs.  Later this year the team are planning on attending the Amputee World Cup in Argentina, a trip that James, who never thought that he would have the opportunity to travel abroad, is enormously excited about.

Along Freetown’s busy Wilkinson Road sits a little slice of Eden. Verdant and lush plants bloom, and colourful flowers fall from hanging baskets. It is amongst this that Creation sits in the shade, surrounded by sculptures and pots that he has lovingly crafted himself.  A one-time soldier he now enjoys a comparatively peaceful and prosperous existence. He radiates benevolence and calm, characteristics that he attributes (somewhat surprisingly) to all the horrors that he overcame during the country’s conflict. 

 “Everyday I thank the Lord that I am alive and that I have my family with me”

He and his wife Agnes are the proud parents of 8 children, and the doting grandparents to 6 grandchildren.

CREATION, 65

“Hi my name’s Willy Nelson ... 

        will you take my picture please?”

                       WILLY NELSON, 22

Since Foday moved from the provinces 5 years ago he has spent nearly everyday working down by the waters of Aberdeen Creek collecting granite.   Like many Sierra Leoneans he was  forced to move to Freetown due to a dearth of jobs in his rural birthplace.  Foday says he feels lucky to have such a ready supply of granite on his doorstep. He has built his house with it, and is able to sell the rest to support his wife and two children.  

FODAY JABBIE, 28

Joseph works 12 hour shifts, 6 nights a week as a security guard, snatching sleep when he can. By 8.30 am he is tending to his vegetables on one of the several allotments he hires on a seasonal basis. The income he gains from these two livelihoods enables him to save towards his children’s secondary school fees.  He believes that education is the most important thing, and so 3 afternoons a week he attends The Evangelical College of Theology where he is one year into his Development Studies degree. He was unable to attend secondary school himself, and so is determined to ensure his children do not miss out.  

“I want to give my children every         opportunity to succeed in this life”

   “With education comes freedom”

JOSEPH BABOA, 31

YAIN KAIN BANGURA, 26

….is Joseph’s partner. They have two children together, Francis, 7 (pictured), and Adiatu, 5.

As a child Walizar spent all his spare time in and around mechanics workshops trying to learn everything he could. By the age of 19 he was the deputy manager of Carpoint Garage under the watchful eye of Mr Lloyd, its owner. Together they select around 10 boys a year to train as mechanics. In a country where secondary and further education is costly this type of apprenticeship is highly sought after, and therefore hundreds of boys apply for these much coveted places.  Thankfully vocational training is slowly picking up pace in Sierra Leone. And as it becomes more commonplace it will hopefully prove to be a driving force in raising the country out of its widespread levels of unemployment and poverty.

WALIZAR KANU, 29

ADIKALIE BANGURA, 18

The cost of secondary education in Sierra Leone means that many teenagers are unable to attend school. Adikalie could so easily be one of the many young who are forced to abort their education prematurely. However he was determined not to let this happen.  He therefore spends all his spare time trying to earn enough to pay his school fees.  Every day after school Adikalie comes to this spot opposite the Ministry of Education to sell his wares - men’s shirts and electrical appliances. With this and his schoolwork he rarely has any time off, but claims that he doesn’t mind one bit.

“I know that if I study hard I can fulfil

my ambition to become an accountant”

AKIMBOLA TAYLOR, 21

Lying close to Freetown is the village of Charlotte, little more than a picturesque handful of huts that sit within sounding distance of a nearby waterfall.  Akimbola acts as a guide to the waterfall for visiting families, who flock to the area on Sundays. Growing up in Charlotte he knows the most scenic routes to the waterfall and all best spots for swimming.  “I do like it that people come to my village, but I am happiest when they leave” he told me,  “it’s very peaceful here in the night time, all you can hear is the water”.  

    “What do I love about this country?

Take a look around you...

                       what’s not to love?

                       MARLENA BANDU, 29

      “Political tolerance, further education and civil liberties – without these things 

     our country cannot move forward “ 

Andrew Koromah brought the concept of independent journalism to Sierra Leone. In the early 1990’s he set-up Kiss FM and Sky Radio, the country’s first independent radio stations. These were instrumental in linking Sierra Leone throughout the civil war, and importantly they gave each faction a public voice during the conflict.  His efforts have been recognised internationally, and he has won a number of awards including the Knight Press Fellowship from the International Centre of Journalism in Washington.  Andrew tirelessly ploughs all his energies into the development of Sierra Leone, 

whether it is the creation of community radio stations, or the  lobbying of government for the ratification of treaties, including the Convention of the Rights of Children. 

    “Sierra Leone is still a deeply polarized

country... we need to cultivate a greater 

  level of unification in order to progress”

                 

              ANDREW KROMAH, 53 

KELFALA LALULLARIE, 33

As the village chief of Cockle Bay, Kelfala sees his role as more than a figurehead. Instead he feels that it is his responsibility to motivate and encourage the community’s youths towards income generating activities, in the hope that this will keep them out of trouble.  During the war he fled to Guinea, but his status as a refugee in the country made his existence extremely hard. Within two years he was back. He is incredibly proud of his current position and hopes to retain it when the next elections come around.  Village chiefs are now often decided by democratic means, with a secret ballot amongst the community being the most favored option.

 “‘I would like more people to come to  

Sierra Leone, to see for themselves

            what a beautiful country it is...

 for too long people have stayed away”

                      FODAY TARAWAHIE, 19

Alhaji is the chairman of the House of Jesus for the Disabled, a community of disabled men and women in Freetown.  Like more than 10% of Sierra Leone’s population he is disabled. Disabilities in Sierra Leone stem from a number of sources including Polio and war crimes. In Alhaji’s case it is the former.  A childhood bout of the disease left him with a withered and completely paralysed left leg.  Alhaji however does not invite sympathy for his disability.  Rather his emotions are consumed by a sense of outrage towards society as a whole.  This is because in Sierra Leone  the disabled community is often marginalised and ignored.  Alhaji is keen to point out that being disabled does not render the individual useless, and that in fact within the disabled population there is an untapped source of labour and skills. He therefore encourages members of the ‘House of Jesus’ to endeavor in the cultivation of skills that can be used to generate a livelihood, including tailoring and smithery.

ALHAJI MANSURAY, 29

Kent beach lies at the tip of the Freetown peninsula , and come the weekend the young flock here to play football, dance, flirt, swim and drink palm wine. Fred isn’t so interested in the girls yet, so he spends his hours body surfing on the small along the shoreline.

FRED KAI, 13

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

What comes to mind when you think of Sierra Leone?

Most people will immediately think of the country’s civil war that raged throughout the 1990s, and recall the harrowing images of child soldiers and amputee victims. This conflict ended nearly a decade ago, yet we are still stuck with snapshots from this sad chapter in the country’s history.

Today the story is very different. If you walk through the bustling streets of Freetown, or spend an afternoon on one of the peninsula’s stunning beaches, the atmosphere that pervades is one of welcoming chaos and a certain joie de vivre. Sierra Leone - once West Africa’s most prosperous region - is now coming into its own again.

All the individuals that I met, befriended and photographed were working towards a brighter future for the country. Education and entrepreneurialism are valued highly in their culture, and, consequently there is a real feeling of progress and optimism in the air. That is not to say that life is easy for your average Sierra Leonean. The country is still ranked as the third lowest on the UN’s Human Development Index, and seventh lowest on its Human Poverty Index. While these figures represent a stark reality, they should not define Sierra Leone. Aid is still needed, but it is certainly not the only solution to helping the region. What Sierra Leone now needs is foreign investment, further infrastructure and sustainable tourism. And if Sierra Leone is to grow and develop it is crucial that people’s perceptions of the country are changed.

‘Sweet Salone’ is a series of portraits of Sierra Leoneans today. It is a project that aims to give a small insight into the lives of some of the individuals that make up this vibrant country. For too long Sierra Leoneans have been depicted in a less than positive light. It is time that this outdated portrayal is finally discarded.

SOPHIA SPRING

www.sophiaspring.com / sophiaspring@hotmail.com / 07939254652

 

 

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