As I prepare for the journey to Sierra Leone, I continually come across elements and stories I’d like to examine further. I obviously won’t be able to cover them all in detail, so I’m going with an open mind and will see which of these develop.
- Disarmament:
Sierra Leone has undergone one of the most successful disarmaments in African history. A country that suffered through a decade long brutal war now lives in relative peace. In fact, their crime rate is lower than that of many American cities. - How was this accomplished and how can this be utilized in other conflict ridden countries like Congo & Sudan?
Politics:
During the most recent elections, the ruling party was democratically voted out and the opposition party took office with no significant protest.- A peaceful election… especially when a ruling party is voted out… is extremely rare in Africa. (You may have heard of the violence that followed recent elections in Kenya & Zimbabwe)
- The new government is seen as a very positive change for the country. The corruption of past administrations is no longer a concern.
- Thanks to this new government, many feel the country is ripe for change… the question is, how? ... UN intervention? Foreign Assistance? US business operations in Sierra Leone?
Poverty:
Sierra Leone is THE poorest country in the world (According to the UN Human Development Index)- 28% of children die before the age of 5… and the life expectancy of adults is right around 40.
- Many point out that current conditions are worse than those that led to the war to begin with.
- Pre- war, Sierra Leone was major world-wide rice exporter, had sufficient infrastructure and boasted some of the best higher education on the continent.
- Post-war, infrastructure & schools have been destroyed and rice exports have ended
- Renewing rice farming could provide 5 million “person days” of work a year… but due to subsidies for US farmers, it is cheaper to ship rice to SL than to grow it there. (Many who do have jobs in SL get paid in 1 bag of rice per week!)
- Could this poverty lead to another war? How do you create jobs with fair wages in a third world country? Are we undercutting the ability of Sierra Leoneans to self sustain by dumping subsidized rice on them? How do you utilize the fertile land in SL to create jobs when US subsides work against it.
Corruption:
What many in this country would consider corruption, Sierra Leoneans consider a way of life (due mainly to poverty)- It is not uncommon for a police officer to request/demand a small fee from drivers stopped at check points. The average police officer makes $30 a month… in order to feed his children he needs to subsidize his income… it’s a “perk” of the job.
- Teachers make an average of $19 a month… it is also common practice for students to “offer payments” to teachers to help subsidize their paycheck. In first world terms, this would translate to teachers accepting bribes as a prerequisite to passing their students. (While monetary bribes are widely accepted and a way of life, recent stories have surfaced of teachers accepting sexual favors from students in lieu of money… this is NOT socially accepted.)
- How is corruption defined? How can first-world’ers comprehend what is “a way of life” in the third world? Are these practices acceptable considering they are social norms? Should the first world intervene or alter these social norms in a effort to aid Sierra Leone? Is this “corruption” a direct result of poverty?
Religion
It is common practice in SL to begin a meeting by asking people to “Pray in your own way”- In this predominantly Muslim country, (60% Muslim, 30% African Religions, 10% Christian) religion acceptance is the norm… it’s common to find a Mosque next door to a Christian church next door to a African church. (This level of religious acceptance is rare among third-world or Muslim-dominant countries.)
- The new president (Koroma) is Christian
- How can this level of peace and rare acceptance be used to advance the country?
Opportunity for US Commerce in SL
With beautiful white sandy beaches and lush fertile land, Sierra Leone is ripe for tourism and private business.- From tourism to agriculture to mining operations there are any number of opportunities for US business to come in and utilize the natural resources of SL… while at the same time providing much needed jobs and infrastructure. (This is something that China is already taking advantage of in numerous African countries including Sierra Leone )
- Many argue that charity and foreign assistance are not enough to change Sierra Leone… that jobs are a necessity. “Charity Provides a patch … Jobs are necessary for sustainability”
In other words, Sierra Leone can not succeed by foreign assistance and aid alone… private business is needed to provide jobs. - In terms of foreign assistance, the UN spent over 1 billion a year in the early 2000’s… that money helped to successfully end the war… but once an election was held they pulled out and left the country in a worse state than before the war.
- The concern is now that without foreign assistance AND new jobs from private business ventures, the country will continue to regress. Isn’t this a waste of the billions of dollars we spent to end the war?
Sierra Leone as a Blueprint for the Continent
Many feel that the willingness and the forward thinking of the Sierra Leonean people in addition to their new government and natural resources makes them the country a perfect candidate for foreign assistance. It’s a country that can actually be saved. If/when it is saved; it can then be used as a blueprint for other African countries.
Sierra Leonean opinion on American Presidential Race
Self Explanitory
No comments:
Post a Comment