Another travel article on Sierra Leone

Another article from the Independent Online.


"On the pristine sands of Freetown's expansive beaches, there's a smattering of bikini-clad Europeans lapping up the African sun. If this were Tunisia, Morocco or even the Ivory Coast there might be little else to say. But in Sierra Leone it is a sight few people thought they would ever witness again. The country's brutal civil war, characterised by the mutilation of the arms and legs of innocent civilians, left 50,000 dead. Millions more have had their lives uprooted as rebel soldiers, high on drugs and alcohol, battled it out with government troops in a conflict many believed would never end. At the height of the killings the Foreign Office warned Britons to stay away.

But now the British government has revised its advice, declaring most of Sierra Leone to be "trouble-free". This has prompted tour operators to start to advertise the country as an adventure holiday destination of a lifetime in the hope of attracting back the 30,000 or so mostly British and French visitors who used to visit Sierra Leone each year before the war. Most of the sun-worshippers lying on the Freetown beach work for the international charities that have been helping to put the country back on its feet. But one or two are genuine holidaymakers taking full advantage of a tropical paradise that is just six hours flying time away from Britain"

For the full article please go to:

http://travel.independent.co.uk/africa/article344624.ece

or discuss at http://forum.visitsierraleone.org/forum_posts.asp?TID=1144&PN=1

Bunce Island December 2005

Bunce Island December 2005

On the morning of Friday the 30th of December 2005, a group of ten people gathered at the famous Aqua Sports Club to embark on a journey to the historic place off the coast of Sierra Leone called Bunce Island.

I got in the boat filled with anticipation. The excitement of going on a boat trip, the opportunity to soak up the scenery of Freetown from the sea and most definitely the step back into our history.

I never thought Sierra Leone had that many Islands. The scenery was truly remarkable.

The sun was out, the water was calm, the view was breathtaking, and the fishermen were friendly, well from a distance at least.

After an hour into the boat trip, the Island was in sight, bringing back the excitement of the trip. I started questioning myself on whether I was actually going to feel different been on this Island, considering its history? Would there be any emotions when we got there? Is it really safe to be there? So many thoughts, expectations and emotions were racing through my mind.

Stepping onto the Island I was met with an instant yet almost inexpressible emotion. I started thinking of what had happened here hundreds of years ago and how it has defined us as a race over the years. I tried to picture how it must have been back then but off course that was impossible. So I was just left to imagine the number of people that had lost their lives and connection with loved ones through the trade that took place on this little plot of land.




As I mused over the Island’s history, I started to feel faint. Could it be affecting me this much I thought to myself? Then I remembered I hadn’t had any breakfast and we were under the hot boiling Sa Lone sun, so it was either my emotions getting the best of me or plain old hunger. It turned out to be the latter.

We sat down to ingest a little snack, when someone scared the life out of me by mentioning the word Snakes!!! I don’t do well with snakes. I knew they where bound to be there but acknowledging it made it a lot more worrying.



As we finished our snack, Pa Brima arrived by canoe from a neighbouring Island. He was going to be our tour guide for the day.

He was pleasant and pleased to give us a tour of Bunce Island, enlightening us in detail on how the slaves where brought to the Island, numbered, stored, sold and shipped across the Atlantic. He also gave us a brief history of the ownership of Bunce Island, from the Portuguese to the French and then the English. It was very educative and amusing considering they were fighting over an Island that was neither theirs.

Being on the Island that day I trust everyone must have at one point thought that decades ago been on the Island simply meant one thing, you where owned by another person and freedom to you was nothing but a dream.

After about two hours on the Island we decided to head back to Freetown. The visitor’s book was signed and we all became part of Bunce Island’s history.

So to answer my questions to myself upon arriving on the Island, Yes I did feel different been there, as I had experienced a very significant part of our country’s history and our history as black people.
Yes there were emotions, though mixed with the irritation of knowing the history behind the Island, there was also happiness that we had come a long way from those days and were now standing on the Island as free individuals, not someone’s commodity. It was strangely beautiful.
And oh yeah it was an all around safe trip…..no snakes!!!!

It was beyond any doubt an amazing and inspiring trip, one I would love to do again. To quote one of the other visitors: “as a Sierra Leonean this is not a place where you should try to visit. It’s a place you have to visit”. Too right… and thanks to “Visit Sierra Leone” for making this possible.

allAfrica.com: Sierra Leone: Kenya Airways to Start Operation in Salone

This had been published on VSL since last year.. i thought it would have gone beyonnd negotiation stage by now. In any case, the more the merrier.. i've heard their services is good too. Travel within Africa could be a whole heap better..
allAfrica.com: Sierra Leone: Kenya Airways to Start Operation in Salone

Visa available on landing

A 30 day visa can now be applied for on landing at Freetown International Airport for £25 or $40. This is an interesting development and will no doubt be convenient from countries where there is no Sierra Leone diplomatic representation. I wonder why its cheaper than applying through our foreign missions though.. This is being dicsussed here

Edit to add: This is still subject to approval from govt. So don't be heading out to Sierra Leone without a visa just yet!

China in Africa...

I've come across two very interesting articles on this topic which has been the cause of huge media debate and as always varing opinions. The first is from a friend's blog who's writing a series on this.. the first is titled China in Africa: The CNOOC Nigerian Oil Deal and the second is from Granta Magazine entitled: "We love China"

My take? China has had an influence in Sierra Leone for as far back as i can remember. China as a nation as grown significantly over the years though and every move they make now are view under a huge microscope especially by western powers. From the point of view of African govts.. or Sierra Leone to be more specific.. they're crying out for huge investment and need people who can put their money where their mouth is. Of course debate is going on about the proposed development in the Lumley Beach area. Again there are varying opionions on this, me.. i see jobs. $280m is also a lot of money by any standards.

However, part of the appeal of the chinese to govt is the lack of questions by the chinese and their wanting to just get the job done. Well, that's all well and good.. but there should be questions in the other direction. The Sierra Leonean interest should be paramount at all times and there should be a legal framework to support this. Signs written only in Chinese is probably not the way to go. So as long as the best is negotiated for Sierra Leoneans (and Sierra Leone's long term interest) and there is accountability. I'm not sure i have any problem with the Chinese influence. Nothing's stopping anyone else to go invest right?

There is an ongoing debate in the forum about Chinese money in Sierra Leone.