The Best Part of Sierra Leone

The Best Part of Sierra Leone by Malaika Cheney-Coker

We’re warned before we get there by disappointed friends and relatives about the heat, the filth, the fact that electricity and constant water are still luxuries. And we hope they’ve been exaggerating, but then we get there and it’s sadly and absolutely true. But just as those of us JC’s see the poverty and problems so acutely, we also come with fresh eyes and appreciation for Sierra Leone’s beauty. In Freetown, we’ve probably each had our moments of awe. It could be the twinkling lights of the city seen from Hill station at night, or the sight of a beach as stunning and untouched as the prehistoric world must have been.

I have one such beach picture as my desktop wallpaper from my trip in December and I honestly cannot stop gawking at it. But the interesting thing for me during this trip was that for the first time, I thought that perhaps, the best thing about Sierra Leone may not be the natural beauty, or our abundant resources, but our people. This may hardly be profound revelation to the astute among us. But I’ve been used to hearing we Sierra Leoneans describe one another in less-than-appreciative terms. And yes, how can we deny the mentality of corruption, lawlessness, nepotism, and sense of entitlement that have accompanied us to the bottom of the human development index?

But we overcame a terrible war without letting more blood in retribution. We forgave. We accepted. We moved on. And we acted. Sierra Leoneans voted out the last government that didn’t do enough, in favor of a new government that just maybe (if our wildest hopes come true) will get us beyond paddling to rapid growth and rebirth. And it’s not just about the leaders. During my trip in December, I met many locals earnestly trying to make things better. Their jobs were a means of service, whether working with child healthcare, or education, or broadcast media, or writing books that encouraged patriotism.

I talked to people that were leaving successful lives overseas to return home and establish businesses or social services that are much needed in Sierra Leone. Conventional wisdom would say, surely these people have it backwards. True, they might seem a bit starry-eyed but maybe they are the ones who are really on to something.

Maybe we had to crash to be able to rise again. Maybe we have enough memories of hell to know that going back is not an option. I applaud all the Sierra Leoneans doing remarkable things for Sierra Leone whether at home or abroad, especially those at home who face the harsh day-to-day realities. Theirs, ours is a special love that perhaps we never even knew we had.

© Malaika Cheney-Coker. 2008.