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Sierra Leone Football Club Hailed For Just Coming Home
FREETOWN (Reuters) - A boys' soccer team from Sierra Leone won silver at a tournament in Sweden, but were hailed as champions in their poor West African homeland -- because they all came home.
Sierra Leone is bottom of the U.N. development rankings and its athletes frequently vanish when traveling abroad for sporting fixtures in order to seek asylum, meaning many Western countries now simply refuse to let them in.
"It's rare for a whole team of Sierra Leoneans to go abroad and come back," Kweku Lisk, legal adviser to their club, FC Johansen, told reporters in the capital Freetown Friday.
"It goes to show what Sierra Leone can do when it puts its mind to it. We have managed to stick a feather in the cap for the country," he said.
More than 250 teams entered this year's Mittnorden Cup in Sweden, but Freetown's FC Johansen was the first African team to compete in the tournament's 27-year history, thanks to the club's main supporter, the eponymous Swedish Honorary Consul Arne Johansen.
The club is made up of underprivileged children, many of them orphaned during the country's savage 1991-2002 civil war. FREETOWN (Reuters) - A boys' soccer team from Sierra Leone won silver at a tournament in Sweden, but were hailed as champions in ... more -
Rape threats intimidate female political candidates
Independent female candidates, particularly those who contested for but were not given party symbols, are experiencing intimidation including the threat of rape, it was revelaed today by Miria Matembe of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Sierra Leone.
Matembe said this situation has forced seven female candidates to withdraw from the local council elections.
"It is disheartening that political parties are using youths to harass female candidates. The youths even threaten to rape them if they fail to withdraw their candidatures," she said.
NDI has pointed accusing fingers at the ruling All Peoples Congress, the opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party and paramount chiefs for the continuous intimidation of female independent candidates who are contesting the forthcoming local council elections.
"It is happening in Kono and some parts of the northern province where it is reported that female candidates are molested and dehumanized," she claimed.
She said NDI, in partnership with other non governmental organisations, has called for an end to all intimidations against female independent candidates.
"I see no reason why they should not be allowed to participate in the electioneering process," she said.
How can political processes move forward while shocking, vicious tactics like this are used? And how can we take away the power that the threat of rape wields? Is it possible not to give up in the face of threats like this? Independent female candidates, particularly those who contested for but were not given party symbols, are experiencing intimidation in... more -
Sierra Leone's Chief National Electoral Commissioner Dr. Christiana Thorpe
There is an old woman who lives somewhere in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital. She claims that she was a "very sound footballer." Her head is now adorned with sparkling gray hair. She has a great sense of humor. She reads the newspapers daily. She has a daughter whom journalists can't help but write about — often. Her daughter brings her the newspapers. Mother teases daughter every chance she gets. And that's very often, because every week Dr. Christiana Ayoka Mary Thorpe, head of the National Electoral Commission (N.E.C.), is mentioned in the Sierra Leoenean media.
"I see they went to town on you in the papers today," is just one of several ways Mrs. Effumi Thorpe, the 85-year old mother of Dr. Thorpe, greets her daughter upon her arrival home from her daily task of overseeing Sierra Leone's recently-past landmark elections. And for the woman who always has a disarming smile that could make a saint of Lucifer, the joke is often well taken.
A rather curious fact about Effumi is that she seems not the least bit ruffled about the enormous task her daughter has taking on. She posits that Christiana had been prepared for the job when she was only a little girl: "She has been taught to say the truth. Regardless of whoever is around, she will say the truth. The truth never fails, my dear. She has been taught to be honest and truthful." There is an old woman who lives somewhere in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital. She claims that she was a "very sound footbal... more -
Children in the diamond mines
Children are working in the diamond mines in Sierra Leone to pay their school fees.
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Refugee All Stars
A cut-down of the feature length documentary film, Sierra Leones Refugee All Stars tells the remarkable and ultimately life-affirming story of Sierra Leones Refugee All Stars, a group of six Sierra Leonean musicians who come together to form a band while living as refugees in the Republic of Guinea. A cut-down of the feature length documentary film, Sierra Leones Refugee All Stars tells the remarkable and ultimately life-affirmi... more
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Sierra Leone On The Mic
Women from Sierra Leone are using hip-hop and song to advocate for change.
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Do you Know Whats in Your cellphone?
Its called Columbite-tantalite - coltan for short - one of the world's most sought-after materials. Refine coltan and you get a highly heat-resistant metal powder called tantalum. It sells for $100 a pound, and it's becoming increasingly vital to modern life.
For the high-tech industry, tantalum is magic dust, a key component in everything from mobile phones made by Nokia (NOK) and Ericsson and computer chips from Intel (INTC) to Sony (SNE) stereos and VCRs.
Selling coltan is not illegal. Most of the worldwide tantalum supply - valued at as much as $6 billion a year - comes from legitimate mining operations in Australia, Canada and Brazil.
But as demand for tantalum took off with the boom of high-tech products in recent years, a new, more sinister market began flourishing in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Child Soldiers, Forced slave labor, these warring rebel groups are exploiting coltan mining to help finance a bloody civil war.
The mining by the rebels is also causing environmental destruction. In particular, endangered gorilla populations are being massacred or driven out of their natural habitat as the miners illegally plunder the ore-rich lands of the Congo's protected national parks.
The market for the metal is based on secretive and convoluted trade links subject to few international regulations, and the ore is not sold on regulated metals exchanges.
The U.N. report does not directly blame computer manufacturers and mobile phone makers for the bloody trade, citing instead the companies trading minerals as "the engine of the conflict in the DRC." But the high-tech industry's demand for tantalum clearly has fueled an increase in coltan mining worldwide - including in the Congo region. After all, the trading companies sell coltan to processing companies, which in turn sell to tantalum capacitor manufacturers - whose clients are none other than high-tech companies such as Ericsson, Intel and Nokia.
These companies deny any knowledge that tantalum originating in the Congo is used in their products. That's not surprising, considering how murky the supply chain out of the Congo is and how complicated the global trade in tantalum gets.
The reality is that there's little way to prove that the tantalum used in our cell phones and laptops is or is not from the Congo.
Guns, Money and Cell Phones
By Kristi Essick Its called Columbite-tantalite - coltan for short - one of the world's most sought-after materials. Refine coltan and you get a h... more -
Blood Roses and Diamonds
What's the true price of love? Current Vanguard Journalists head to Colombia and Sierra Leone to explore the unromantic stories behind two symbols of love.
Produced by: Evan B. Stone, Kaj Larsen, Jael de Pardo, Darren Foster & Mariana van Zeller What's the true price of love? Current Vanguard Journalists head to Colombia and Sierra Leone to explore the unromantic stories b... more -
Sierra Leone Reborn
The Sierra Leone elections took place on August 11, 2007. Many people felt the polls would be a test of whether the country is on the road to fill recovery from the bloody decade long civil war, which ended in 2002. The Sierra Leone elections took place on August 11, 2007. Many people felt the polls would be a test of whether the country is on the... more
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Suspected Gas Explosions Rock Sierra Leone Capital
Three huge explosions have been reported in the centre of the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown.
The blast happened in a building in Free Street, the heart of the capital.
Early reports claim at least 17 bodies have been recovered from the blast that ripped a Free Street Shop to pieces. Three huge explosions have been reported in the centre of the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown. ... more -
Hip Hop in Sierra Leone
Viewer Contributor Vanessa Wruble looks at how hip-hop is changing Sierra Leone.
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Living in the bridge of death, Sierra Leone
The BBC has a photo essay about people who live in a bridge in Sierra Leone. The bridge itself is was a site for executions in the troubles 5-10 years ago. In a country where no where was safe, apparently being closest to the horror was a way to escape danger. The BBC has a photo essay about people who live in a bridge in Sierra Leone. The bridge itself is was a site for executions in the tr... more
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WAYout
Since the end of the conflict in Sierra Leone music has played a vital part in giving a voice to young people. Before the recent elections, some saw it as the only opposition to the government. But there is no money so for many it will remain just a dream of a better future.
Shot between September 2006 and September 2007 Since the end of the conflict in Sierra Leone music has played a vital part in giving a voice to young people. Before the recent elect... more -
Iceland best place to live, Africa worst: UN
Iceland has overtaken Norway as the world's most desirable country to live in, according to an annual U.N. table published on Tuesday that again puts AIDS-afflicted sub-Saharan African states at the bottom.
Rich free-market countries dominate the top places, with Iceland, Norway, Australia, Canada and Ireland the first five but the United States slipping to 12th place from eighth last year in the U.N. Human Development Index.
But the index, blending 2005 figures for life expectancy, educational levels and real per capita income, finds that all 22 countries falling into its "low human development" category are in sub-Saharan Africa, with Sierra Leone last. Iceland has overtaken Norway as the world's most desirable country to live in, according to an annual U.N. table published on Tue... more -
The AIDS Conspiracy in Africa
Do you think HIV/AIDS is real? Could it all be a conspiracy theory by the developed nations to curb the population of Africa? Greg Crompton investigates why many Sierra Leoneans are questioning the validity of HIV/AIDS and how this has allowed the virus to spread at an alarming rate. Do you think HIV/AIDS is real? Could it all be a conspiracy theory by the developed nations to curb the population of Africa? Greg C... more
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The Image of the War Torn Nation of Sierra Leone is Changing slowly but surely...f...
Check this article of the Washington Post about hopeful changes for Sierra Leone, especailly with tourism, which is what the country needs right now. And they interviewed a dear friend of mine! It's happening baby...soon I will be able to take all of you back home, without fearing for your lives. Then you can truly see the paradise that Sierra Leone really is! We (the youth of Sierra Leone) are all working towards that. So stay tuned =0) Check this article of the Washington Post about hopeful changes for Sierra Leone, especailly with tourism, which is what the country n... more
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Dance with Death
Lonely Planet filmmaker Tony Jackson takes us to his "Top Three Places to Dance with Death."
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Sierra Leone's New President!
While I wasn't so sure about the outcome of the election in Sierra Leone, I think that a change to the new party is what the country needs. So while things seem a little uneasy, we all are remaining hopeful that the new President will bring about change and finally put an end to corruption! So here's to the new era of Sierra Leone! While I wasn't so sure about the outcome of the election in Sierra Leone, I think that a change to the new party is what the coun... more
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Female Genital Cutting
Mariana van Zeller takes a look at the tradition of female circumcision in Africa. She travels to rural villages in Sierra Leone with an activist who faces a tough battle to put an end to the practice. Mariana van Zeller takes a look at the tradition of female circumcision in Africa. She travels to rural villages in Sierra Leone with ... more
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Sierra Leone AAA
Mariana runs into a few bumps in the road while in Sierra Leone.
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Sierra Leone
