Government Lies Against Stranded Citizens

Hundreds of Sierra Leoneans are still left stranded in the war-torn North African country of Libya. Since the deadly conflict erupted in that part of the world a couple of weeks ago, not a single Sierra Leonean national has been repatriated back to Sierra Leone or to any other part of the world. This situation has left relatives of the stranded Sierra Leoneans back home in a worrisome state with no idea of what will happen to their family members as the deadly fight intensifies between the government and rebel forces.
 

As all of this is happening, the All People’s Congress (APC) led Government of Sierra Leone is yet to make any realistic effort in locating and rescuing Sierra Leoneans living in that country.
 

While other African countries like Nigeria, Ghana and even neighboring Guinea have since instituted pragmatic efforts to repatriate their citizens, government officials here in Sierra Leone are busy politicking the whole issue at the expense of the lives of hundreds of its citizens. It is over a month now since this brouhaha started and the government of Sierra Leone is yet to present a single citizen that has been repatriated from Libya. What a disgusting shame!
 

Worst of it, the government is engaged in a massive propaganda spree that runs in total contrast with the correspondences from Sierra Leoneans trapped in Libya.
 

Reports monitored from Libya clearly indicate that the APC led government is not telling the truth about the status of Sierra Leoneans in Libya. The government is lying about the status of those Sierra Leoneans either because it has no idea about the status of its citizens or lacks the diplomatic knowhow and connections to get its citizens out of the troubled zone. Some people even have cause now to believe that the government is not saying the truth because it is in the nature of its officials to toy with issues of national importance.
 

Initially, the Sierra Leone Embassy in Libya urged all legal Sierra Leonean residents in Libya to register with the embassy for possible repatriation. This happened at a time when the no-fly-zone sanction was yet to be imposed on Libya. It was around this same time that other countries moved into action to repatriate their valued citizens.
 

A total of one hundred and twenty-five Sierra Leoneans registered with the embassy and that was the end of it. Nothing has happened further than registration process. 

Even when other countries are busy repatriating their citizens by road and sea on the imposition of the no-fly-zone sanction, Sierra Leoneans are still left stranded with no hope of being repatriated.
 

A recent government press release on the status of Sierra Leoneans in Libya made believe that the trapped citizens prefer to die in Libya than to be evacuated to Sierra Leone. “However, after concluding arrangements with the British Embassy in Libya, most of the registered Sierra Leoneans turned down the offer, stating that they would only agree to be evacuated to either the US or the UK; and that they would rather continue to stay in Libya than return to Sierra Leone,” the government press release stated. But who will believe this, especially when the Chairman of the Sierra Leone Community in Libya, Sallieu Mansaray, is insisting that such an assertion by the government is nothing to go by? 

According to Sallieu Mansaray, ninety percent of the registered Sierra Leoneans with legal documents in Libya have consented to pay their travelling expenses to Tunisia if only the Sierra Leone Ambassador to Libya will facilitate for them to be welcomed by the United Nations on their arrival in Tunisia. Sadly, the Sierra Leone Ambassador to Libya, Abu Bakarr Jalloh, is nowhere to be found, and unconfirmed reports have it that he had since fled Libya.
 

The government press release furthered that a total of forty Sierra Leoneans have expressed willingness to be evacuated. Sounds good, but where are these Sierra Leoneans? How many of them have been repatriated to Freetown or to any other part of the world? None.
 

An attempt by the APC led government to claim credit for the repatriation of twenty three Sierra Leoneans from the troubled Libyan capital of Tripoli to the Tunisian border has also been exposed as a cheap lie. The Deputy Chairman of the Sierra Leone Committee in Libya Joseph Peters has told newsmen that the repatriation exercise was coordinated by the Sierra Leonean committee in Tripoli with aid from International Office for Migration (IOM). While the government is deceitfully claiming credit for repatriating twenty-three people to the Tunisian border, the repatriated Sierra Leoneans are bitterly expressing their disappointment over what they described as the failure of government to save the lives of its citizens.
 

The least said about other Sierra Leoneans living in Libya with irregular documentations the better.
 
Bottom-line, this is a clear indication that the Sierra Leone Government is not capable of protecting the lives of its citizens in other countries. To the government therefore, I say telling lies about the status of Sierra Leoneans in Libya is no sure way of addressing the plights of your citizens. Institute realistic efforts now to repatriate your citizens or keep quiet and allow your citizens to die in peace. Stop making a mockery of the situation, please.
 

My stranded Sierra Leonean brothers and sisters keep your faith in God and you will come out of Libya alive.

By Abdul Fonti

BEWARE!!! Scorpions in Town

Publisher's Note: The article in the ensuing, which was first published in various newspapers and online media outlets in September 2010, earned me (Abdul Fonti) the 2010 National Award for Best Newspaper Columnist in Sierra Leone.

This is a breaking news from the desk of the Roaming Pen. ‘Scorpions’ have invaded the Freetown city. These ‘scorpions’ are indiscriminately attacking and harassing people, especially those who refuse to produce their local tax receipts for inspection. The new breed of human scorpions is all over the city and they can be easily identified by their uniforms. 

This 21st century scorpions are dressed in gold shirt and navy blue trousers. They were recruited by the Freetown City Council (FCC) as a result of the reluctance of the citizens to honour their obligations of paying their local tax dues. Those who fail to produce their local tax receipts for inspection are being attacked and showered with several bites.

Beware of scorpions in Metropolitan Police clothing and don’t wait until they victimize you. Take to your heels whenever you come across them, especially if you are yet to pay for your local tax. Take this advice seriously as it is definitely no joke. 

Don’t ask me whether or not biting people for local tax receipts have become a part and parcel of the bye-laws of the Freetown City Council, because I will refer you to the Mayor for answers. But what I will tell you for sure is that people have already started suffering from this new cruel way of collecting taxes – produce your tax receipt or risk being bitten.
 

As recent as last week, I read in the Awareness Times Newspaper that metropolitan police officers descended on a businessman and gave the latter a couple of bites, reminisce the actions of scorpions. The ‘crime’ of the businessman was his failure to produce his tax receipt on the spot for inspection. As was reported by the Awareness Times Newspaper, the metropolitan ‘scorpions’ insisted that the businessman should buy a new tax receipt irrespective of the man’s explanation and plea that he had earlier obtained one which was not in his possession that moment.
 

An argument later ensued when the businessman reportedly pleaded with them to be patient, so that he can make a telephone call to his residence, which was just a stone throw from his business place, in order for somebody to come with his tax receipt. The aftermath of the disagreement was bite injuries and evidences of slaps and kicks plastered all over the businessman’s body.

This is just an example of one of the numerous citizens who have been victimized by these ‘metro-scorpions’. Biting people for local tax receipts, which seems to be the latest strategy of collecting local taxes, has left people wondering whether these metropolitan police officers are real human law enforcers or scorpions in police camouflage?
 

One cannot be far from the truth to speculate that the instructions to beat and bite people for tax receipts are coming from the hierarchy of the Freetown City Council (FCC). These ‘scorpions’ in police smokescreen always boast that they will never be brought to book for their reckless acts (buff case), and true to this, all of the perpetrators are allowed to go scot-free.

Apart from biting people, it is also an open secret that metropolitan police officers are engaged in all sorts of reckless and lawless behaviors, which include raining abuses (mammy curses) on peaceful citizens, beating people to coma on frequent intervals, and rudely approaching people to produce tax receipts when the fact remains that most of them are without tax receipts.

As recent as last month, a female school teacher of the Saint Michael Primary School was mercilessly manhandled by these metropolitan officers for no just cause. The lady was later frog-matched and dumped into a waiting truck like a common criminal and whisked to the Freetown City Council Works Yard at Blackhall Road. Notwithstanding the fact that she was bitterly weeping and complaining of body pains, she was inhumanly forced to sit on the ground whilst a statement was being recorded from her.
 

She was later dragged again into the FCC truck and whisked to the FCC’s Wallace Johnson Street Headquarters for further torture. With the help of vigilant journalists, the head of the metropolitan police, later tendered unreserved apologies to the female teachers and promised to punish the perpetrators. That was the end of it.

Few days later, a boss driver who was traveling from Kabala to Freetown was attacked at a place called Ojuku Junction, and was mercilessly manhandled by metropolitan police officers until he went into a state of coma. Also, nothing was done to the perpetrators. These ‘metropolitan-scorpions’, whom some people now call ‘city thugs’, are having field days harassing, abusing, beating and biting people with total disregard for law and order.

They are gradually becoming ‘city murderers’ and the need to put a halt to this trend cannot be overstressed. They started as city police, gradually became city thugs, degenerated to city scorpions and they are soon to become city murderers.

Beware! Scorpions are all over the city with a mandate to bite anyone without a local tax receipt.

Sierra Leone Don't Respect Living Heroes

Sierra Leoneans, like many other nationals in the world, are notable for their failure to respect and recognize heroes, especially when these heroes are still alive.

In most cases, heroes are only recognized in Sierra Leone when they are dead.

This situation has forced several people to ponder whether or not this country has living heroes, i.e. people who are recognized and respected as heroes when they are still alive.  In this piece, I will attempt a few definitions for the term ‘hero’, so as to give readers a clear understanding of the subject matter. This piece will also highlight some of the consequences the country suffers as a result of the failure of its citizens to recognize breathing heroes.

I have been able to obtain three definitions of the term ‘HERO’, from various standard dictionaries and the debate here would be concentrated on the said definitions mentioned in the ensuing.

i) A hero is a man of superhuman qualities, favoured by the gods; demigod.

ii) Illustrious warrior (such as is given to hero returning from battle).

iii) Man admired for achievements and noble qualities.

With the aforementioned meanings, do we really have living heroes in Sierra Leone? I want to believe we do have breathing heroes, although a good number of people have been ‘forced’ to believe that the only heroes Sierra Leone can boast of are the likes of Bai Bureh, I.T.A Wallace Johnson and Sengbeh Pieh, all of whom are dead and gone.

Why the citizens are not recognizing their heroes, when these heroes are still alive, remains a puzzle.

There are hundreds of Sierra Leoneans who are excelling in their various fields and corners. These people cut across various ages, sex, colour and political persuasions.

To verify that there are indeed heroes in Sierra Leone, one only needs to carefully listen and watch as people pay tributes to dead people. That is the time when praises would be lavished on the departed soul. At such events, people are not hesitant to talk on all of the admirable achievements and potentials of the deceased.

This is also the time that people will come with ranches full of cows, goats, fish and rice.
 

Ironically, all of these things would be shared among living people as a way of ‘honoring’ the dead, when the fact remains that some of these people actually died of hunger and/or curable diseases. They die because they cannot feed themselves and lack money to seek medical attention when they fell sick. But when they die, money and food is in excess.

Why do people withhold all of the aforementioned wealth and wait until the demise of a ‘hero’ or ‘potential hero’, is among the barrage of questions begging answers.

Investing such wealth on, and honoring these heroes whilst they are still alive will make a whole lot of difference to the life of the individual in particular, his family in general and the nation as a whole.

What does it benefit the dead hero to praise sing him when he has seized to breathe, especially so when he was never recognized and respected during his tenure of life?

What benefit do the nation or bereaved family members achieve from such tributes and showcasing of wealth during funeral ceremonies?

Why do people ignore and dismiss the talents and achievements of their compatriots when they are still alive? 

Selfishness and political bigotry cannot be far from the answer.

No matter what is said and done when a person is dead, there is no doubt that the dead person, bereaved family members and mama salone stand to gain nothing other than regrets and increased backwardness of the nation.

The dead will never appreciate anything that people do to honour him, especially so when they failed to appreciate his qualities when he was alive.

The backward state of Sierra Leone cannot be dissociated to some of these things which we normally dismiss as insignificant.

Failing to appreciate, respect and honour our living heroes is also gravely affecting the emergence of new heroes.

Potential heroes prefer not to put on display their talents for the progress of the nation; an occurrence that is no fault of theirs. This is due to lack of motivation.

It is pathetic to note that a good number of heroes and potential heroes are subjected to psychological torture. In most cases, some of these heroes succumb to such frustrations and they gradually lose their heroism to cowardice.
 

This is not only affecting the people under review as individuals, but is by extension negatively affecting the nation’s progress, since the numbers of disgruntled and jobless people will continue to record a steady rise.

Worst of it is the fact that some influential citizens do suppress and disrespect heroes and potential heroes for reasons ranging from selfishness, petty jealousy, pull-him-down syndrome, and politics.

In Sierra Leone, it is an open secret that politicians in government don’t respect the talents of politicians in the opposition; rich people displays total disregard for the heroism of poor people; and old people lacks respect for young people.

Politicians only shower praises and talk on the achievements of their opponents after the latter would have died.

How can the country ever progress when highly placed personalities deliberately and viciously ignore the aptitude of other citizens because of politics, societal status and other differences?
 

The urgency to change our attitudes in this regard cannot be overemphasized, as Sierra Leone is already losing a lot due to the citizen’s wickedness and lack of respect for one another’s talents.

We actually have living heroes in Sierra Leone and the time to start recognizing them is now. They deserve better than neglect and frustration.

Thumbs up to all the heroes in Sierra Leone. Keep the fire burning.

Submitted by Abdul Fonti

Prostitution and Lesbianism 'Wahala'

The direction in which the unholy and immoral practices of ‘prostitution’ and ‘lesbianism’ is moving especially as it has become rampant and a source for income among young teenage school going girls, is undoubtedly becoming alarming and a cause for concern.
 

In this and subsequent editions, this writer will critically be looking at these issues growingly becoming a tradition among young girls.
 

This writer knows that nature designs sex, and that being responsible and becoming a model is a matter of choice. Therefore, why do some girls ignore role model choice and prefer indulging themselves in this shameful, immoral and illegal act of selling their prestigious bodies for few Leones?
 

Most of these girls who are engaged in this unholy act do so to satisfy their unlimited material wants. If only they remain content with the little they have, there is no need for them to stoop so low to sell their blessings for dressings.
 

The ignorant notion that has been inculcated by a large percentage of teenagers that ‘one man nor dae full up box’ is another reason to be blamed on prostitution. But does that in any way sound responsible to their ears? To me it rather sounds very foolish and unacceptable.
 

It is however, pathetic to note that a good number of these teenagers engaged in this act are from wealthy families. The question that begs for answer here is what exactly are they looking for? Even coming from a poor family does not excuse one into engaging in immorality as it is my belief that each and every one has a dignity to uphold.
 

Some may argue that they are not prostitutes albeit their numerous clientele as long as they are living with their parents. That is well and good, but what is really the difference between a commercial sex worker and a school girl who goes out with a male teacher or an elderly man capable of being her father, or worst still dating more than one boyfriend? Are these not tantamount to prostitution?
 

Teenage girls, while your likes are at Abacha Street totting trayful of wares to make genuine living out of petty trading, you are out there exposing yourselves to the risk of contracting Sexually Transmitted Infections(STIs) that might cost you your very life. Shame on you!
 

Even if you may decide to stay with that lifestyle for as long as you can, you must bear in mind that human wants are insatiable! My advice to you is that stay home and go to school; or better still engage yourselves in gainful enterprises to avoid what failures would normally say: "had I know." Stop immorality of any sort as it only costs you your pride, future and even your life. Respect nature for being a special creation of God.
 

Now for a critical look at the immoral act of same sex activities. Lesbianism is the indulgence in same sex life by women. This practice has become a way of life for many teenage girls in our society to an extent that one hardly comes across a teenager at present that can be dissociated from the act.
 

It disgusts this writer to see girls fighting each other over their fellow girls. Until now, this has never being part of our culture. The earlier you teenagers start realising that lesbianism should not be inculcated into our culture, the better for your future and that of beautiful mama Salone. 

This immoral act has become so much of a culture sort of that girls are no longer ashamed to display their lust in public. "With all these things unfolding, it simply means the world is coming to an end," a Religious Leader commented.
 

At first it sounded ridiculous to me, but i was gripped with fear and disbelief when it eavesdropped a woman saying: "she is my girl friend" meaning the same love affair like between a man and a woman.
 

Girls fall in love with each other, jealous and even make love to themselves. What a disgrace! Why have you decided to demoralize yourselves to this level? Are you trying to make me believe you are no longer wanted by men? Or your sexual desire cannot be satisfied by them?
 

This writer has even come to understand that these lesbians are forsaking their love relationships with men, reason being either because their fellow women go to an extent of forbidding them not to fall in love with men or that their concentration on same sex love life does not permit them time for the opposite sex. This is ridiculous, unbelievable and above all abominable!
 

"Na me girlfriend." What an arrant nonsense! It’s high time you started quitting this life of prostitution and lesbianism. Please sit and think. You are gradually losing your respect, integrity and pride. Quit lesbianism! Quit prostitution and build on the better future you have!

By Abdul Fonti

SLAJ Biennial Congress in Pictures

The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) has just concluded its Biennial Congress in the eastern city of Kenema, where Umaru Fofanah was re-elected as President of SLAJ.

Pictures of the event are published here.

 Mustapha Sesay Congratulates Umaru Fofana

 Umaru Fofana delivering his inaugural speech

 Umaru Fofanah carried shoulder high following his election victory

 Umaru Fofanah lifted with his shoe on the head of jubilants

 Umaru Fofanah casting his ballot

 Mustapha Sesay casting his ballot

 Mohamed Massaquoi, Reporters Union Prexy, casting his ballot

 Outgoing SLAJ Executive poses for News Hunters

 SLAJ Presidential Candidates, Mustapha and Umaru

  Outgoing SLAJ Executive poses for News Hunters

 Cross Section of Reporters Union Members

 Theophilus Gbenda and Abdul Fonti

 Abdul Fonti casting his ballot

 Abdul Fonti and Aruna Turay

L-R: Aruna, Fonti, AKK, Bampia and Dauda