A Long Way Gone:
Sierra Leone
Background
Sierra Leone Profile
 Full Name: Republic of Sierra
Leone
 Population: 5.7 million (2009)
 Capital: Freetown
 Major Languages: English, Krio,
and various African languages.
 Major Religions: Islam and
Christianity
 Monetary Unit: Leone
 Major Exports: Diamonds, Rutile,
Cocoa, Coffee, and Fish
History of Sierra Leone
 Sierra Leone: Name means “Lion
Mountains”
 1462: Portuguese explorers arrive in
Sierra Leone, which was also already
occupied by several African tribes that
had migrated to the area.
 1500s-1700s: Traders stopped in Sierra
Leone to exchange cloth and metal
goods for ivory, timber, and slaves.
*Abolitionists later help slaves
return to Africa in what is now the
“Province of Freedom” or Freetown
in Sierra Leone. They came to be
called Krio.
History of Sierra Leone
 1808: Sierra Leone became a British
crown colony
 1839: Slaves aboard the Amistad revolt
to secure their freedom. Their leader is
Sengbe Pieh (Joseph Cinque), a young
Mende from Sierra Leone.
 1951: A constitution is enacted by the
British to begin the process of
decolonization (or when a colony
becomes self-governing)
 April 27, 1961: Sierra Leone becomes
independent with Sir Milton Margai as
its first prime minister.
Sir Milton Margai
Sengbe Pieh
(Joseph Cinque)
History of Sierra Leone
 1971: Sierra Leone was declared a
republic, and Siaka Stevens became
executive president.
 1978: Sierra Leone became a oneparty state with the All People’s
Congress as the sole legal party.
 1985: Stevens retired and appointed
Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh
the next president. Momoh’s APC
rule was marked by increased abuse
of power.
Siaka Stevens
Civil War in Sierra Leone
 March 1991: The Revolutionary
United Front (RUF) began attacking
villages in eastern Sierra Leone.
*Goal: To rid the country of the
APC government
* Rebel leader: Foday Sankoh
 April 1992: The National Provisional
Ruling Council (NPRC) was
established, but it proved to be as
ineffective as the APC at repelling
the RUF.
 1995: The RUF held much of the
countryside in their control.
Civil War in Sierra Leone
 1996-2000: Sierra Leone tries various
campaigns to stop the RUF,
including signing a peace deal in
1996 that unraveled in 1997.
 1999: The United Nations finally
became involved in the effort to
disarm the rebels
 2001: A second peace agreement was
signed that allowed disarmament to
begin as the government regained
authority in rebel-held areas.
 January 2002: President Ahmad
Tejan Kabbah (elected in 1996)
declared the civil war officially over.
Recovery in Sierra Leone
 2002: British troops left Sierra Leone
and President Kabbah is reelected.
 Summer 2002: A Sierra Leone Special
Court begins holding a series of war
crimes trials that lasted until 2006.
 2003: Rebel leader Foday Sankoh
died.
 Many child soldiers, like Ishmael
Beah, also had to begin a personal
healing process to restore their sense
of humanity and to forgive
themselves.
Ishmael Beah
 At 15, UNICEF removed Beah from
fighting and helped him begin
rehabilitating.
 In 1998 he moved to the U.S. and
finished high school. He graduated
from Oberlin College in 2004.
 He is a member of the Human
Rights Watch Children’s Rights
Division Advisory Committee and
speaks on behalf of children affected
by war.
 He began the Ishmael Beah
Foundation to help former child
soldiers.
The Diamond Trade in Sierra Leone
 During the civil war in Sierra Leone,
people who purchased diamonds in
the West unknowingly funded the
mission of Foday Sankoh and the
RUF
 These diamonds came to be known
as “blood diamonds” or “conflict
diamonds”
 These diamonds were specifically
mined in war zones of Africa to fund
the invading army’s efforts.
 Liberia would trade weapons and
training to Sierra Leone in exchange
of their diamonds.
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
 Created in 2002 to control the flow
blood diamonds.
 A Kimberley Certification must be
presented by a gems owner before it
can leave the country.
 This forces the government to keep
track of the diamonds they are
importing and exporting and their
value.
Blood Diamonds in the U.S.
 Executive Order 13194 ( Jan 2001)
and 13213 (May 2001) specifically ban
the importation of rough diamonds
from Sierra Leone and Liberia.
 Clean Diamond Trade Act (2003):
U.S. recognizes that as a major
consumer of diamonds, it has a
responsibility to severe its ties to any
diamond trade that funds war and
conflict.
 This was crucial to the success of
the KPCS.