Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone PDF Author: David John Harris
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199361762
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
A new political history of the former British colony in West Africa, best known for its diamonds and recent violent civil war, this covers 225 years of history and fills a gap in African studies.

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone PDF Author: David John Harris
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199361762
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Get Book Here

Book Description
A new political history of the former British colony in West Africa, best known for its diamonds and recent violent civil war, this covers 225 years of history and fills a gap in African studies.

How de Body?

How de Body? PDF Author: Teun Voeten
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1429982004
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
In 1998, acclaimed photojournalist Teun Voeten headed to Sierra Leone for what he thought would be a standard assignment on the child soldiers there. But the cease-fire ended just as he arrived, and the clash between the military junta and the West African peace-keeping troops forced him to hide in the bush from rebels who were intent on killing him. How de Body? ("how are you?" in Sierra Leone's Creole English) is a dramatic account of the conflict that has been raging in the country for nearly a decade-and how Voeten nearly became a casualty of it. Accessible and conversational, it's a look into the dangerous diamond trade that fuels the conflict, the legacy of war practices such as forced amputations, the tragic use of child soldiers, and more. The book is also a tribute to the people who never make the headlines: Eddy Smith, a BBC correspondent who eventually helps Voeten escape; Alfred Kanu, a school principal who risks his life to keep his students and teachers going amidst the bullets and raids; and Padre Victor, who runs a safe haven for ex-child soldiers; among others. Featuring Voeten's stunning black-and-white photos from his multiple trips to the conflict area, How de Body? is a crucial testament to a relatively unknown tragedy.

Between Democracy and Terror

Between Democracy and Terror PDF Author: Ibrahim Abdullah
Publisher: Unisa Press
ISBN: 9782869781238
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
This is the most authoritative study of the Sierra Leone civil war to emanate from Africa, or indeed any publications' programme on Africa. It explores the genesis of the crisis, the contradictory roles of different internal and external actors, civil society and the media; the regional intervention force and the demise of the second republic. It analyses the numerous peace initiatives designed to end a war, which continued nonetheless to defy and outlast them; and asks why the war became so prolonged. The study articulates how internal actors trod the multiple and conflicting pathways to power. It considers how non-conventional actors were able to inaugurate and sustain an insurgency that called forth the largest concentration of UN peacekeepers the world has ever seen.

Testimony

Testimony PDF Author: Shanee Stepakoff
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 1684483123
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
IBPA Benjamin Franklin AwardTM gold winner, poetry category Sierra Leone’s devastating civil war barely caught the attention of Western media, but it raged on for over a decade, bringing misery to millions of people in West Africa from 1991 to 2002. The atrocities committed in this war and the accounts of its survivors were duly recorded by international organizations, but they run the risk of being consigned to dusty historical archives. Derived from public testimonies at a UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Freetown, this remarkable poetry collection aims to breathe new life into the records of Sierra Leone’s civil war, delicately extracting heartbreaking human stories from the morass of legal jargon. By rendering selected trial transcripts in poetic form, Shanee Stepakoff finds a novel way to communicate not only the suffering of Sierra Leone’s people, but also their courage, dignity, and resilience. Her use of innovative literary techniques helps to ensure that the voices of survivors are not forgotten, but rather heard across the world. This volume also includes an introduction that explores how the genre of “found poetry” can serve as a uniquely powerful means through which writers may bear witness to atrocity. This book’s unforgettable excavation and shaping of survivor testimonies opens new possibilities for speaking about the unspeakable.

The Temne of Sierra Leone

The Temne of Sierra Leone PDF Author: Joseph J. Bangura
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110818734X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Much of the research and study of the formation of Sierra Leone focuses almost exclusively on the role of the so-called Creoles, or descendants of ex-slaves from Europe, North America, Jamaica, and Africa living in the colony. In this book, Joseph J. Bangura cuts through this typical narrative surrounding the making of the British colony, and instead offers a fresh look at the role of the often overlooked indigenous Temne-speakers. Bangura explores, however, the socio-economic formation, establishment, and evolution of Freetown, from the perspective of different Temne-speaking groups, including market women, religious figures, and community leaders and the complex relationships developed in the process. Examining key issues, such as the politics of belonging, African agency, and the creation of national identities, Bangura offers an account of Sierra Leone that sheds new perspectives on the social history of the colony.

I Did It to Save My Life

I Did It to Save My Life PDF Author: Catherine E. Bolten
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520273788
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
“Ethnographically rich, these accounts come to life in beautiful prose. These are inspiring and at times heartbreaking stories of how people living in such difficult and dangerous circumstances find ways to survive, love and take care of each other. This will be a valuable contribution as well as a welcome counter to the more popular images of warzones as places of total immorality.”—Catherine Besteman, author of Transforming Cape Town

War and the Crisis of Youth in Sierra Leone

War and the Crisis of Youth in Sierra Leone PDF Author: Krijn Peters
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139497391
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
The armed conflict in Sierra Leone and the extreme violence of the main rebel faction - the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) - have challenged scholars and members of the international community to come up with explanations. Up to this point, though, conclusions about the nature of the war are mainly drawn from accounts of civilian victims and commentators who had access to only one side of the war. The present study addresses this currently incomplete understanding of the conflict by focusing on the direct experiences and interpretations of protagonists, paying special attention to the hitherto neglected, and often underage, cadres of the RUF. The data presented challenges the widely canvassed notion of the Sierra Leone conflict as a war motivated by 'greed, not grievance'. Rather, it points to a rural crisis expressed in terms of unresolved tensions between landowners and marginalized rural youth, further reinforced and triggered by a collapsing patrimonial state.

Free Slaves, Freetown, and the Sierra Leonean Civil War

Free Slaves, Freetown, and the Sierra Leonean Civil War PDF Author: Joseph Kaifala
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349948543
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
This book is a historical narrative covering various periods in Sierra Leone’s history from the fifteenth century to the end of its civil war in 2002. It entails the history of Sierra Leone from its days as a slave harbor through to its founding as a home for free slaves, and toward its political independence and civil war. In 1462, the country was discovered by a Portuguese explorer, Pedro de Sintra, who named it Serra Lyoa (Lion Mountains). Sierra Leone later became a lucrative hub for the Transatlantic Slave Trade. At the end of slavery in England, Freetown was selected as a home for the Black Poor, free slaves in England after the Somerset ruling. The Black Poor were joined by the Nova Scotians, American slaves who supported or fought with the British during the American Revolution. The Maroons, rebellious slaves from Jamaica, arrived in 1800. The Recaptives, freed in enforcement of British antislavery laws, were also taken to Freetown. Freetown became a British colony in 1808 and Sierra Leone obtained political independence from Britain in 1961. The development of the country was derailed by the death of its first Prime Minister, Sir Milton Margai, and thirty years after independence the country collapsed into a brutal civil war.

Sierra Leone and Its People

Sierra Leone and Its People PDF Author: Bankole Kamara Taylor
Publisher: Bankole Kamara Taylor
ISBN: 1463661282
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
This book is intended to serve as an introduction to Sierra Leone and its people. Sierra Leone is one of the oldest countries which were created by Europeans in Africa. Its history is also one of the most tragic. Although the land and the people are the focus of this work, other aspects of Sierra Leone are also examined to get a comprehensive picture of the country. The book should help many foreigners to learn some basic facts about the country, especially if they want to go to Sierra Leone.

Military Interventions in Sierra Leone: Lessons From a Failed State

Military Interventions in Sierra Leone: Lessons From a Failed State PDF Author: Larry J. Woods
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1257130293
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
This study by Larry J. Woods and Colonel Timothy R. Reese analyzes the massive turmoil afflicting the nation of Sierra Leone, 1995-2002, and the efforts by a variety of outside forces to bring lasting stability to that small country. The taxonomy of intervention ranged from private mercenary armies, through the Economic Community of West African States, to the United Nations and the United Kingdom. In every case, those who intervened encountered a common set of difficulties that had to be overcome. Unsurprisingly, they also discovered challenges unique to their own organizations and political circumstances. This cogent analysis of recent interventions in Sierra Leone represents a cautionary tale that political leaders and military planners contemplating intervention in Africa ignore at their peril. (Originally published by the Combat Studies Institute)