The Silent Abuse of Girls in Sierra Leone

'Who Won the World, Girls'

“It’s not what you call me, but what I answer to.” ~African proverb 

Whenever I think about writing a new blog I will usually have an idea of what form and focus it will take. I'll write down a few ideas on my notepad then stare at my screen for a good half an hour before anything happens. I am sure you have already guessed that this piece will focus on women in Sierra Leone.

Initially I thought of finding some relevant statistics to start it off, but my internet is bandwidth-challenged and loading a big website like the WHO for example can take up to 5 to 10 minutes. So I have decided that instead of throwing statistics at you, I will do what most of my other blogs end up doing; telling you a few wee stories.

All names have been changed to protect the identity of the individual.

The women and girls I met in Sierra Leone were beautiful, passionate, strong, and fierce (when they needed to be and they certainly needed to be). Abuse was common and in many cases accepted as part of life, by the abuser, victim, and society. I have described the system of abuse to many people as follows; men abuse women, men and women abuse children, men, womenand children abuse animals. However, I would like to clarify that this is not the case for all Sierra Leoneans, this is a model of abuse I witnessed when abuse did occur. I became very good friends with a young woman around my age, she was attending the local university in Makeni city and was one of the most beautiful girls you have ever seen. We will call her Sally.

Abusive Relationships

One day Sally was helping me cook (I really struggled to cook on the stove and any help was appreciated by me and the people risking their taste buds); we got talking about relationships and she told me about her ex-boyfriend and that she had split up with him. When I asked why she told me that he beat her, very badly, that her face was swollen up and she had a busted lip. Firstly, I was shocked that she had been beaten so badly and secondly, I was shocked and impressed that she was the one to end it.

As much as I admire Sierra Leonean women, they are not the most assertive of females; in my IT and Career classes, they would be the smallest in number and would remain silent the whole time. This was not just a choice on their part but was sometimes reinforced by a few of the male students in the class. If I directed a question at one of the girls a man would answer for her or if I asked her to do something on the PC, a male student would take the mouse off her and do it. This was infuriating to say the least and I had little tolerance for it.

This is one of the reasons why I was so shocked at Sally's assertiveness, especially when she told me that she still had feelings for him; at that point my heart broke for her. Sally not only had to wrestle with her own conflicting feelings she also had to deal with pressure from her friends and her ex's family to get back together with him. Her friend Sarah told her that some women think that if their partner does not beat them then they don't truly love them, Sally countered this by saying that "you don't hurt someone you love".

I couldn't have agreed more with her. 

Female Genital Mutilation

Unfortunately, abuse of women and young girls does not begin or end there. You may have noticed the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been talked about a lot in the media recently.

I spoke to a few local women about FGM and they told me that it is very common, transcending tribe, religion, and region, and that for many women it is seen as a right of passage.

Sally watched Ellen and I get up off our mattresses and winced; we laughed and asked why she did that? She said that because of FGM, she would find it painful to get up they way we did. She proceeded to show us how she tucks her legs underneath her and gently rises off the mattress, we asked her if she agreed with FGM, she said no and regrets having it done. She made it sound like it was her choice, but something told me that she didn't have much choice in the matter. Despite it being a very secretive part of Sierra Leonean culture, they have festivals dedicated to it every year.

FGM is a brutal practice and is often carried out in unsanitary conditions and with blunt and unclean instruments, which can cause illness and death. 

Sexual Abuse in Schools

Physical abuse is not the only threat that many Sierra Leonean girls must face; sexual abuse is common and often an accepted fact of life for girls who reach puberty. We spent the summer months in Sierra Leone, therefore we worked mainly in summer schools, which were run by a lot of very young male teachers, some of whom were younger than me (I am 23).

Not only did I question their teaching ability, I also also questioned their motives with a lot of the girls. Ellen came bursting into our room one day after her school shift, she was shaking and on the verge of tears, when I asked her what was wrong she said that the teachers at her school should not be there. To be fair there were a lot more expletives used than that, but it would seriously disrupt the flow of this blog.

After a few cigarettes. she told me that she overheard all of the male teachers talking about how they loved summer school because the girls would were tight clothes, and as they said this they would make lewd gestures and point out particular girls. I didn't know what to say; you can't say everything will be alright because it won't – some of those teachers may be involved in the systematic abuse of their students. Ellen said that they spoke so openly about it that it was obviously an accepted thing to do, even when you were in a position of responsibility.

I thought to myself, "These girls don't have a chance, how can this be fair?". 

This blog has been particularly bleak and has focused on a dark and dangerous part of Sierra Leone culture and society; however, time is a great changer. During my team's time in Makeni, we met a guy called Phillip – he was a social worker for Street Childand he told us that he was working on a case regarding a young girl who had been impregnated by her teacher; she was 15.

Phillip and I on Aberdeen beach in Freetown

The teacher refused to take responsibility and he was more than likely going to get away with it; however, Phillip was going through the courts to get this guy reprimanded and it was working. He told us that he was being threatened by the teacher's family as well as being bribed to drop the case, but that it was the right thing to do and he was not going to be swayed.

Sierra Leone's justice system leaves a lot to be desired and, more often than not, works against the victims of crimes, but it is people like Phillip who help keep the young women of Sierra Leone safe. 

Further Reading

Street Child - website - www.street-child.co.uk

World Health Organization - Female Genital Mutilation Factsheet

There and Back Again: An African Tale

“No other continent has endured such an unspeakably bizarre combination of foreign thievery and foreign goodwill.” ― Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible

Sierra Leone, where do I start? To be honest there is no witty or interesting way to begin a story that is 3 months long. I have stared at my screen for half an hour trying to do just that and failed miserably. I do not wish to write a chronological account, because that would be immensly boring and I do not just want to recount events, I wish to shed a critical light on certain experiences that I have had. I wish to bridge the gap between my experience in Africa and you the reader, I hope to inspire, inform and challenge your thoughts and knowledge on Africa and especially Sierra Leone. Upon arriving home I was asked a lot questions but the most common question was, "What shocked you the most?", to which I would reply with a resounding sigh and a resigned laugh.

The heat was the the first shock I received, it was like a wall of water tryng to force it's way into my lungs, I was feeling pretty stupid standing in my jeans and boots as the sweat began to pour off me 10 minutes into arrival. 6 of us packed ourselves into a small 4x4 which was even hotter than outside, we all laughed it off nervously and began to sing This Is Africa . The toilets on the ferry were vile, but apparently of a lot better standard than the private ferry next to us, this was hard to believe especially when the temperature began to rise and carry the smell of the toilet around the ferry. I learned very quickly that I had a particular talent for sweating a lot, while others would be mildly damp I would look like I had just taken a shower. I thought this was my body acclimatising to the weather, apparently not; the whole time I was there I sweated like a yeti in a fur coat. My proclivity for sweating copious amounts became famous within the group and the term sweating was soon replaced with 'Denise-ing', this is of course my proudest acheivement of the whole trip.

Finding food was difficult, this was an issue/shock that I only experienced when we were in our respective placements, as food was provided for us when we met as a group. I don't know about anyone else but for me breakfast didn't exist for 2 months, I waited until 12 to eat and even then it was a peice of short bread that the women and children would be selling along the road, they were affectionaly known as Kill Drivers. I ingested a lot of sugar, partly because my body was loosing sugar and salt through sweating so much and partly because the safest and most convenient foods were sugar based. One thing that I missed was having a decent cup of tea, you couldn't just have a quick 'cuppa tae', you have to light a charcole stove which was a nightmare and even then it would take, what, 40 minutes for the water to boil. First world problems, eh? There was one food based beacon of hope and that was The Clubhouse, a bar/restaurant that funded Street Child, Sierra Leone. It sold European style food for a small fortune and had a T.V, we really couldn't want for more. I spent a lot of time there when I was feeling down or homesick, chicken nuggets, chips and Minute Maid every time. Fruit was limited to bananas and mangos, apples were expensive and scarce which meant I nearly cried when I seen a bowl of apples sitting on my kitchen table when I arrived home.

The reaction from Sierra Leoneans to white people was hard to get use to, they would call us 'Oputo' and the children would want to touch and talk to us constantly. When I was in hospital two children stared at me from the open door because they had never seen a sick white person before, their shock was evident from their sharp intake of breath and wide doe-like eyes. Some would touch my freckles and tell me to go to the hospital because I was sick, others saw us as a source of wealth (which isn't entirely inaccurate) and asked us for money and or food. In freetown a 15 year old girl asked me to adopt her, I was so shocked that I just advised her to look up international adoption laws online. The stupidity of my response still makes me cringe. While Kristine and I were sitting in the middle of Makeni city, under the clock tower a woman tried to sell her new born baby to me, I almost threw up and all I could do was walk away and try not to cry.

I have painted a fairly negative picture of Sierra Leone, which was not my intention, there are so many positives things about Sierra Leone and it's people. What shocked me was how everyone dances, even the children, I found myself dancing with them, loosing my inhibition and really falling in love with their passion and energy. Sierra Leone is 60% Muslim and 30% Christian and is one of the most religiously tolerant countries in the world! They say each other's prayers, go to each other's schools and even marry each other, they have the upmost repect for someone's faith no matter which religion they adhere to. Sierra Leonean's express their love so openly and in such a raw form that initially it can be intimidating, however, now that I am back in Ireland I miss their passion and constant out pouring of love for others. Women openly breast feed and are not self concious about their bodies, they do not care about weight and love nothing more than posing for the camera, screaming "snap me, snap me!". Most of all I miss how giving and helpful the people are, our national volunteers taught us how to hand wash our clothes, cook, and where to find food. Our neighbours always greeted us in the morning and brought our washing in if it rained, when I was in hospital my Field Officer's sister washed my feet with her bare hands as I was connected to my IV. You cannot learn selflessness from better teachers than Sierra Leoneans.

Sierra Leone shocked and scared me sometimes but it also taught me a lot of lessons on how to be a better human being, it gave me an insight into what poverty will do to people and made me question my place in the world. The following blogs will be theme based and cover experiences that had a profound impact on me and others in the group. If you decide to read and follow this series of blogs I promise that you will not be disappointed.

 

Youth Unemployment: The Ties That Bind

"Jobs and opportunity are essential for peace."  Barrack Obama, Waterfront Hall Belfast , 2013

Unemployment is a hallmark of my current generation. When living in a capitalist society, the boom and bust is expected but no less devastating when it happens. It is widely agreed that the people most affected by the current economic depress are young people between the ages of 16 -25, we are the so called "lost generation". Young people have the highest rate of unemployment of any other section of society, not just unskilled and uneducated young people but highly skilled labourers and University graduates too. In Northern Ireland 1 in 4 young people are currently unemployed and looking for work, in Sierra Leone unemployment is aproximately at 55% - 65% (1), these are not figures for youth unemployment, however, keep in mind that the oldest people in Sierra Leone are only in their 40's. This means that this figure would speak for the majority of Sierra Leone's population.

Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland may seem worlds a part but in my opinion both countries have a lot in common. Both have only emerged from civil war 10/15  years ago, both are surprisingly peaceful despite their recent violent history. Sierra Leone's economy is one of the fastests growing in Africa and despite the recession, Northern Ireland has made huge societal leaps and is currently negotiating stronger economic links with America during the G8 summit in Enniskillen. However, there is still a lot to be done in both countries and tackling the serious issue of unemployment is one of them.

Sierra Leone has a truly "Lost Generation" of young people who have been mentally and physically maimed by the brutal cival war which ravage the country and it's people. Images of child soldiers and blood diamonds come to mind. This is a generation that should have been in school, playing, learning and growing; not learning to use a rifle to kill others. These young people have not the skills nore the education to take advantage of Sierra Leone's growing economy, one of the suggested solutions for tackeling this has been to overhaul the education system. Which should promote a good work ethic, and provide educational institutions which equip students with the skills to work in the Sierra Leone's biggest industries such as farmining and mining (2). However, the issue of Sierra Leone's rate of unemployment is not a black and white issue with an easy or straight forward solution. Tackeling youth unemployment is one of the main MDG (Millenium Development Goals) for Sierra Leone and other developing countries around the world. Which is one fundamental reasons why I have been given the ooportunity to work in Sierra Leone on employability skills. Obama was correct when he mentioned the importance of having opportunity and jobs, to have peace is not just about not being at war. It means having enough food to feed your family, access to adequate health care, being provided with a decent education and ultimately through self determination having the job you want.

I had a conversation with a firend recently about the the pros and cons of Android and Apple products, at one point she suggested that there were more important things worry and/or be passionate about. Of course she was right, however, I pointed out the fact that I am free to be passionate about something that is not essential for me to live. I am free to argue and discuss this because I have never needed to think about where my next meal will come from, worry about paying for my health care, or be forced out of education at 13 because I was a female and needed to geet a job or get married. Education and prosperity have provided me with the freedom to argue about the merits of Android and Apple and for that I am grateful. Lack of education and prosperity can cause a deep and persistent sense of hopelessness which in turn breeds bitterness and extremist views among young people. The best example of this is during the Flag Protests in Belfast last year, yes there was a genuinie greivance within the Unionist community about this issue, however, young unemployed people (mainly young men) used this issue as an excuse to commit crimes that they would not have done otherwise. These young people have nothing to lose and any excuse to kick off or spit in the face of the " Establishment" is welcomed and to a certain extent I can't blame them for feeling this way.

This has been a longer blog that usual, but this is an issue close to my heart and home and very to every country and society at the minuet. Next week's blog will be my last before I go to Sierra Leone, while I am there I hope to do a video diary about my experiences and upload a video once a week to my FaceBook & Twitter page.

Thank you so much for reading and my blog and I will see you all next week!

New Boglette: Sierra Leonean Life Expectancy

Denise Donnelly (@Denise_SL2013) tweeted at 10:10 AM on Sun, Jun 02, 2013: #DailyFact #SierraLeone - Life expectancy in Sierra Leone is 40 years of age on average. When I go out there I... http://t.co/ZEJQ7FeKgn (https://twitter.com/Denise_SL2013/status/341119633396490240) Get the official Twitter app at https://twitter.com/download