The fifth in a series of eight dialogues for parliamentarians, mayors, chairpersons and traditional leaders has just taken place in Kono, in Sierra Leone’s eastern region. Diamond-rich Kono district was at the heart of the country’s brutal civil war, 1991-2002, which left 50,000 dead. In the last 18 months it has continued to see bitter disputes, unrest and violence.

The series of dialogues is being conducted by Hope-Sierra Leone (H-SL), a local NGO affiliated to Initiatives of Change International, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). These dialogues aim to foster national cohesion, promote political tolerance and encourage reconciliation between parliamentarians and other stakeholders in order to achieve sustainable peace and development.

Supporters joyfully demonstrate their support for peace, reconciliation and political tolerance (Photo: John Bangura)

The dialogue was preceded by a peace march through the main street of Kono which drew over a thousand supporters of the three major political parties (APC, SLPP, and PMDC), together with members of the police, armed forces and civil society groups. Many relayed messages of peace, reconciliation and solidarity through songs and placards. The march helped to bridge the gulf between the supporters of the major political parties. This was followed by a public launch of the dialogue, with a keynote address from John Bangura, the founder of Hope-Sierra Leone. Bangura spoke of losing nine members of his family during war, causing him to nurture deep hatred against the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). But his quest for revenge was halted through divine inspiration and in 1999 he decided to become a roving peace ambassador in the country. He called on the people of Kono to refrain from violence, and to accept and forgive one another in the name of peace and reconciliation.

A light-hearted moment during the dialogue

Following the Opening Session, over forty participants including MPs, Traditional Leaders, Mayors, Councillors and representatives of the different political parties took part in the 3-day interactive dialogue at the Kumba Satta Hall. Topics included corruption, root causes of under-development, political intolerance, hate, attitudinal change and the moral challenge to heal the bitterness of the past. The dialogue further strengthened team work and trust building amongst the participants, such that some felt able, in small groups, to bring into the open deep personal hatred and wrong-doing and to seek forgiveness and reconciliation.

A woman councillor spoke about the torture and trauma she had suffered at the hands of the former civil defence force (CDF), a pro-government militia, during the war. She made no secret of her hatred and thirst for revenge against the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) which she believed had backed the CDF. Moved by what she had experienced during the dialogue, she decided to share things that she had never had the courage to tell the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up in 1999 to investigate crimes committed during the eleven-year rebel war.

‘When we heard rumours of an RUF invasion of Kono, I and my family decided to move to the safest zone, near the border with Guinea. On our way the CDF kamajors (traditional warriors) interrogated us and took away our money, stripped me naked and later tied me up because my husband was a soldier. I was nine-months’ pregnant with twins and one of the kamajors hit me. The shock caused my first baby to be delivered with nobody to come to my aid. The second baby was forcefully dragged out. As if this was not enough, we were taken to the execution field where fifteen of us were lined up. I was 12th in the row. I saw with my own eyes nine people slaughtered in cold blood. By a miracle of God we were rescued by Guinean soldiers who took me to a medical hospital where I was admitted for three months.’

Because of this bitter experience at the hands of the kamajors, she had nurtured bitter hatred against them and had never thought of forgiving them, but she said that Mary the Mother of Christ appeared to her in the form of a dream and asked her to forgive the kamajors. This had made her start to think about forgiveness. ‘Because of what has been shared here, I know that other people have had even more bitter experiences than me, and have forgiven the perpetrators. Therefore I have today forgiven the kamajors for the pain and agony inflicted on me,’ she said in tears.

One of the political activists for the People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) in Kono, Felix Fofoe, told the gathering that during the campaign for the 2007 presidential and parliamentary elections, he was beaten and intimidated by some members of the SLPP, the ruling party at that time. The matter was before the Magistrates’ Court in Kono but as a result of the dialogue he had decided to withdraw the matter from court and forgive the perpetrators.

A former SLPP woman councillor confessed that her husband had been forced to resign from the police by a top government official because of her role in politics. ‘I nurtured a deep grievance against this man, but because of what I have learnt during this dialogue I have forgiven him now and for ever’, said the former councillor. A youth leader, who was also the leader of the All People’s Congress (APC) task force, said that he was constantly and falsely accused by the police and paramount chiefs for crimes that he did not commit. He added, ‘During the election my life was marginalised and suppressed by the chiefs because I belonged to the APC, but because of the teachings of this dialogue I have forgiven them.’

Many other people made open and frank statements, saying that they had decided to forgive the perpetrators for the sake of peace and sustainable development. Furthermore, they discussed the urgent need to heal the bitterness of the past and maintain the hard-earned peace.

At the end of the three-day session, stakeholders, together with staff of H-SL, took a unanimous decision to invite H.E. the President, Dr Ernest Bai Koroma, and the Honourable Vice-President, Chief Samuel Sam-Sumana, to plant a peace tree in Kono. In addition, participants suggested that the programme be replicated at constituency and chiefdom levels for the benefit of local people.

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