Lunch

Today I went to lunch with one of the men in the office. I asked him about his life in Sierra Leone and, he said he has lived here his entire life, mostly in Freetown. He then said something to the affect of, “If anyone knows about the war and peace, it’s me, I was here when the war started, when the war ended and when the peace process began.” One of the things I have been dying to know is what it was like in Sierra Leone during the war (the civil war lasted from 1991 to 2002ish). I still can’t figure out how to ask about it appropriately, and I’m sure people don’t like to talk about it, especially to an American they just met. But I took his response as an invitation to inquire what Freetown was like during the war. “It was hell,” he said. He explained that there were always dead bodies in the streets. The factions would shoot people at random and sometimes put tires around their waists and set them on fire. The police were the first to be targeted by the RUF, so the people had no one to trust or turn to. Freetown, aside from the eastern region where the diamond mines are, was the main target of violence. He said many of his close friends died….after that comment, he looked away and said that he does not like talking about it. I thanked him for sharing and apologized for asking about it.

The conversation then moved on to politics, the U.S. and what’s going on in other countries. Many people in Sierra Leone dislike Bush and absolutely love Obama. I wasn’t surprised, but I still asked him why. “When America sneezes, Africa catches a cold.” Many people, he explained, dislike Bush for the war in Iraq because it has a negative impact on Africa’s economy.

While on the topic of the U.S., he also commented that he hates the U.S. media’s portrayal of Africa. He explained that there are such beautiful, wonderful things about Africa, but many American’s will never know of them because the news only talks about the continent’s many wars, corrupt leaders, and poverty. I learned that another reason for this lack of understanding is that there are no continent-wide African news stations reporting on international affairs. An African perspective on the world is missing. This also means that all the news Africa receives on the world comes from outside sources- American, European and Arab sources to be exact. It is possible that people, both African's and otherwise, would have slightly different understandings if exposed to an African viewpoint of the world.

I’m doing well. The food here is soooo spicy, I’m hoping my stomach gets used to it soon. Maybe I will try the beaches this weekend, they are supposed to be some of the most beautiful in the world. Oh, and one subtle cultural different I noticed: It is perfectly acceptable to pick your nose in public, but you should never, ever pick your teeth in public. They have tooth picks on tables in restaurants so that people can pick their teeth properly. I would argue that it’s the opposite in the U.S.- people pick their teeth with their nails all the time, but picking your nose is kind of gross.