Life in Sierra Leone

Africa » Sierra Leone » Freetown
March 1st 2006

Published: April 9th 2010

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Osrour

Banana Island area

Introduction:
I was born in Koidu Town in the district of Kono in 1969. lived all my life in Lebanon and back here in 1982 because of the war in lebanon, then back to Lebanon after one and a half years. finished my highschool, went to law school, as i was preparing my final 1st year exams, another battle a deadly one clashed in 1988. i had to leave Lebanon back to Kono. stayed 3 month in there then we all moved to Freetown, opened a new business after 35 years in Kono. it was tough. totally completely different life from up country. its like you have traveled to another country. to a better one on one hand and a bad on the other.
i worked with my dad for a year in his new business (Importation and Trading) i really hated it. so i searched for a job, and in the late 80s tourisim yes tourisim mostly from France was booming. anyway i got a job in Peninsula Tours owned by Lebanese. it was a new experience for me. a fun life with a bit of hard working. but i like it. i was based in Tokey , where the

Banana Island Hotel's Taxi

French had a nice Villlage shaped hotel. wood bungalows (all stolen and sold during the war). we used to have 2 chartered flights a week as long as i remember maybe more. we transfered the tourists to different hotels along the shores of the most beautiful beaches of West Africa (few had left and the rest is on the way to be massacred by Humans). unfortunately its the truth unless the government or sleeping government do something about it. why ? well let me start by this. the peninsula starts from West of Freetown till kent. and from kent to Waterloo. beaches starts from Freetown : Lumley, Lakka, River No.2 , Tokeh , John Obey, Bureh, Kent. then Mama Beach. i can say Tombo have a wonderful beach and bay near the new fishery, but not developed.
allong these shores, you can or could see nothing but rain forests, beautiful nature. now you see deforestation. and when the road is completed i'm sure we wont see anything related to nature anymore.
To add on every weekend and holiday, we have so called OUTING when a group of 100s of people from Freetown come to the beach, party all night, get

Banana Island Sundown

drunk, and leave the beaches behind dirty as a dumpyard, without of course forgeting that after geting drunk, they feel so happy by using or implementing a so called new tradition which is BURNING everything. yes burning the bush and go home soooo happy with the achievement. Government? oh its sunday for 7 days a week.
they say i'm Lebanese foreigner, this is not my country and i should not get involved. of course in an very impolite way.
you might wonder why i'm writing all this negative thoughts about a wonderful country. i read and read everywhere what Blogers, travelers casual visitors write about Sierra Leone, you might think that its paradise on earth. it is but not for long. and imagine how it was just 10 years ago. and how it will be in 10 years. someone should know what is happening here.
i will detail every event, region, nature massacres, anything related to nature and deforestation later.
enjoy Sierra Leone 😉 to tell stories to your children in few years.

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