Sunday was, appropriately, sunny, after days on end of rain and humidity. It was also the beginning of Ramadan, and as I’ve quickly discovered, no one really does much when they’re fasting all day. It was also the day our cooking hob tank ran out of gas AGAIN. Made me realize how much my life revolves around the kitchen here, not just making meals and snacks and food for the week, but boiling drinking water, water for tea, water to wash veggies in. I made fruit salad and read ½ a book out on the balcony for most of the day.. not a terrible way to spend a Sunday, though it felt mildly anticlimactic for the last weekend in Sierra Leone. That night we helped our landlord and his family break their fast with a massive Lebanese dinner. I have not eaten such a big and delicious meal in a very long time.
Some thoughts I’ve had since being here.
The more countries I visit in Africa, the more the continent feels like one big country. There are subtle differences but they are swallowed up in the sea of similarities between regions and tribes and languages and diets and traditions. This is oddly comforting; each new country feels familiar enough that it’s kind of like visiting friends of friends. There are the inevitable negative similarities like corruption and gender inequality, but in a way even those are somewhat welcome familiarities – at least you know what you’re up against.
Three things I’ve found to be very unique about Sierra Leone.
One: it is a religiously mixed country, roughly 70% Muslim and 30% Christian.
Two: it has only two major tribes: the Mende and the Temne.
Three: There has never been conflict in Sierra Leone around these issues. These religious and tribal factors have spelled continual conflict and chaos in so many African countries, but the level of peace I’ve seen between tribes and Muslims and Christians here is amazing. It could teach the U.S. a few things, really. (I’ve even heard a few people claim to be Muslim Christians, which is another issue in itself..) Yes, there’s been political and rebel conflict, which I don’t want to downplay as it’s some of the most horrific and evil violence I’ve ever been exposed to. But I don’t think that violence from the past should overshadow the impressive solidarity Sierra Leone has been able to accomplish in the meantime, or perhaps has had all along.
One: it is a religiously mixed country, roughly 70% Muslim and 30% Christian.
Two: it has only two major tribes: the Mende and the Temne.
Three: There has never been conflict in Sierra Leone around these issues. These religious and tribal factors have spelled continual conflict and chaos in so many African countries, but the level of peace I’ve seen between tribes and Muslims and Christians here is amazing. It could teach the U.S. a few things, really. (I’ve even heard a few people claim to be Muslim Christians, which is another issue in itself..) Yes, there’s been political and rebel conflict, which I don’t want to downplay as it’s some of the most horrific and evil violence I’ve ever been exposed to. But I don’t think that violence from the past should overshadow the impressive solidarity Sierra Leone has been able to accomplish in the meantime, or perhaps has had all along.
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