Posted by Abdul Rashid

Kailahun District Visitation – May 21-29

Editor’s note: Veronica Geretz, a Masters student at the Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego, is interning with Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone for the summer. She will be sharing her observations and experiences through occasional blog posts.  Welcome to the Fambul, Veronica!

I am sitting at a worn desk in the convent that we stay in when we are in Kailahun Town.  It is the gateway community to much of the villages in Kailahun District so we’ve passed through and slept here a few nights and taken a couple of hours of rest during some particularly hot and humid days.  It has acquired a feeling of home where we can hand wash a few clothes and leave them to dry on the string with gobs of biting ants that infest our clothes which I make sure and shake off harshly before I fold them, check our email with the Zain wireless USB, take a nap, take a bucket ‘shower’, and grab some chop from the Chief’s wife – who has prepared most of the meals we’ve eaten while here – Kahlee Gwoma (thank God in Mende, one of the main local dialects here in Kailahun).  Unfortunately, I haven’t met her yet to thank her.  I’ve learned that it is customary law that locals do not eat with strangers because there have been locals who literally follow visitors around so that they can mooch off the shared plate that is delivered to the visitor.  Not meeting everyone who has so graciously and on short notice given up her/his cozy bed is tough to get used to.  Again, I’ve been given the largest most comfortable bed in the village, usually the chief’s or one of the chief’s wives – they’ve many.  I still attempt to inquire whose place I am staying in but usually get the, “Pimoi, don’t worry about that”, response.  Bohkhu Bike-ah (many thanks in Mende – I am not sure how everything is spelled and for the sake of my speaking growth like to write some words phonetically) is what I say when I’ve got the chance to meet my gracious sister or brother.   Speaking of chief’s wives, I was given the name Gumanya (Goo-mon-yah) by Bomaru villagers a few nights ago.  Amidst the consultation we were conducting.  Gumanya means “Section Wife” – essentially the momma queen.  Flattering.

The purpose of our village visits, which take the form of what I’ve learned to call Listening Tours, is to engage with the rural villages up line and touch

follow up visits to community in Kailahun

follow up visits to community in Kailahun

base with them in terms of their progress on the peace initiatives they aspired for the last time Fambul Tok had visited.  We, the National Staff of Fambul Tok, along with representatives from the District Staff, try to make it out to each community a few times/year.  This is a huge task as the ‘roads’ are outrageously rugged to get out here and it takes a long time to travel short distances.  Not to mention there are ‘bridges’ every so often that we cross where we all hold our breath.  Luckily, Mustapha, our trusty driver, is an amazing navigator and the Land Rover we’re driving is an impressive machine.  I cannot believe the beatings it has taken and it is still chugging strong.  Bomaru was the first village that the war came to in the first rounds of RUF (Revolutionary United Front) sieges in March of 1991.  It is only a few miles, if that, from the Sierra Leone/Liberia border.  Lucy, the head of the Peace Mothers in Bomaru, quickly befriended me and after she prepared our evening meal that we all enjoy together, she shared a bit of her experience of the war with me.  She has six children and was widowed during the civil war; she doesn’t know what happened to her husband.  She speaks English with a gentle, wise demeanor.  When the rebels came, she fled with her family into the bush to hide and when she returned saw the brutality and viciousness of the RUF.  Thirteen villagers were murdered and around fifteen were injured or wounded.  Lucy asked me to not forget her, and to go back and share with my friends and family that I visited where the war first began in Sierra Leone.  I won’t forget.

There is a powerful war memorial that is a two-story gazebo acknowledging the loss of precious life.  The top floor of the gazebo offers a breathtaking panorama of the mountainous rain forest surrounding the village.  In the afternoon I went atop and took in the memorial and the view by practicing a bit of meditation and yoga.

war memorial in Bomaru

war memorial in Bomaru

Once I began active yoga, a few pee-kin (children) came up and joined me as I practiced a few basic poses.  They giggled as they exhaled heavily to simulate what the strange white woman in front of them was doing.  However, they did do all of the poses and had enormous smiles on their faces when we finished.  In order to get as many villages in as possible, we’ve been arising with the crow of the roosters around the villages.  In order to catch as much of the community as possible we have to arrive in the early morning before many of them head to the Community Farms (one of the four main, community owned initiatives that Fambul Tok supports and keeps up with) or in the late evening once they’ve arrived back from the farms.  I don’t mind arising early as the mist over the forest and swooping over the huts in the villages is truly mystifying.  This morning we traveled to Nyadeyama.  We had to get out of the Rover and walk about 2 miles through the bush along a footpath to reach the quintessential West African village.  The population is maybe thirty.  With about twenty of the thirty being women and children.  We first greet the chief and other elders that may approach us.  Then we sit down on the chairs or benches they offer us as we wait for the rest of the community to gather around.  Our visits are sporadic to villages and although some actually have cell phones (the juxtaposition of little to no development yet access to technology is curious and thought provoking), very few do have cell phones or anyway for us to forecast our arrival.  There were about ten huts made of mud, branches, and straw.  There was a woman tossing a bushel of palm fruit with a young girl besides her picking through the mound below.  There were a few women with a child on their backs cooking under the hut/kitchen in the center of the small village.  A young boy, maybe nineteen years old, greets us as he speaks Krio well and very broken English.  He calls for the chief who comes to meet us and we sit at the benches while everyone gathers.  The children are always bewildered by the ghostliness of my skin and just stare at me.  If I try to hold one or speak to them they often get scared – quite frustrating.  Naturally, it would take more than an hour or two to feel comfortable with a completely foreign individual as a child; I don’t blame them.  The district staff representative leads the meeting/consultation/dialogue by thanking them for having us and asking the pastor or imam to open the dialogue with a prayer.  I’ve been taking in the time to praise the divine and been able to join in ‘Our Fathers’ a few times now.  The Muslim prayers are so incredibly beautiful as the entire village opens their hands in front of them as they send their praise to Allah and the soft harmony of the chant becomes a concerto.   The district rep. then asks a few questions to the community pertaining to Fambul Tok, peace, and reconciliation.  Then the floor is opened up to the community.  We thank them for their time again and encourage the work they’re engaging in.  Borku baika.  Next we are headed to the Monthly Staff Meeting in Moyamba.

Posted by Libby Hoffman

Fambul Tok profiled on VOA News

‘Family Talk’ Heals Old Civil War Wounds in Rural Sierra Leone.

Read and listen to VOA News’ recent story on Fambul Tok.

In the remote village of Dugba-yeima, hundreds of people gather around a bonfire for 'fambul tok' a special reconciliation ceremony where victims and offenders alike speak openly about the atrocities
Photo: F. Thompson, VOA

Fid Thompson | Dugba-yeima, Sierra Leone 07 June 2010

In the remote village of Dugba-yeima, hundreds of people gather around a bonfire for “fambul tok” a special reconciliation ceremony where victims and offenders alike speak openly about the atrocities committed in their community during eleven years of civil war.

Eight years after Sierra Leone’s civil war ended, some communities have yet to come to terms with the destruction, murder and rape committed on them by their own people. Many have never spoken of what happened to them during the war and most have never confessed to the crimes they committed.  Until now. A unique community healing process is reuniting villages that suffered some of the worst violence of the conflict.

Read Fid Tompson’s report online, and listen to the audio version, below.

The masked “devils” of the local women’s secret society dance to traditional drums in the tiny village of Dugba-yeima, hidden in the remote hills along Sierra Leone’s eastern border.

As the sun sets, hundreds of people from nearby villages gather around a crackling bonfire to celebrate a unique event. Eight years after the end of a decade-long civil war, people will talk publicly for the first time of atrocities committed in their communities. Most of these people never witnessed the work of the nation’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Many have never spoken of the atrocities they committed or witnessed during the war.

Massah Jusu, from nearby Baiima village, has come to tell the story of her daughter’s death. He says everyone fled when the rebels came to their village. She and her pregnant daughter were running through the bush when they came upon a group of rebels. They killed her daughter in front of her, she says. Then they slit open her stomach and took out the baby. One rebel called “Devil” chopped the baby in half with a machete. It was then, she said, that she started crying.

Jusu does not know the rebels who killed her daughter, but she is not afraid to speak out in front of her community.

The ceremony is part of a community reconciliation process led by the Sierra Leonean peace-building organization, Fambul Tok.

Fambul Tok, or Family Talk in the local Krio language, draws from traditional mediation and conflict resolution methods. Before the war, many rural communities gathered around a bonfire to tell stories, discuss the day’s events and resolve problems.

Now village committees organize a special bonfire ceremony where witnesses, victims and offenders can attest publicly to atrocities committed. The aim is neither to judge nor to force forgiveness, but rather to foster understanding.

Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up in 2002 to document the human rights abuses committed during the war and foster healing. The commission held public hearings in Sierra Leone’s major cities and regional towns, but did not reach remote villages like Dugba-yeima.

Fambul Tok director, John Caulker, believes that Sierra Leone needs a reconciliation model that relies on community dialogue and collective reckoning. “The aim of Fambul Tok is to provide space for dialogue between victims and offenders in the safe environment which is mostly in the communities. It is different from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission where they bring people to the big towns. But Fambul Tok is organized at the community level, which is the safest space for victims and offenders to tell their stories,” he said.

Fambul Tok has helped thousands of people in the war-battered south and east of Sierra Leone come to terms with what happened there over a decade of violent conflict. They recently expanded their interventions to the country’s northern zone.

At the end of ten years of violent civil war, the Lome Peace Accord gave a blanket amnesty to all fighters except a handful of leaders  “who bore the greatest responsibility” for the war crimes committed.

Many of those fighters were children, drugged and forced into murdering and mutilating their own people and sometimes their own families. The United Nations estimates 10,000 children were abducted and forced to fight.

At the bonfire ceremony in Dugba-yeima, Massah Jusu tells the gathering about her daughter’s death. While she is speaking, a young man runs into the middle of the ceremony.

The young man is Jusu’s next door neighbor, Foday Allieu. He confesses to her daughter’s murder and begs her to forgive him.

Like many former rebels, Foday Allieu is both victim and perpetrator of war crimes. He was twelve when the rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front, attacked his village and abducted him and four other boys. He fought with them until the end of the war.

For him, the reconciliation process has only just begun. He did many bad things, he says, but he is asking for forgiveness.

Allieu says he was afraid of speaking to Jusu ever since he returned to the village after the war. But now, he says, if he gets anything, like money, he will give it her to help her forget what happened in the past.

Allieu would like to build a new house for Jusu, but he does not have the means right now.

Jusu says she was tormented when she heard Allieu confess to the killing of her daughter and grandchild. But she has decided to forgive him. No good, she says, can come from holding on to that bitterness.

Posted by Libby Hoffman

Apology and forgiveness in Koinadugu

BulowmaBonfirePair_10w

Fambul Tok bonfire in Kailahun district, photo by Sara Terry

“Former Revolutionary United Front (RUF) abductee, Momodu K has asked family members of the late Madam Danka Kamara to forgive him,” begins an article from Sierra Leone’s Concord Times from May 31, 2010, as seen on AllAfrica.com.  The article continues:

“During Fambul Tok’s bonfire in Mamuduya village, Kamba section, Folosaba Dembelia chiefdom, Koinadugu district, Momodu told the gathering that he was abducted by rebels and forced to carry looted items to the chiefdom headquarter town of Musaia.

He confessed that on arrival in Musaia, he was given an AK 47 gun and forced to kill her mother-in-law. “I was given the rifle and ordered to shoot her in the head but when I refused I was threatened with death,” Momodu confessed.

He continued: “I placed my finger on the trigger and shot her in the head, she died on the spot.” Momodu said after the incident, he escaped and returned to where his wife was seeking refuge.

“I did not tell family members the true story but lied that rebels killed her,” Momodu said adding, “I had kept it secret for the past years since nobody saw me. I did not even disclose it to her daughter (my wife) that I was responsible for the death of her mother.”

Momodu said he felt guilty in his quiet moment when ever he remembered that day. He asked family members to forgive him as he was forced to do the act.

One of the brothers of the late woman was shocked and did not want to shake hands with Momodu. He told the gathering that he had heard rumours that Momodu was responsible for the death of their mother but did not believe it until the bonfire where the perpetrator confessed.

Momodu’s wife who cried bitterly however appealed to the family to forgive her husband.

Fambul Tok’s reconciliation committee intervened and the family, without any condition, agreed to forgive Momodu.”

Posted by Solomon Yarjoh

Rogbora benefits from Fambul Tok

Women in Rogbora welcome Fambul Tok

Women in Rogbora welcome Fambul Tok

Fambul Tok is not only reconciling people or communities but believes linking reconciliation with development is of paramount importance.  After their bonfires, communities assess their needs, and look for projects they can do together to support their development.

In Rogbora (in Fakunya chiefdom, Moyamba district), the only health post was burnt down during the war.  The Peace Mothers (the women’s support group established after the Fambul Tok bonfire) in Rogbora and 6 surrounding villages came together and decided that building a Traditional Birth Attendants’ house should be a top priority for the community, so that pregnant women would no longer have to be rushed to distant hospitals.  They immediately started working on the structure.

Traditional birth attendants structure in Rogbora, Moyamba

Traditional birth attendants structure in Rogbora, Moyamba

Fambul Tok supported the project by donating bundles of zinc roofing sheets.  Unfortunately, earlier than expected heavy rains washed away the building the day the roof was to be installed.  Undeterred, however, the community immediately set about to rebuild it.

Posted by Libby Hoffman

2nd Year Annual Report

FTI announces the publication of its 2nd Year Report, available now online in pdf form! Email us (info@fambultok.org) to request a hard copy.

Posted by Solomon Yarjoh

There is no peace without genuine reconciliation

‘There is no peace without genuine reconciliation”

….says Deputy America Ambassador.

Glen Fedzer, Deputy American Ambassador to Sierra Leone, says nations will not know peace unless through genuine reconciliation.  Mr. Fedzer was speaking at the launch of Fambul Tok International second annual report in Freetown March 30.

2010 AR cover

2010 AR cover

According to Fedzer, those factors that led to war such as unemployment, corruption and poverty are still evident in Sierra Leone. He said not just the building of bridges or infrastructures will sustain peace but efforts must be made to change the lives of the people, adding that it is through community reconciliation.

US Chief of Mission Fedzer reads a keynote address

US Chief of Mission Fedzer reads a keynote address

Fedzer went on to state that reconciliation should be Sierrra Leonean driven, stressing that it does not come from outside. He noted that Fambul Tok is doing a lot to heal victims of the terrible war by bring them together.

Paramount Chief Banya with US Chief of Mission Fedzer

Paramount Chief Banya with US Chief of Mission Fedzer

Chairman of the occasion, Paramount Chief of Kongbora chiefdom, Alfred Banya, said Fambul Tok belongs to the people. He said the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Special Court are no longer in existence but there are still gaps to be filled through cultural and traditional means. He mentioned that Fambul Tok started in Kailahun two years ago but now its presence is felt in Moyamba, Kono and recently in Koinadugu.

Paramount chief Gondor, from Upper Bambara chiefdom in Kailahun district,  also underscored the efforts of Fambul Tok in the country. He urged the government to declare March 23  as a national day for reflection, adding that Fambul Tok is very unique in consolidating the peace in the country.

A cross section of the audience

A cross section of the audience

Madam Satta Kaikai (2nd from right) handing over the report to Deputy American Ambassador to Sierra Leone-Glen Fedzer

Madam Satta Kaikai (2nd from right) handing over the report to Deputy American Ambassador Glen Fedzer

The second annual report covers key activities of the 2nd year of Fambul Tok, with a special focus on the long term impact of the program as reconciled communities begin to focus on development.

Posted by Solomon Yarjoh

Fambul Tok commemorates March 23 in Koinadugu

Fambul Tok International joined the people of Koinadugu District to commemorate March 23, the day the civil war started in Sierra Leone. The communities and Fambul Tok have been advocating to the government to mark this day as a National  Day of Reflection and Healing. This day also marks Fambul Tok’s  second anniversary. Two years already!!!

returning home after celebration-Koinadugu village

returning home after celebration-Koinadugu village

The people of Koinadugu village, where the district name originates from (Koina means groundhog and dugu means land) came out in large numbers, over 2,000. People came from the surrounding villages, over 10 km away, to witness the event and partake in the first healing ceremony. They welcomed each other with traditional songs and dances, a practice that had been lost due to the war.

Koinadugu celebrates with Fambul tok

Koinadugu celebrates with Fambul tok

That night, March 22nd, over 15 victims came forward to testify.  Many of the testifers were women, and their stories from the war included being raped or witnessing their husbands been killed. The offenders also came forward to confess and apologize for the atrocities they committed.

In speaking of his time as a rebel fighter, one perpetrator remarked, “I did not join the rebel movement on my own volition. I was given cocaine and other forms of drugs to commit the atrocities, I was a little boy then.”

Throughout the night, victims were accepting the apologies of the offenders, often saying they were doing so in the interest of peace and reconciliation. Fermusu, one of the victims, said, “They are our brothers and there is no bad bush to throw away those that hurt us. The only option is to forgive them and accept them in our communities.”

The following day, March 23rd,  Fambul Tok and community representatives held a press conference for the second year anniversary , which was chaired by Paramount Chief Alfred Banya from Moyamba district. Chief Banya, District Chairman for Moyamba District, and other Paramount Chiefs traveled from different parts of Sierra Leone to share their experiences with the people of Koinadugu. Chief Banya urged the people of Koinadugu district to embrace Fambul Tok because it belongs to them and it is the only organisation healing communities after the end of the conflict.

Traditional leaders join in to celebrate in Koinadugu

Traditional leaders join in to celebrate in Koinadugu

The occasion climaxed with the pouring of libation, followed by a football match, and a late night disco. Kids were allowed too!

Posted by Abdul Rashid

The President is coming to Salone…

No not President Obama, but our very own Libby Hoffman.

Libby Hoffman, co-founder of FTI, will be visiting SL for ten days. She has no time to enjoy laka beach because she will be attending a monthly team meeting, meeting potential donors, visiting several communities, and witnessing a ceremony, hopefully in Koinadugu. A lot activities for ten days. All this will happen if the volcano in Iceland permits her to travel.

Last time Libby was here, at the end of January, she had the opportunity to visit two communities in Koinadugu District. Although the communities where in the same section their understanding of the program were on opposite sides of the spectrum. One community understood FTI’s approach and values clearly while the other one was asking for handouts. The community that was familiar with FTI’s approach hosted the 2nd anniversary where over 2000 people showed up. It was an amazing ceremony!

Since the inception of FT, Libby has actively visited the program in Sierra Leone. The Staff is looking forward to her arrival and want to wish her a safe flight to sweet salone.

Posted by Abdul Rashid

Rolling out in Koinadugu — beginning with consultations

Koinadugu-Village_sm

Koinadugu District (in the north of Sierra Leone) is in the initial phase of the rollout of the Fambul Tok program — community consultation. Before we initiate any Fambul Tok activity, we broadly consult the people and ask them if they want us to facilitate the program in their respective communities. We are rooted in the consultative process — we do not go into a community and impose our program on them. Consultation creates the space for local ownership.

Koinadugu-drumming_sm

In mid January, staff from the FTI corporate headquarters office in Portland, ME (USA) — FTI President Libby Hoffman, and Director of Finance, Tammy Mazza — accompanied the Koinadugu district staff and national support staff to several communities in Koinadugu. The first community we visited, Koinadugu Village (same name as the district), was surprised but delighted with the Fambul Tok concept. Many elders and representatives expressed gratitude for the program and for its approach. They welcomed us with traditional dances, songs, and Woronanie (the giving of four kola nuts in water to visitors — it’s a sign of appreciation). Koinadugu Village was severely affected during the war, as were most communities in the district. It was a base for RUF, government, and eventually the junta. The atrocities that occurred in the village are unimaginable. The community is really looking forward to the implementation of the program. They expressed a strong desire to reconcile with each other and to come together as a family again, and an excitement about reviving their culture and traditions in support of that process.

Mobile-Restaurant_smThe second community we visited, Firarawa village, presented a slightly different experience. Although they expressed interest in Fambul Tok, they also clearly had some misconceptions about our approach.  They were used to handouts from the international community, and it was obvious they had an initial expectation that the Fambul Tok program would work along those lines.  The team worked hard to explain the Fambul Tok values and approach and to emphasize the importance of community ownership and full participation.

When you consult with people and communities, you will learn a lot about their needs and in return help build confidence in their abilities. The two visits were a great contrast for the team on the challenges of reconciling communities. It takes time if the need is to change the mindset of people, but this is simply one other sign of the reality that reconciliation is a process!