Author
By Khadi Mansaray in London
It has become quite usual for Sierra Leoneans to accuse someone of having ‘blood on their hands’. This may not be surprising after all the memories of a war that ended over a decade ago are still vivid and there are many who still bear the physical and mental scars. However the accusation ‘blood on their hands’ is more often than not shamelessly used for political manoeuvrings.
I once described to a European an incident of mob justice that I had witnessed, and he called me a killer. His reasoning was that by not intervening to save the life of the victim I had become part of a movement that caused a man to die and that that made me a killer. The acts of violence and persecution this man had committed were irrelevant to him, and so where the consequences for a young woman like me, trying to stop a mob from killing a man they held responsible for their suffering. My idea of a killer is very different and I was outraged. But his views demonstrated how broad the interpretations can be.
The violence in Sierra Leone has been narrated from several perspectives and we delete and distort memories according to our beliefs and our anguish. Military and civilian governments have committed human rights abuses and "blood on our hands" predates the war. For every human rights violation committed, another Sierra Leonean has benefitted either directly or indirectly. The NPRC gave young people a new lease of life but the families of those they executed tell a different story. The AFRC’s brutality led to an impressive civil disobedience, but whilst most remember Radio Democracy (FM98.1) as a source of truth and hope I have also heard those who say they have blood on their hands; more so, the families of named collaborators, who did not find their work inspiring. It is easy to identify the perpetrators of executions, amputations, rape, abductions, and coldblooded murders as having blood on their hands but less so the informers, the spokesmen, collaborators and the sponsors.
President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah’s legacy is ending a war. Peace negotiations are never easy and require difficult compromises. The important thing is that the cycle of violence stopped for good and we have had at least a decade without unbridled terror. We must not forget how important that is, because peace is the foundation of any development. President Ernest Bai Koroma has the unenviable task of unifying us and breaking the invisible barriers that still keep us apart. Ironically, Sierra Leoneans are brilliant as individuals but we fall apart as a collective. Our leaders make up a small percentage of the population. The atrocities could not have happened on such a large scale without the participation of Sierra Leoneans. Civil defence groups like the ‘Kamajors’ were formed to defend their communities but some ended up committing the crimes they were supposed to prevent. Ordinary citizens have always been alongside those committing the crimes so we need to look within ourselves to find solutions. Can we really identify all those with blood on their hands or can we identify all those without?
In the past week, with yet another controversial appointment by government, the effectiveness of the TRC has been again called to question. Sierra Leoneans are incredibly resilient but it is evident that we are a traumatised nation and the pace of recovery is different for everyone. The TRC could only do so much and the leadership cannot succeed without our participation. In the same way that Sierra Leonean citizens made it possible for the war to happen and last for so long can also make progress happen. Although we sometimes doubt our ability to change the status quo we have demonstrated this several times in our history. Our calls for democracy during the NPRC, the civil disobedience during the AFRC and showing dissatisfaction for SLPP by voting the APC in, to name but a few.
We can only make leaders accountable by being accountable ourselves and there is an urgent need to tell the truth consistently without compromise. Nelson Mandela’s passing has brought with it a lot of reflections and calls for better leadership in Africa. In Sierra Leone, there have also been calls for forgiveness. Demanding forgiveness is a big ask for those who are not ready to give it yet. And taking it for granted because there was a TRC is bad judgement.
We cannot vilify or exonerate people according to our party loyalties. They should be judged solely by their actions. We cannot ask for forgiveness if we are not prepared to forgive ourselves and our actions can make the process easier or more painful. If we find ourselves in situations where our emotions can affect our judgements we should be honest enough to say so and leave it to those more competent. More importantly, we need to be sensitive to the suffering of others regardless of who they are so long they are victims. Sierra Leoneans can do much more than shout ‘be like Mandela’.
"Blood on our hands" does not only apply to those who carried guns and machetes. The misuse of public funds leads to inadequate health care and unnecessary deaths. The lack of jobs and late payment of salaries leads to starving children. These are also blood on our hands. The child who dies of injury because they have to work to survive is "blood on our hands". And so is the woman who dies in childbirth because she does not have access to hospital. When we turn a blind eye to corruption and injustice and when we vote in bad leaders the consequences could lead to blood on our hands and we all would be guilty when things go wrong.
Martin Luther King Jnr said "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere", but yet we sometimes fail to see how minor incidents quickly snowball to the major violations we detest. A true human rights advocate does not discriminate whose rights they choose to defend. One cannot throw journalists in jail and talk and campaign for the rights of women. One cannot advocate for better conditions for workers in the mine and have children in domestic servitude in the home. One cannot talk of freedom of conscience and call to lynch gay men in the same breath. We can become stronger as a people if we recognise that Human Rights are universal and indivisible and that every Sierra Leonean deserves a good life. If we give what we expect to receive forgiving may become easier and there will be no more "blood on our hands".
The author is a London-based Sierra Leonean activist, writer and broadcaster.
(C) Politico 10/12/13
