RSLAF in Somalia deployment
At least nine members of Sierra Leone's troop contingent in Somalia have told Politico that they are "depressed because we have overstayed and we want to be with our families".
Speaking on the phone from the war-battered country, they say they have exceeded the one year period they signed up to and miss their families.
On one occasion, as one of them spoke to Politico, a much larger group could be heard singing in the background: "Home again, Home again, When shall I see my home..."
They complain that the authorities in Freetown have shown "a complete lack of care and sensitivity" to their situation, adding that such is how bad things are that one of their colleagues died "of frustration and depression".
Lance Corporal Alusine Yorpoi passed away on 30 April 2014 at the Level 2 Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya where he had spent ten days. His family has already been informed, our sources say.
The soldiers who cannot be named for obvious reasons say they would not have resorted to talking to Politico "if our superiors in Freetown had listened to us; but they have failed to do so and have even threatened to take disciplinary action against us if we continue asking for a timely rotation". They say no-one at the Ministry of Defence is saying anything to them.
The first batch of the current contingent was deployed in the first week of April 2013 while the others joined up in May.
The spokesman of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, Col. Michael Samura says "it is normal in international peacekeeping to overstay by one to two months".
Asked whether the complaint by the soldiers was not indicative of their feeling of fatigue and low morale which could affect their work as soldiers in a dangerous zone, he said it was not.
Col Samura said another contingent was being prepared to rotate the peacekeepers. When will the new contingent be deployed?" he was asked, "Next month - June" he responded.
The battalion-strong contingent of Sierra Leone troops stationed in the south of the horn of African nation has so far survived at least one Al-Shabaab attack.
They have also been dogged by allegations of pay cuts by their superiors back home. Allegations the defence ministry has vehemently denied.
(C) Politico 08/05/14
