As March 23 marks the day when the first gunshots were fired in Bomaru, Kailahun district to mark the onset of the rebel war in 1991, an organisation working on post-war healing and reconciliation has urged President Ernest Bai Koroma to encourage Sierra Leoneans to observe ten minutes of silence at 12:00 noon.
In an open letter to the president, Fambul Tok International says that since this nation witnessed the beginning of a war that lasted 11 years causing destruction, whose “scars are still visible in most parts of the country, it is but fitting that this day be recognized as a day of reflection, a ten-minute silence for all those who died, suffered and endured the pains of war.”
The letter says that many women and children suffered since the RUF first struck. ”We should bank on the past to galvanize for today, and a better future” the letter continues.
Fambul Tok agrees that peace has returned to the country, which it appreciates, but appeals to the president and other Sierra Leoneans not to ignore “this all-important day in our history”.
It says the president’s achievements will be “marked by encouraging unity and national cohesion” adding, “We should not ignore the things that set us apart. We should not forget the savagery we went through in the hands of our brothers and sisters”.
It urges the president, his government and the people of Sierra Leone “to use this day to reflect on the war, and say ‘Never Again Shall We Take Arms against One Another’”.
Fambul Tok International is a community-owned and -led peace building organization which uses traditional processes to stitch the fabric of society with a view to healing the wounds of the war.
It started in Kailahun district in 2008 and operates in six districts in the south, north and east of the country.
