Independence!
on Shona in Sierra Leone (Sierra Leone), 01/May/2011 10:51, 34 days ago
Sierra Leone has been gearing up to celebrate its 50th Birthday. Since I’ve been back form my holiday the streets have been adorned with green, white and blue bunting and everything from stones at the side of the road, to trees have also been painted. Lots of companies, shops, banks etc have had huge banners hanging up outside saying “Congratulations Mama Salone!”Many diaspora have also returned from abroad to help celebrate.Fireworks were advertised for Tuesday evening (the eve of independence) so a large group of us gathered at the beach for dinner while awaiting the expected fireworks. So we waited… and we waited… Unfortunately the fireworks were not to be (we did all wonder what happened to the budget for the fireworks... or whose pocket(s) it had gone into….) but we still had a fun night.Wednesday 27th April marked 50 years since independence and it was a great celebration for all Saloneans. With some friends I headed down to the stadium to see some parading and soak in the atmosphere. If you’ve followed my blog, you’ll remember that my last experience of the stadium was not a good one (football match somewhat reminiscent of Hillsborough….) so I was a bit apprehensive about going there again. However it was just the opposite of last time – there was a great atmosphere, everyonewearing green, white and blue; people selling merchandise like t-shirts, flags, badges, jewellery; and it wasn’t at all crowded. We saw the army march out; everyone sung the National Anthem and President Ernest Bai Koroma inspected the army. It was a fantastic atmosphere and I felt so privileged to be there to share the day.The theme for independence as a whole has been about looking forward and working towards a new Sierra Leone. I hope the great atmosphere and feelings of hope will continue and inspire Saloneans that they are able to change their country for the better (without spoiling the many great things about this country).