The Centre for Memory and Reparation has on Monday, January 18, 2021, observed a day of national reconciliation by showing a movie depicting the true-life experience of the horrors of the civil war in Sierra Leone.
The Centre for Memory is a Think Tank established to facilitate remembrance and generating a common narrative for victims of the civil war. It also serves as a platform for justice by providing an outlet for the voices and experiences of those who were affected the most during the civil war in Sierra Leone and also those who are more vulnerable in the current society.
The witness movie is titled: “Retracing Jeneba”. It describes the true life experience of Joseph Kaifala during the Sierra Leone and Liberia civil wars. Joseph who was born and raised in Panguma, close to the Liberian border, was captured in Sierra Leone and imprisoned in Liberia by rebels. He escaped when he was being trained to handle weapons by the rebels. Joseph then found his way back to Sierra Leone and freedom, but a few weeks later, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) collaborated with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) to invade Sierra Leone and Joseph’s bitter looming experience continued.
Joseph Kaifala who is the founder of Centre for Memory and Reparation said that successive governments have failed to proclaim the National Reconciliation Day as a national holiday as recommended in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report. He added that it was on January 18, 2002, that late President Ahmad Tejan Kabba officially declared the end of the civil war in Sierra Leone.
He said that it is of historical and humanitarian value that the day be observed nationally, in order to honor victims, and for Sierra Leoneans to reflect on the horrors of the civil war. He added that remembrance does not mean that we merely sit and talk about the trauma of the civil war, but it is also important for healing.
“Whatever we do as a nation we must commit ourselves to never again resort to violence as a way to settle dispute. There is no dispute that cannot be resolved by genuine dialogue,” he said.
Kaifala noted that his Centre is powered by African Transnational Justice Legacy Fund to hold remembrance and dialogue activities to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the start of civil war in Sierra Leone on March 23, 1991.
He mentioned that the project is facilitating the re-identification and protection of mass graves around the country; holding traditional burial rites for victims; conducting national reconciliation dialogues; educating school children about the war and facilitate other transitional justice activities.
By George M.O. Williams
20/01/2021. ISSUE NO:7984