wfn.org | Sierra Leone: Living with the traumatic effects of civil war

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

Church needs encouragement to renew commitment to mission

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone/GENEVA, 20 September 1999 (lwi) - As the people
of Sierra Leone come to terms with the traumatic effects of a civil war
that has not only decimated the economy but also left tens of thousands
dead, many more displaced and numerous with the indelible mark of
chopped limbs, the church needs encouragement in order to rekindle its
hope and renew its commitment to mission, pastoral care and counseling.

These remarks from the President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Sierra Leone (ELCSL) Rev. Tom J. Barnett underline the challenges ahead
for this West African country especially in the resettlement of
internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees as well as the (both
social and psychological) rehabilitation and reintegration of
demobilized combatants, many of whom are child-soldiers.

The ELCSL leader recently received a staff team from the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) Department for Mission and Development (DMD) and World
Service (DWS). The team comprising the DMD Area Secretary for Africa,
Dr. Vivian V. Msomi and the DWS Program Secretary for Emergencies, Mr.
Lemma Degefa, was in Sierra Leone to bring messages of solidarity and
encouragement from the federation to its member church; contribute in
strengthening an awareness and commitment of the church to its mission
related activities; assess the general situation, particularly the need
for further humanitarian assistance and the LWF involvement; and
identify coordination and networking with ecumenical partners,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations agencies and the
government following the Lome peace agreement last July.

On 7 July 1999, the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) led by Foday
Sankoh signed an agreement with President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, which
marked the end of eight years of civil war and effectively paved the way
for a power-sharing government.

However, according to media sources, few in the nation of four million
people are comfortable with the accord, and fewer still believe it will
bring long lasting peace. Thousands lost practically everything they
owned in the war during which the rebels systematically butchered
civilians, chopping off limbs, lips and ears even among children as
young as three years, and raping girls and women. Nearly half the
country including the diamond rich eastern provinces is said to be under
the RUF's control. Thousands of kidnapped children are still reported
missing.

The LWF team witnessed the aftermath of the war in Sierra Leone as they
visited IDPs in a camp, met respectively with the leadership of the
ELCSL and Christian Council of Sierra Leone (CCSL), representatives of
British charity, Christian Aid and State President Kabbah and other
government representatives.

Despite the war's physical and psychological effects on the church much
like other institutions, the ELCSL has been very active in assisting the
war victims by providing used clothing, school and health kits received
from the Lutheran World Relief (USA) and food assistance with funds
availed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Rev Barnett informed the two-man team that none of the congregations in
the more than 2,000 member church have their own worship places because
the majority of the members in the run-down capital are either migrants
from the country side or families affected by an invasion by the rebels
last January which leveled entire blocks of the city and left thousands
dead and homeless.

The ELCSL's own multipurpose center (Lutheran Center), where one of the
congregations meet and residential training was coordinated was burnt
down. The church administration is currently housed in a space provided
by an NGO.

The majority of the congregations in the countryside are dispersed,
displaced and dispossessed of their properties. Many of them have lost
family members. As the dean of the ELCSL, Bo region (the capital of the
southern region) Rev. Momoh Foh told the LWF team when he spoke of the
great and urgent need in Sierra Leone: "Even the ministers-pastors and
evangelists need to be ministered to."

On the overall all national assets are either vandalized or destroyed.
Industries, factories, the main sea port, the airport including light
private passenger aircraft, banking sector, schools and the
transportation networks have faced a similar fate. Consequently, all
those who were depending on such institutions are unemployed and
destitute. The agricultural sector, the people's mainstay, is paralyzed.
Most are dependent on emergency relief, and many among them are in a
serious state of depression caused by the humiliation they have gone
through. A trauma counselor told the LWF team that some of the survivors
have gone through such a "dreadful traumatic and shocking experience
that hey have not talked for the last eight months."

Officials at Sierra Leone's National Commission for Reconstruction,
Resettlement and Rehabilitation (NCRRR) describe the overall picture of
the country as "very grim." They told the LWF team that the conflict is
not over yet, and the forced displacement of people still goes on.
During the eight years of war, 3,000 villages were destroyed, one
million people were internally displaced while another 450,000 sought
refuge in neighboring Liberia and Guinea, and 50,000 lost their lives.

The deputy commissioner of NCRRR said, "Sierra Leone needs a marshal
plan like the one intended for the Balkan, Kosovo." He said that Sierra
Leoneans feel very much neglected by the international community
especially when they look at the attention being given to a similar
situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He underlined that the
need is great. "So is the plea for intervention."

(The LWF is a global communion of 128 member churches in 70 countries
representing 58 million of the world's 61.5 million Lutherans. Its
highest decision making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven
years. Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council
which meets annually, and its Executive Committee. The LWF secretariat
is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information is the information service of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material presented
does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various
units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (lwi), the
material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/