wfn.org | International community failed Sierra Leone, bishop says

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Oct. 28, 1999   News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville,
Tenn.     10-21-31-71BP{573}

NOTE:  A file photograph of Bishop Joseph C. Humper is available with this
report.

By Sandra Brands*

MINNEAPOLIS (UMNS) - The people of Sierra Leone are frustrated by the world
community's failure to prevent eight years of bloodshed in their country,
and they hope that intervention occurs if war breaks out again, a United
Methodist bishop says.

The international community's lack of response to the atrocities and civil
war are particularly frustrating in light of the world's quick military
reaction to the crisis in Kosovo, said Bishop Joseph C. Humper, who leads
Sierra Leone's 85,000-member United Methodist Church. 

"We thought we were less human than people in Kosovo," Humper said during a
recent visit to Minneapolis. "Where was the United States and Britain during
the eight years of war and killing and torture? I hope in the future that
something will be done to address the situation before it gets out of hand.
We're getting a little edgy about receiving humanitarian aid when money
could be used to prevent the problem."

Chief among the problems is the international community's failure to put
pressure on the countries that have supplied arms to Sierra Leone, he said.
The West African nation does not have the ability to manufacture its own
weapons.

"We are tired of war, and we hope the United States and the international
community will be able to put laws in place that will make it possible to
intervene if there is war, and to stop people from killing one another," he
said. "We want to enter the new millennium able to show the economic and
moral development of our country."

On Oct. 18, U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright met in the capital,
Freetown, with Sierra Leone President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah and Foday Sankoh,
leader of the Revolutionary United Front. Albright called for a swift
disarmament, release of prisoners and cooperation with the international
community. She urged the two leaders to cooperate and make the Lome Peace
Accord work.
    
In July, Kabbah and Sankoh signed a peace-treaty in Lome, Togo, ending the
eight-year war. The meeting was initiated by Sierra Leone's Inter-Religious
Council and supported by a $90,000 grant provided by the United Methodist
Committee on Relief.

"The council initiated the peace process between the government of Sierra
Leone and the rebel group," Humper said. The effort led to a peace agreement
that has caused some rebel groups to join with the government to bring peace
to Sierra Leone, he added.

Humper was in Minneapolis Oct. 19-25 to help celebrate the 10th anniversary
of Operation Classroom's presence in Minnesota. The initiative and a
companion program, Operation Doctor, provide educational and medical help to
people in Third World countries.

Humper credits the two programs with being the saving grace of Sierra
Leone's people. 
"Operation Classroom has been the message of God come alive in our midst,"
he said. "It's my hope and prayer that God will continue to lead us and lead
our people to the saving power of Jesus Christ.

"Operation Classroom has created a feeling of confidence in our people to
know that there are people who care, who share and who give love," he said.
"It's meant a whole lot for the church in its ministry, especially for our
church, and it has had great impact on our nation as a whole."

During his visit, Humper met with Bishop John L. Hopkins of the Minnesota
Annual (regional) Conference and Operation Classroom representatives from
the Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas, Indiana and Baltimore-Washington annual
conferences. The meeting was held to develop Operation Classroom strategies
for helping Sierra Leone rebuild its classrooms, hospitals and churches.
Primary needs include trauma counseling for the thousands of victims of
torture and amputation, money to pay teachers' salaries, and school and
medical supplies. 
    
"The devastation has been very massive and of unimaginable proportions,"
Humper said. "Thousands of people have been killed. Children and women have
been the most vulnerable."

At one point during the meeting, Humper "highlighted the tremendous needs of
the children of the country, so many of whom have had hands and feet
amputated, who have lost parents and homes and are living on the street,"
said the Rev. Linda Koelman, a coordinator of Operation Classroom Ministries
in Minnesota. "Some of these children were conscripted by the rebels and
have spent most of their life fighting in a war. Now, they've been released
and they don't know how to do anything but fight."

Humper submitted a proposal for a specialized ministry to street children in
Sierra Leone that calls for housing and trauma counseling. Over the next six
months, Koelman said, Operation Classroom and Operation Classroom Ministries
in Minnesota will raise money and gather school supplies. If the peace holds
for six months, she said, then Operation Classroom Ministries will begin
rebuilding classrooms, churches and clinics.

Disarmament is continuing in the country, Humper said. Rebel leaders have
ordered their troops to clear roadblocks, making provisional cities
accessible to humanitarian aid. 
    
"There's a need for a reintegration process," he said. "The government will
need to concentrate on the reconstruction and resettlement of the whole
country. Possibly mechanisms will be put in place to induce investors to
return so as to enable people to engage in economic development."
    
At the moment, though, there is not enough food for the population. "Farming
has been impossible," the bishop said. "In some areas, it will take time
before people can begin farming again."
    
Humper credits an implicit faith in God for Sierra Leonians' ability to
weather the storms of life. "We live and move and talk and sleep as a people
of hope and trust implicitly in the God who cares and has hope for us.
Without our religious convictions, we would no longer exist as a nation or a
continent.
    
"This is evident in the fact that in spite of all the atrocities, the
churches are growing," he said. "Our people do not lose hope. They believe
that with God, all things are possible."

# # #

*Brands is editor of Northern Spirit, a bimonthly publication of the United
Methodist Church's Minnesota Annual Conference.

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
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