POPULATION-SIERRA LEONE: Refugees Begin to Return Home

By Lansana Fofana Reprint | | Print |

Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, Feb 26 1998 (IPS) - The first set of Sierra Leonean refugees who fled the country following last year’s military coup have started to return home from neighbouring Conkary, Guinea.

Most of the returnees came in dug-out canoes from Guinea and are in the capital city of Freetown. “The journey took us a whole night and I was pretty nervous about potential disaster at sea,” says Fatmata Sesay who arrived with her family of six.

Sesay says about 40 more returnees, including women and children, were on her canoe which was operated with an outboard engine.

Over 60,000 Sierra Leonean refugees, including the exiled government of President Tejan Kabbah who was toppled by junior army officers last May, fled to Conakry. More than 200,000 Sierra Leoneans are scattered in refugee camps within the country.

During the past couple of days more than 5000 people have returned following the West African Peacekeeping Forces (ECOMOG) triumph over the military junta of Major Johnny Paul Koroma.

The repatriation is organised and paid for by the Sierra Leoneans themselves who are eager to see what is left of their homes, property and family.

Retreating junta forces looted houses, commandeered vehicles and set ablaze a number of houses as ECOMOG advanced. “My family home in the east end of Freetown was razed and there is not a single spoon left there for us,” says Thomas Bangura, who was a civil servant. “I’m going to find it difficult starting all over.”

Others, have come with a few goods to keep them going until they can pick up the pieces of their destroyed homes. “I’ve managed to bring a few bags of rice and onions, cooking oil and household items so that I will be able to survive with my family in this difficult city,” Murray Lahai, a businessman told IPS Thursday at the Susan’s Bay Wharf in east Freetown, where the canoes land.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has taken a cue from the volunteer returnees and has hired 10 dug-out canoes at the Conakry Wharf to ferry home refugees.

Although there have been several boat accidents in which people have lost their lives, the returnees say this is their only option since the main highway linking Conakry to Freetown is reported to be dangerous. Remnants of the ousted Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) have attacked vehicles on the highway and killed commuters.

The ECOMOG task force commander in Freetown, Colonel Maxwell Khobe, who led the operation that removed the military junta, says that the Freetown-Conakry highway will reopen soon.

Reports from Conakry say the refugees there are daily storming the Sierra Leonean embassy to demand government-sponsored repatriation.

Meanwhile, Colonel Khobe this week announced the re-opening of the air and seaports, thus ending a nine-month old embargo on commercial ships and flights into Sierra Leone.

“The ECOMOG Task Force wishes to make it known to shipping agencies that the Freetown Port is now free for normal shipping operations,” he said in a statement broadcast on radio Wednesday night. “The embargo on the importation of arms and ammunitions is still in force, and violators will be severely dealt with ” he added.

Lungi International Airport, which is situated 15 kms outside of Freetown, also has been reopened. “The airport is safe enough and well in shape for international flights. We can guarantee this,” an ECOMOG commander says. The Peacekeeping Task Force is headquartered at the airport.

The Managing Director of the Queen Elizabeth 2 Quay seaport, Patrick Kemokai, says however, there will have to be major repairs to this port before ships are able to use it safely.

“The spree of looting by junta forces and their collaborators of the warehouses, docking facilities, and containers sections, has made it difficult for ships to dock,” Kemokai says.

Analysts also agree that major repairs need to be done to the seaport before proper shipping operations can begin. A number of commercial vessels are reportedly waiting at the Guinean Port and Liberia’s seaport with food for Freetown, because they are unsure of the security situation.