IN THE FIRST VILLAGE

October 24, 2012 Afternoon

Before I begin the stories of the village experiences let me explain the hierarchy of the areas.  They are divided into Districts, then Chiefdoms, then Sections and finally Villages.  The number of Chiefdoms, Sections and Villages can vary within each category of each district.

We are in the Kono district and are going to a Chiefdom for the meeting.  Peace Mothers Chairwomen representing all sections are in attendance as are the section vice-chiefs.  The Chiefdom Chief died yesterday, so the section chiefs are all at his funeral.

We are met with dancing, singing, drums and other sound instruments.  The women, men and children crowd around us welcoming us to their village.  They invite us to dance with them and I am excited to do just that.  They are delighted that I jump right into the fray with no hesitation.

This village also has people from the traditional religion or secret societies in the mix.  The Sowie women are dressed differently and dance differently using hoops wrapped with cloth in their dance moves.

We dance and sing and shuffle our way towards the Peace Tree.  Each village has such a tree where all are equal and can say what is bothering them to anyone including the Chief.  It is a place to resolve any conflict. This space is where ongoing reconciliation takes place after the initial Power of Forgiveness Reconciliation bond fire.

As we approach the entrance to the trail leading to the grove housing the peace tree, I am taken to an older man who then escorts me to the grove.  The trail is narrow, slippery with mud winding through the forest into the grove.  I am thankful for the supporting hand.

Inside Grove of Peace Tree

Inside the grove large bamboo branches have been lashed together and suspended between trees to make seating.  We are lead to the place where we will sit for the meeting.

One purpose of the meeting is to educate everyone about how representatives of the Peace Mothers have been trained and designated Peace Ambassadors to lead their villages towards a peaceful election.  The main purpose of the meeting, however, is to bring the message of the importance of a peaceful election to all the people of the Chiefdom.  T

The meeting begins with a prayer by the Christians and then a prayer by the Muslims.  As we are seated after the prayer our section of the bamboo “bench” breaks tumbling us to the ground!  Laughter all around as a proper bench is brought for me and my escort.  He begins to brush off my back and butt before I sit.  From the grin on his face I get the idea he is enjoying this!

Lillian, the Kono District Coordinator and Peace Mothers District Chairwoman of Fambul Tok, begins the program.  Her talk is about how all the villagers can participate in the process of a peaceful election.  She stresses that it is a joint effort with the men and children supporting the women.

Peace begins at home.  It is stressed that each individual needs to make up their own mind for who to vote.  If a husband supports one party and the wife another, the husband should respect his wife’s decision and not try to make her change to his party.  The parents need to set a positive example for their children.  However it is up to the women to set the atmosphere for peace.  

In the past men have been known to beat and or harass their wives to make them vote for the husband’s party. Women have also been harassed at the polls and women candidates have even been assaulted.  Women have been marginalized in all aspects of their lives.  Fambul Tok is changing that as I will write about in a future blog.

On the day of the election everyone should go to the polls, vote as they wish and go home.  They are not to engage in debate with others of the opposing party as this can lead to violence.  How they vote should be kept secret.

After the winner is announced, they should be happy and congratulate the winning party.  If their party is the winner they should make sure they do not act in a way to incite anger in the members of the losing party.  At the end of the day they are all Sierra Leoneans and need to support the ruling party for the good of all.

As Lillian was giving her speech in Krio, the local language, I had a young man next to me translating.  At one point she gives an example of a woman observing her man fighting that day with another man about the election.  She begins to tell the women how to persuade her man not to fight about the election with anyone by using her feminine talents.  The more she gets into how to use sensuality and withholding favors the more embarrassed the young man becomes struggling to find the words to translate.  I know, from her acting abilities, exactly what she is telling them so I tell him not to worry as I know what she is saying.  

In the middle of the presentation there is a flurry of activity and people begin to suddenly leave the grove.  Rain is coming!  How they sensed that is a mystery, but no sooner do we get to a place of shelter it begins to pour buckets.

We all cram into the community meeting house to finish the meeting.  At one point as I look out of the open entrance a lightening bolt hits the ground next to the building and at that exact moment comes a HUGE clap of thunder shaking the structure.  Screams all around but no one tries to run away.  Later Michaela tells me that the villagers look at the rain, thunder and lightening as a blessing on the meeting from God.

Cathy Presenting Poster

Michaela, Lillian and a Peace Mother Chairwoman named Cathy present a series of posters representing what to do and not to do during election time.  As each poster is presented an agreement to comply with the positive message on the poster is extracted from the men and the women.

Michaela & Cathy Take Note
Of the Edge Of The Sowie's Hoop
on the Left.

Posters are distributed to be taken back to the villages, t-Shirts with Peace Ambassador on the back and a picture of one of the posters on the front are given to the Peace Ambassadors.  The woman seated next to me hands me her one month old sleeping baby girl so she can don her shirt.  She then rushes off to join the singing and dancing that erupts out of the joy of the moment.  This moment of pure joy culminating in singing and dancing is one of the many reasons I love Africa.

After the singing and dancing ends, Michaela invites Kathy Selvaggio, the gender consultant to the US Embassy, to say something to the villagers.  She whispers to me that I will be next!  With my heart full of love for these people, I am happy to share that feeling and to tell them how honored I am to be a part of this day.  I tell them I am the first Fambul Tok grandmother and know they will be successful in their efforts for a peaceful election.  To me they are beautiful and brave.

Some of women of the village bring in large bowls of rice covered with some meat and spices.  To show respect, it is tradition for a guest to take the first bites of food.  Kathy and I are handed spoons.  We take our bites of the deliciously spiced rice and they all applaud breaking again into song and dance as Michaela takes her bite. 

On that happy note we say our good-byes as we are escorted to the car by dancing and singing Peace Mothers.  Words cannot express the emotions running through me.  I want to break into song and dance all on my own!

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma/Sara