I ask the driver to slow down so that I can take photos of “Bush Life.”
children playing outside of thatched mud huts point and scream at me as I snap shot after shot.
They are calling you “Porto” Abu (who happens to speak Mende) explains. We thought it was a term of endearment until he explains the meaning. “It’s like calling you white, like a foreigner.” Porto meaning “Portuguese.” Clearly, it is hard to mistake me as any of the above. And then he tells me that it is my tourist-like behaviour that has earned me the title. – I promptly put the camera away and leave you with the sad results.
It is 3pm and we are heading out into the northern region of Makeni Birthplace of the current
President Ernest Bai Koroma. We take the scenic route through town so that I can obtain a better understanding of the landscape further away from the coastline while gradually heading further inland. Indeed this place is green. So much so that countries such as Korea, China, India, and Middle Eastern owned corporations are snatching up lush plots of land all over Africa to satisfy the agricultural needs of their own countries.
A report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) states that since 2004 more than 2.5 hectares of African land had been bought by foreign companies
These countries are sewing seeds for a harvest that will ultimately be transported out of Africa and off to the country that paid for it.
But who will tend the land in the interim? Surely local labor is by far cheaper, more easily accessible and financially smarter – no?
Internationals like China are paying a pittance for virgin soil in African countries that will reap ten fold and benefit whom exactly? And how does this revenue, if any, get funneled back into Sierra Leone’s economy – or does it?
Even more amazing is that other countries see and want to take advantage of the agricultural opportunities in the African countries.
Is the government sitting by waiting for a payday by prostituting their land and natural resources? And what of the people; will their labour been prostituted as well? Meanwhile as lines of foreign fruits trees and vegetable plots take root in local soil the question then becomes; "Whose pockets will be lined as a a result of this outcome? According to organizations like the Civil C.S.O.P.A.D. Saloneans in the region now all but refuse to pay taxes because they claim that they do not see their tax dollars working in their communities. They want roads repaired buildings repaired & services that aid the community.
C.S.O.P.A.D The organization, which represents 30 or so sub-organizations, functions as a liaison continually seeking to uncover and challenge the policies and promises set forth by the current government and interpret their meanings to the communities in simplified language. Their purpose covers a broader spectrum of issues where the work never ceases and challenges prevail in the wake of success.
In a room of two dozen men all, representing different orgs under the CSOPAD umbrella, they speak of their ongoing challenges. The bikers union who speaks of unfair taxation of everything from gas to using the road they provide taxi service on.
One gentleman jumps up and says “We also represent gender equality for women!”
Being the only woman in a room of 25 or so men (associates included) I have taken the opportunity to pose one very important question. “You say that you represent woman’s groups as well as rights, but where is the female representation in this room?” A blanket of silence falls over the floor. Thereafter, one board chairman begins to ramble off works being done for women's groups & expressing sentiment in words on behalf of a group that has no voice in the room.
