Sierra Leone: Land of Diamonds By Mohammad Alshereda

The Republic of Sierra Leone is a small coastal country located in West Africa. It gained its independence in 1961. Its capital city is called Freetown. Its population is about 8 million. There are about 15 ethnic groups in Sierra Leone.

The 4 main ethnic groups are:

- 32% Mende (majority Muslims).

- 31% Temne (majority Muslims).

- 8% Limba.

- 4% Fula (majority Muslims).

The president of Sierra Leone is Julius Maada Bio who came into office in 2018. He was head of a political party called Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).

People of Sierra Leone have suffered the worst from the civil war that took place from 1991 till 2002. A military group called the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) opposed the government and caused a lot of chaos. The result was the death of about 300,000 and displacement of about 2 million people. Even children have been used as soldiers and body mutilation was a common practice.

Sierra Leone is considered to be one of the poorest countries in the world as GDP Per Capita in spite of its richness with minerals especially diamond. The corruption is an easy answer to an equation that does not make any sense.

Who in their right mind can possibly deny that there is something terribly wrong in Sierra Leone?

I personally encourage people who like to give charity and help the poor not to count out people of Sierra Leone as they are very poor and deserve your help.

Article by Sociologist Mohammad Alshereda