Sierra Leone's rebel war leaves major impact
5/5/1998 News media contact: Linda Bloom · (646) 369-3759 · New York by United Methodist News Service The seven-year "ruthless and vicious rebel war" in Sierra Leone has had a major impact on both that West African country and the United Methodist Church there.
According to a United Methodist Board of Global Ministries report, issued to board directors at their semi-annual meeting in April, the war has "crippled the socio-economic life of a once peaceful people."
Hopes for peace -- through a democratically elected government under President Tejan Kabbah -- were dashed when Kabbah was ousted by a military coup on May 25, 1997. However, that military junta was ejected from Freetown, the capital, in February by a Nigerian-led peacekeeping force. Kabbah was reinstated in office on March 11.
"All the signs at this point indicate it's going to be a stable government," the Rev. John McCullough told United Methodist News Service May 5. McCullough is the board's associate general secretary for mission personnel and a task force member.
Recovery from the rebel war is a larger problem. According to McCullough, the food situation remains critical and educational and other systems basically are still shut down. At the request of Bishop Joseph Humper of Sierra Leone, the board expects to send an assessment team in September, around the time of the church's annual conference.
The bishop, who has been visiting in the United States, plans to return to Sierra Leone by June, if not earlier.
The board task force report on Sierra Leone declared that the rebels not only destroyed property but also killed thousands of innocent children and adults during the seven-year conflict. "They carried out their atrocities with savage brutality, killing, routing mutilating innocent people, raping pregnant and non-pregnant women, senior citizens…and girls between the ages of eight and fifteen (some dying in the process)," the report said.
Some children were recruited as child soldiers, others died of starvation, malnutrition and disease. Many people became beggars and thousands languished in camps for refugees and the displaced. "Life became unmanageable - no food, medicines, pure water, no jobs, no salaries for those on payroll; in short all economic activities virtually came to a halt," the report said.
In terms of property, homes were looted and vandalized, towns and villages burned down and many institutions - including churches and schools - destroyed. Destruction of United Methodist properties included a number of churches, parsonages, secondary and primary schools and clinics.
During the crisis, the United Methodist Church played several roles. Through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and other partners, people in refugee camps received food, used clothing and medicines. Ecumenically, some key church leaders participated in peace talks. "Above all, the doors of the churches in the cities remained open to all who were in search of inner peace and God's intervention," the report said.
Challenges facing Sierra Leone's newly restored government include rebuilding both infrastructure and the lives of the people; attracting investors to revitalize the economy and maintaining a lasting peace. Currently, most people are surviving only with the help of humanitarian assistance, the report noted.
"The problems are beyond human imagination," the report declared. "For the church to seriously engage in ministry in post-rebel war Sierra Leone, partner churches will need to come to their rescue."
United Methodists plan to assist the country through various projects of "rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement." A total of $682,954 is being requested and much of that already has been approved through the board's Millenium Fund, according to McCullough..
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