Happy new year to all our readers and literature enthusiasts!
On January 6th 1999, rebels invaded Sierra Leone’s capital city Freetown, and started a horrific ordeal of rape, torture and murder of innocent civilians. Sierra Leone’s civil war began in 1991, and for eleven years, many lives and dreams were lost.
The power of literature is the ability to bear witness, to document and archive, and to force humanity to face truth. These books by Sierra Leonean authors account not only for the horrors of the brutal civil war, but also help us to understand that war only harms the vulnerable and innocent. It is never the answer.
Some of these books are first hand accounts , and some are fiction , but they all bear witness to our history. As we honor the lives lost during the war, may we collectively build our path to healing, recovery and unity. Sierra Leone is all we have.
Redemption Song, by Yema Lucilda Hunter: This story told partly through diary entries of the protagonist, Emmanuel. Yema Hunter brilliantly writes compassionately about the war, and you can read the prologue here.
Adamalui: A Survivor's Journey from Civil Wars in Africa to Life, by Joseph Kaifala: Historian and Scholar Joseph Kaifala shares his ordeal as a child prisoner and refugee who survived civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The Palm Oil Stain, by Nadia Maddy: This novel is the story of Shalimar, who goes through love and loss against the backdrop of the rebel war in Sierra Leone.
The Devil that Danced on the Water, by Aminatta Forna: To understand the civil war in Sierra Leone, it is important to understand the myriad of factors that led to the breakdown of governance and democracy. This memoir gives an account of how that happened in post-independence Sierra Leone.
Youthful Yearnings, by Jedidah Johnson: This is the story of Alhaji and Claire, of love, strength and the tragedy of war. Read chapter one of it here.
The Bite of The Mango, by Mariatu Kamara and Susan Maclelland: This book is a first-hand account of a young woman’s ordeal during the civil war. It is also about hope, resilience and new beginnings. Mariatu Kamara, now a UNICEF Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict and lives in Canada.
God Still Delivers: The Untold Stories of Divine Interventions in the Sierra Leone Civil War, by David Musa: This book is a collection of testimonies from survivors, who share stories of the war, using faith as a lens.
A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah: In this New York Times Best Seller, Ishmael Beah details the war through the eyes of a child soldier. It is about the loss of innocence and the power of redemption.
Rising Heart, by Aminata Conteh-Biger : In 1999, Aminata Conteh was kidnapped from her family, and held captive by rebels. In this memoir, she shares the story of how she was rescued by UNHCR, found a new life in Australia, and giving back to Sierra Leone through her maternal health foundation.
A Dirty War in West Africa: The R.U.F. and the Destruction of Sierra Leone, by Lansana Gberie: This is another non-fiction account to read to understand how the war started. It describes the formation of the Revolutionary United Front , and analyses their recruitment of young people into brutal rebel forces.