FREEOTWN CHRONICLES IV: BARBIEs AND WHAT IFs

Friday was ushered in with fake eye lashes, human hair which continues to irritate me and a fantastic dress by Maryzo Designs that had me emanating the “come hither” look. It was purposeful. The Barbie doll look is one I SOMETIMES aspire to, yes I use the word ASPIRE….one can have such aspirations and I believe it is quite O-KAY. However, I digress, MAJORLY.  This Easter weekend was a heap of fun, looked like the only thing I and my friends and team were up to was fun, but I/we were hard at work, and as usual, there are some moments that stuck with me, MAJORLY.

Friday, at around 2:30am, my cousins and I decided we were tired of the tired social scene we always seem to be tired of going out for. At this point food was needed; we ended up at Bistro, a small resto/café that was meant to be open 24/7. When Bistro first opened, although the food was overpriced, the vibe and quality of food made Bistro seem like a ‘good’ thing to have in Freetown. Finally, somewhere to access food any time of the day/night, most of us I think were fairly satisfied. Over the last couple of months the quality has declined, severely.  The food remains overpriced, the service poor, and the chef who I cannot quite place, overfriendly and sleazy. On Friday, as we waited for my pizza to come, which I eventually cancelled. A man and his friends walked into Bistro, went to the counter and a couple of minutes later we heard shouting. The disagreement was unclear at first, my initial thought was “ another obnoxious JC (just cam) who wants to show off, what is he shouting about? Reality check this is Sierra Leone.” My thoughts caught me off guard when I began to better understand what was happening amidst the heated exchange. The man was furious that the chef had a cut on his finger and yet was allowed to prepare food without gloves. “I did not go to America to learn about what hygiene means only to come back to Sierra Leone and think this is acceptable, it isn’t man. This sh*t is dirty”. He was furious, to him we should not just be accepting the status quo, how can a man with a cut finger be allowed to make food and how could everyone around him think it’s okay. I reverted back to my initial thought, “this is Sierra Leone”.

Ps- I  also don’t get the whole I went to America to learn about Hygiene business either…but….the man had a point.

_

2 days later, I encountered another conversation where in an Irish man was asking 2 Sierra Leoneans and a Slovenian woman, who is adamant that Africa feeds her soul, a loaded question,  Where do we start? Where do we start?

a.      The HOW part of the question is easier to grapple with. We could all throw our ideas into a  LARGE glass bowl, identify the commonalities and select four major strategic approaches.

b.   The START? Part of the question is not easy. We could say NOW, we could also say HOW DO WE START…OR “THIS IS SIERRA LEONE” and leave it at that.

I throw this out to you my readers, WHERE DO WE START? How do we begin to spark paradigm shifts, mentally, that will push us beyond the victim story, the story of ‘Na so God say’, the repositioning of blame elsewhere to the WAR, GOVERNMENT, THE WEST, THE CURSE, OUR NEIGHBOURS, OUR PARTNERS….there is always somewhere else to place blame.

A friend and I went out for breakfast on Saturday and as a non Sierra Leonean, his opinion is that as a people we lack confidence. The lack of confidence is what breeds paranoia, is what holds us back from truly pursuing, challenging, holding our government and selves accountable….a simple example and I have seen this first hand is the influ of white and/or privileged bodies, especially these ivy league ivory tower overeducated expats who arrive in Salone to occupy positions of power in various sectors across the country.  The patronizing manner in which our nationals are treated or allow themselves to be treated is appalling. We forget. We easily give up power, the internal knowledge that has been attained by simply been Sierra Leonean or having worked in a  particular field for 20+ years suddenly doesn't seem enough, the act like the Messiah's have arrived. We in turn allow others to dictate the worth of our country thus cheaply allowing others to shape the future of this nation.

I implore us to begin to engage in the intellectual pulse of POSSIBILITY. WHERE DO WE START? HOW DO WE START to ACT. Talking is no longer enough, ‘THIS IS SIERRA LEONE’ is no longer ENOUGH. What are we trying to leave behind, what story do we want the world to remember/to know of the SIERRA LEONEAN PEOPLE? I implore us to explore….possibilities…ACTION.

…..

I DIGRESS, MAJORELY AGAIN,

i  recommend not weaving your hair during the hot season, and as my fake eyelashes melt from my eyelids i wonder why the hell i put myself through this. VANITY, a funny thing huh. 

Fambul dem this is how we do...