Sierra Leone

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Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea on the north and Liberia on the south, with the Atlantic Ocean on the west. The name Sierra Leone was adapted from the Portuguese name for the country: Serra Leoa. The literal meaning is "Lion Mountain." During the 1700s Sierra Leone was an important center of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The capital Freetown was founded in 1792 by the Sierra Leone Company as a home for Black Britons who had fought for the British in the American Revolutionary War. In 1808, Freetown became a British Crown Colony, and in 1896, the interior of the country became a British Protectorate. The Crown Colony and Protectorate joined and gained independence in 1961. From 1991 to 2002, the country suffered greatly under a devastating civil war. To end the civil war, UN and British forces disarmed 17,000 militia and rebels, in the largest UN peacekeeping act of the decade. The average life span of a Sierra Leonean is 38 years for men and 42 years for women. [1]

Contents 1 History of Sierra Leone 2 Early history 3 The Colonial Era 4 An Independent Nation 5 Civil War 6 Politics 7 Administrative divisions 8 Major Cities 9 Geography and Climate 10 Economy 10.1 Currency of Sierra Leone 11 Demographics 11.1 Ethnicity 12 Religion 13 Krio usage in Sierra Leone 14 Environment 15 Media 16 Sport 17 References in Popular Culture 18 References 19 External links

[edit] History of Sierra Leone

Main article: History of Sierra Leone

[edit] Early history

The Temne were living along the northern coast of present-day Sierra Leone when the first Portuguese navigators reached the region in 1460.^[1] The Portuguese landed on the Sierra Leone Peninsula, naming it Serra Lyoa (meaning lion mountains) after the mountains located there. Beginning c.1500, European traders stopped regularly on the peninsula, exchanging cloth and metal goods for ivory, timber, and small numbers of slaves. Beginning in the mid-16th century, Mandé-speaking people migrated into Sierra Leone from present-day Liberia, and they eventually established the states of Bullom, Loko, Boure, and Sherbro. In the early 17th century, British traders became increasingly active along the Sierra Leone coast. Sierra Leone was a minor source of slaves for the transatlantic slave trade during the 17th and 18th centuries.

During the American Revolutionary War (1775–83) slaves were promised freedom if they sided with the British, so many did. These were to become the new settlers of Sierra Leone. In 1787, 400 people (including 280 black men, 70 white women, and 50 black women) left England for Sierra Leone. The ones who could finish the voyage and arrived at the Sierra Leone Peninsula bought land from local Temne leaders and established the Province of Freedom near present-day Freetown. The settlement did not fare well, and most of the inhabitants died of disease in the first year. A renewed attempt at settlement was made in 1792. Many of the freed slaves had been shipped to Nova Scotia, where they had effectively been tricked into financial slavery, so they were eager to try a new start elsewhere. Under the leadership of the abolitionist John Clarkson, about 1,100 freed slaves landed on the peninsula and founded Freetown. They were joined by about 500 free blacks from Jamaica in 1800. The new colony was controlled by the Sierra Leone Company, which forcefully held off the Temne while the settlers supported themselves by farming.

In 1807, Great Britain outlawed the slave trade, and in early 1808 the British government took over Freetown from the financially troubled company, using it as a naval base for anti-slavery patrols. Between 1808 and 1864 approximately 50,000 liberated slaves settled at Freetown. Protestant missionaries were active there, and in 1827 they founded Fourah Bay College, where Africans were educated and became active as missionaries, traders, and civil servants along the Sierra Leone coast and on Sherbro Island as well as in other regions in West Africa, especially among the Yoruba people.

[edit] The Colonial Era

During the periods 1821 to 1827, 1843 to 1850, and 1866 to 1874, British holdings on the Gold Coast (now Ghana) were placed under the governor of Sierra Leone. In 1863 an advisory legislative council was established in Sierra Leone. The British were reluctant to assume added responsibility by increasing the size of the colony, but in 1896 the interior was proclaimed a British protectorate, mainly in order to forestall French ambitions in the region, and the Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone was established.

The protectorate was ruled “indirectly” (i.e., through the rulers of the numerous small states, rather than by creating an entirely new administrative structure) and a hut tax was imposed in 1898 to pay for administrative costs. The Africans protested the tax in 1898 and fought the British in a war later became known as the Hut Tax War of 1898. The uprisings, led in the north by Bai Bureh and in the south by Kai Lundu, started on the 27th April 1896 and lasted over two years. The Sandé and Poro secret societies played a great role in mobilizing resistance to the British. The rebellion was only put down by combined troops of the the West African Frontier Forces from the Gold Coast and from Nigeria.

Under the British, little economic development was undertaken in the protectorate until the 1950s, although a railroad was built and the production for export of palm products and peanuts was encouraged.

After World War II, Africans were given more political responsibility, and educational opportunities were enlarged. In the economic sphere, mining (especially of diamonds and iron ore) increased greatly. The Creoles of the colony, who had been largely excluded from higher government posts in favor of the British, sought a larger voice in the affairs of Sierra Leone. A constitution adopted in 1951 gave additional power to Africans. However, the Creoles were a small minority in the combined colony and protectorate, and in the elections of 1951 the protectorate-based Sierra Leone People's Party(SLPP), led by Sir Milton Margai (a Mende), emerged victorious.

[edit] An Independent Nation

On Apr. 27, 1961, Sierra Leone became an independent nation, with Milton Margai as prime minister. He died three years later in 1964 and was succeeded by his brother, Albert Margai. Margai was highly criticized during his reign; he was accused of corruption and of a policy of affirmative action in favor of the Mende tribe. Following the 1967 general elections, the Governor General Henry Josiah Lightfoot Boston declared Siaka Stevens candidate of the All Peoples Congress (APC) and Mayor of Freetown as the new Prime Minister of Sierra Leone. However, a military coup led by Brigadier David Lansana in support of Margai ousted Stevens a few minutes after he took office.

The Lansana government itself was soon toppled and replaced by a National Reformation Council (NRC) headed by Brigadier Andrew Juxon-Smith In 1968. An army revolt overthrew the NRC and returned the nation to parliamentary government, with Siaka Stevens as prime minister. The following years were marked by considerable unrest, caused by ethnic and army disaffection with the central government.

After an attempted coup in 1971, parliament declared Sierra Leone to be a Republic, with Siaka Stevens as president. Guinean troops requested by Stevens to support his government were in the country from 1971 to 1973. Stevens's APC party swept the 1973 parliamentary elections, creating a de facto one-party state; a 1978 referendum made the APC the only legal political party in Sierra Leone.

Siaka Probyn Stevens, who had been President of Sierra Leone for eighteen years, retired from that position in November 1985, although he continued his role as chairman of the ruling APC party. In August 1985, the APC named military commander Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh, Stevens' own choice, as the party candidate to succeed him. Momoh was elected President in a one-party referendum on October 1, 1985. A formal inauguration was held in January 1986, and new parliamentary elections were held in May 1986.

In October 1990, President Momoh set up a constitutional review commission to review the 1978 one-party constitution with a view to broadening the existing political process, guaranteeing fundamental human rights and the rule of law, and strengthening and consolidating the democratic foundation and structure of the nation. The commission, in its report presented January 1991, recommended re-establishment of a multi-party system of government. Based on that recommendation, a constitution was approved by Parliament in July 1991 and ratified in September; it became effective on October 1, 1991.

[edit] Civil War

Main article: Sierra Leone Civil War

On April 29, 1992, a group of young military officers, led by a 25-year-old Captain Valentine Strasser apparently frustrated by failure to deal with rebels, launched a military coup, which sent Momoh into exile in Guinea and established the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) with Strasser as President. In January 1996, after nearly four years in power, President Strasser was ousted in a coup led by his minister of defence Brigadier Julius Maada Bio.

Promises of a return to civilian rule were fulfilled by Bio, who handed power over to Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, of the Sierra Leone People's party, after the conclusion of presidential elections in early 1996. Kabbah's government reached a cease-fire in the war with Corporal Foday Sankoh-lead, Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which had launched its first attacks in 1991; rebel terror attacks continued, however, apparently aided by Liberia.

On May 25, 1997, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), led by Major General Johnny Paul Koroma, overthrew President Kabbah. Koroma suspended the constitution, banned demonstrations, abolished political parties and invited the RUF to join the government.

The United Nations imposed sanctions against the military government in October 1997, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sent in forces led by Nigeria. The rebels were subdued in February, 1998, and President Kabbah was returned to office in March.

Fighting continued, however, in many parts of the country, with reports of widespread atrocities. Over 6,000 people were killed in fighting in the Freetown area in January, 1999 alone. In March, Nigeria announced it would withdraw its forces by May. A peace accord was signed in July between President Kabbah and Foday Sankoh of the RUF. The agreement granted the rebels seats in a new government and all forces a general amnesty from prosecution. The government had largely ceased functioning effectively, however, and at least half of its territory remained under rebel control.

In October, the United Nations agreed to send peacekeepers to help restore order and disarm the rebels. The first of the 6,000-member force began arriving in December, and the Security Council voted in February, 2000, to increase the UN forces to 11,000 (and subsequently to 13,000). In May, when nearly all Nigerian forces had left and UN forces were attempting to disarm the RUF in Eastern Sierra Leone, Sankoh's forces clashed with the UN troops, and some 500 peacekeepers were taken hostage as the peace accord effectively collapsed.

An 800-member British force entered the country to secure Western Freetown and evacuate Europeans; some also acted in support of the forces fighting the RUF, including Koroma's AFRC group. After Sankoh was captured in Freetown, the hostages were gradually released by the RUF, but clashes between the UN forces and the RUF continued, and in July the West Side Boys—part of the AFRC—clashed with the peacekeepers. In the same month the UN Security Council placed a ban on the sale of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone in an attempt to undermine the funding of the RUF. In late August, senior RUF commander Sam Bockarie became head of the RUF; also, British troops training the Sierra Leone army were taken hostage by the West Side Boys, but were freed by a British raid in September.

General elections scheduled for early 2001 were postponed, due to the insecurity caused by the civil war. In May, 2001, sanctions were imposed on Liberia because of its support for the rebels, and UN peacekeepers began to make headway in disarming the various factions. Although disarmament of rebel and progovernment militias proceeded slowly and fighting continued to occur, by January, 2002, most of the estimated 45,000 fighters had surrendered their weapons. In a ceremony that month, government and rebel leaders declared the civil war to have officially ended; an estimated 50,000 people died in the conflict.

Elections were finally held in May, 2002. President Kabbah was re-elected, and his Sierra Leone People's party won a majority of the parliamentary seats. In June, 2003, the UN ban on the sale of Sierra Leone diamonds expired and was not renewed. The UN disarmament and rehabilitation program for Sierra Leone's fighters was completed in February, 2004, by which time another 70,000 former combatants had been helped. UN forces returned primary responsibility for security in the area around the capital to Sierra Leone's police and armed forces in September, 2004; it was the last part of the country to be turned over. Some UN peacekeepers remained to assist the Sierra Leone government until the end of 2005. Because the political unrest of Sierra Leone in recent years U.S., U.K. and Australian embassies all currently discourage travel to Sierra Leone.

[edit] Politics

Main article: Politics of Sierra Leone

The head of state and government is the president, who is elected every five years (most recently in May 2002). The current president of Sierra Leone is Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.^[2] The next parliamentary and presidential elections will take place on July 28, 2007.

The president appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers. The Sierra Leonean parliament is unicameral, with 124 seats. 112 members are elected concurrently with the presidential elections; the other twelve seats are filled by Paramount Chiefs from each of the country's twelve administrative districts.

Local Government elections were held in 2004 (for the first time since 1972), electing 456 councillors sitting in nineteen local councils.

[edit] Administrative divisions

Main articles: Provinces of Sierra Leone and Districts of Sierra Leone

The Republic of Sierra Leone is composed of three provinces and one area; the provinces are further divided into twelve districts.

Northern Province Port Loko Bombali Koinadugu Kambia Tonkolili

Southern Province Bo Bonthe Moyamba Pujehun

Eastern Province Kenema Kono Kailahun

Western Area

• The national capital Freetown and its surrounding countryside

[edit] Major Cities

Below is a list of Sierra Leone major cities and the district they are located:

City	District
Freetown	Western Area
Bo	Bo
Kenema	Kenema
Koidu	Kono
Makeni	Bombali
Kabala	Koinadugu
Port Loko	Port Loko
Magburaka	Tonkolili
Waterloo	Western Area
Kambia	Kambia
Bonthe	Bonthe
Kailahun	Kailahun
Moyamba	Moyamba
Gandorhun	Pejehun
Sherbro Island	Bonthe

[edit] Geography and Climate

Main article: Geography of Sierra Leone

Roughly circular in shape, Sierra Leone has an area of almost 78,000 square kilometers (30,000 sq. miles). Located on the West African coast, the country is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

Three topographical regions run northwest to southwest, roughly parallel to the coast; a belt of mangrove swamps and white sand beaches, an area of low plains covered with secondary forest and cultivated land and a region of high plateaux and mountains to the east, while the mountainous peninsula on which Freetown is located makes up the fourth distinct geographical region.

Sierra Leone is of tropical climate with a rainy season May through October, the balance of the year representing the dry season. The beginning and end of the rainy season is marked by strong thunderstorms not unlike those of the hot summer period on the US eastern seaboard. Sierra Leone has an average year round temperature of 80 degrees.

Freetown’s high humidity is somewhat relieved November through February by the Harmattan, a gentle wind flowing down from the Sahara Desert affording Freetown its coolest period of the year.

[edit] Economy

Main article: Economy of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is emerging from a protracted civil war and is showing signs of a successful transition. Investor and consumer confidence continue to rise, adding impetus to the country’s economic recovery. In addition to this there is greater freedom of movement and the successful rehabilitation and resettlement of residential areas. In 2001 Sierra Leone attracted US$4 million in foreign direct investment. The country has also enjoyed an improvement in the terms of trade as a result of the lower of international petroleum prices.

The country’s main economic sectors include diamond mining, agriculture and fisheries. The mining of diamonds, bauxite and rutile provides the major source of hard currency. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the country’s six million strong population with most involved in subsistence agriculture. The sector accounted for 51% of the country’s GDP. Sierra Leone’s manufacturing sector continues to develop and consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. In 2002 the country’s GDP was US$789.4 million.

Despite its successes and development, the Sierra Leone economy still faces some significant challenges. There is a high rate of unemployment particularly among the youth and ex-combatants. Authorities have been slow to implement reforms in the civil service and the pace of the privatisation programme is also slacking and donors have urged its advancement.

[edit] Currency of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone’s currency is the Leone(Le). The central bank of the country is the Bank of Sierra Leone which is located in the national capital Freetown. The central Bank objectives include:

• promotion of monetary stability and sound financial structure
• maintenance of the internal and external values of the Leone
• promotion of credit and exchange conditions *conducive to balanced economy growth
• issuance and distribution of notes and currency in the country
• formulation and implementation of monetary policy
• banker and advisor to the Government in financial and economic matters
• management of domestic and foreign debt
• acting as custodian of the country’s reserve *of approved foreign exchange
• acting as banker to the Commercial Banks
• supervision and regulation of activities of commercial banks and other financial institutions
• administration of the operations of structural adjustment programmes where the bank has specific responsibilities
• diamond certification

the Bank of Sierra Leone is a 100 per cent state owned corporate body.

Sierra Leone operates a floating exchange rate system and foreign currencies can be exchanged at any of the commercial banks, recognised foreign exchange bureaux and most hotels.

Credit Cards are Limited use in Sierra Leone, though they may be utilised at some hotels and restaurants, for which you should check in advance with local managements. Sierra Leone does not have internationally linked ATM machines.

Travellers Cheques May be utilised at major hotels or cashed at banks and at few limited shop outlets.

Currency Exchange: It is important that Sierra Leone exchange regulations be observed - for example, it is illegal to exchange money with unlicensed money dealers. All transactions may only made at banks or recognised foreign exchange bureaux.

[edit] Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Sierra Leone

The population of Sierra Leone now exceeds six million - the highest density being in the Western area while the lowest is in the more remote northern and eastern parts of the country. Freetown, the national capital is also the commercial and education centre of the country.^[3]

English, the official language of Sierra Leone is taught at schools and serves as the primary language while students are in classrooms or school compound.

[edit] Ethnicity

The population of Sierra Leone is comprised of approximately eighteen ethnic groups; each with its own language and customs, the two largest of these being the Mende and Temne about equal in numbers representing 60% of the country's population.^[4] The Mende predominates in the south, the Temne likewise to the north. The third largest ethnic group is the Limba, representing 8.5% of the population. The Limba are mostly found in the north. The fourth largest ethnic group in the country is the Kono, who mostly live in the east particulaly in the Kono District. The Creoles (Descendants of freed slaves who came to Freetown from the West Indies, North America and Britain) make up 3% of the population, but a patois based on their language is the Lingua Franca spoken through out Sierra Leone. Most Krios live in the Western Area particulaly the national capital Freetown, which they found in 1787. Other ethnic groups in the country include the Loko, Sherbro, Mandingo, Kissi, Kuranko, Fula, Susu, Yalunka, and Vai. A small number of Sierra Leonean citizens originated from Lebanon, Pakistan, India and Nigeria. The Western area, including the national capital Freetown, is more mixed in population, but is basically the home of the Krio group.

[edit] Religion

Approximately 60% of Sierra Leoneans are Muslim; 30% are Christian; 10% adhere to their ethno-cultural religions and faiths.^[5]

The Sierra Leone constitution provides freedom of religion and the government generally protects this right, and does not tolerate its abuse.

Unlike many other countries, the religious and tribal mix of Sierra Leone rarely causes religious or tribal conflict.

[edit] Krio usage in Sierra Leone

Most Krios live in the Western Area including the national capital Freetown and their community accounts for only about 3% of Sierra Leone's total population. The "Creole" language is the language of European or African settlers in the West Indies (Jamaica, Martinique, French-Guiana, Haiti, Surinam, Belize etc), Cape Verde ( the "Assimilados"), Mauritius, China (before the revolution), Papua New-Guinea (Tokn Pisin) and in the US (French-speaking descendants of early French settlers in Louisiana). The "Creole" of the repatriated Sierra Leoneans, referred to as Krio, may have developed from English, Portuguese and the Creole of the immigrant West Indians (the Maroons), but it is different from the Nigerian Pidgin and the Jamaican Patois. The more widely used form of the Krio dialect in the provinces is however a gibberish of English and the various local languages. Its widespread usage has negatively affected both the standard the English language spoken in Sierra Leone (Gambians and Ghanaians speak English more fluently and more confidently) as well the development of a national language – such as the development of the Indonesian language (Bahasa Indonesia) after the declaration of Indonesian independence in 1945. The development of a national language would greatly reduce the illiteracy rate (currently about 70%), promote culture and literature and support the development of the media and publication industries. People would read more and write more.

[edit] Environment

Burn cultivation for agriculture. Logging, clearing for cattle grazing, fuelwood collection, and mining have produced a dramatic drop in forest cover in Sierra Leone since the 1980s.

Until 2002, Sierra Leone lacked a forest management system due to a brutal civil war that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. On paper, 55 protected areas covered 4.5 percent of Sierra Leone as of 2003. The country has 2,090 known species of higher plants, 147 mammals, 626 birds, 67 reptiles, 35 amphibians, and 99 fish species.

In June 2005, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Bird-life International agreed to support a conservation-sustainable development project in the Gola Forest in southeastern Sierra Leone, the most important surviving fragment of rainforest in Sierra Leone.

Deforestation rates have increased 7.3 percent since the end of the civil war.

[edit] Media

The Sierra Leone constitution guaranteed freedom of the press. However media rights monitors have reported that high-level corruption is a taboo topic, with the authorities using libel laws and the courts to target errant journalists.

Dozens of newspapers are published in the country, most of them are privately-run and are often critical of the government.

Under legislation enacted in 1980, all newspapers must register with the Ministry of Information and pay a sizable registration fees.

All major cities in the country run their own radio stations. Inaugurated in 1963, The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service(SLBS) is a government-run station in charge of television and radio broadcasting in the country. The UN Mission in Sierra Leone (Unomsil) operates radio services, broadcasting news of UN activities and human rights information, as well as music and news. FM relays of BBC World Service and Radio France Internationale are on the air in Freetown. Radio Sierra Leone, the oldest broadcasting service in English-speaking West Africa, broadcasts mainly in English, with regular news and discussion programs on several topics.

The press

• Awareness Times
• Concord Times
• Cocorioko
• Standard Times
• Sierra Herald
• Pool Newspaper
• Awoko
• Christian Monitor
• Cotton Tree Magazine
• Patrotic Vanguard
• Salone Times
• Evening Scoop
• New Storm
• For the People
• The Focus
• Independent Observer
• African Champion
• We Yone
• The Democrat
• Spectator
• SLPP Unity
• The Unity
• The Trumpet
• Christian Monitor
• The Post

Television

• Sierra Leone Broadcasting Services (SLBS) - government-run national TV station
• Aisow Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) - private TV station

Radio

• SLBS - government-run national radio station
• BBN 93.0 - private station in Freetown
• Sky FM 106.6 - private station in Freetown
• Radio Democracy 98.1 - private station in Freetown
• Voice of the Handiccaped - private-run radio station for disabled but attracts audience nationwide
• Radio Unamsil 103.0 - UN-run private station in Freetown
• Believer's Broadcasting Network FM 93 - private station in Freetown

11 Pademba Road Freetown

• Radio Tombo 96.0 - private station in Freetown
• Radio Citizen 103.7 private station in Freetown
• Kiss FM 104 - private station in Bo
• Radio New Song 97.5 - private station in Bo
• Eastern Radio 101.9 - private station in Kenema
• Radio Mankneh 95.1 - private station in Makeni
• Radio Gbaft 91.0 - private station in Kenema
• Koidu Radio Station private station in Koidu
• Bintumani 93.5 - private station in Kabala
• Radio Modcar 93.4 - private station in Moyamba
• Radio Moa 101.5 - private station in Kailahun
• Radio Kolenten 92.4 - private station in Kambia
• Radio Bontico 96.4 - private station in Bonthe

[edit] Sport

Soccer is by far the most popular sport in Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone national soccer team popularly known as the Leone Stars represents Sierra Leone in international soccer competitions. The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup but they have participated in the 1994 and 1996 African Nations cup. The Sierra Queens is the nickname of Sierra Leone Women's National soccer team. The team represents Sierra Leone in international women's soccer competitions.

The Sierra Leonean Premier League is top soccer league in Sierra Leone. The league is controlled by the Sierra Leone Football Association. East End Lions and Mighty Blackpool are the two biggest and most successful soccer clubs in the country, but Kallon F.C. is closing in on them. Kallon F.C. won the Premier League in 2006, and eliminated 2006 Nigerian Premier League Champions Ocean Boys in the 2007 CAF Champions League first qualifying round, but later lost to ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast in the second qualifying round for the group stage.

The Sierra Leone cricket team is among the best in West Africa. They became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2002. [1] They made their international debut at the 2004 African Affiliates Championship, where they finished last out of the eight teams. They returned at the equivalent tournament in 2006, Division Three of the African region of the World Cricket League, where they had a major improvement, this time finishing as runners-up to Mozambique, and only just missing out on promotion to Division Two.

The Sierra Leone U-17 soccer team nickname the Sierra Stars finished as runner-up at the 2003 African U-17 Championship in Swaziland, but came in last place in their group at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland.

Some Sierra Leoneans enjoy playing basketball, table tennis, volleyball and tennis. Boxing and track are also popular in the country.

[edit] References in Popular Culture

Sierra Leone was the setting of the 2006 Edward Zwick film Blood Diamond, set in 1999 during the period of civil war. In the film, Solomon Vandy's son, Dia, is forcibly conscripted into the RUF.

[edit] References

1. ^ Infoplease
2. ^ BBC country profile
3. ^ Sierra Leone travel
4. ^ Languages
5. ^ CIA worldfact book

[edit] External links

• US Department of State travel information
• US Department of State International Religious Freedom Report 2003

Government

• The Republic of Sierra Leone official government site

News

• 'Live From Freetown, Sierra Leone'
• allAfrica.com - Sierra Leone news headline links
• Sierra Eye - "an eye on Sierra Leone life" newsblog and pictures

Overviews

• Open Directory Project - Sierra Leone directory category

Tourism

• Sierra Leone travel guide from Wikitravel
• National Tourist Board of Sierra Leone official site
• Visit Sierra Leone Travel and Tourism information

Discussion

• Sierra Leone Discussion forum at SierraLeone.com

• Music: Composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912)

Other

• Dossier about Sierra Leone from Freedomhouse.org
• Refugee matters in Sierra Leone - UNHCR information portal
• Sierra Leone Encyclopedia 2006
• Sierra Leone Web
• UNAMSIL
• War Crimes Trials in Sierra Leone
• Villageaid.org