Yenga is still the issue (for John Pilger)

Musa Tamba Sam is a troubled man. He’s just stepped out of Parliament where his attempt to slip Yenga into the agenda was shot down by the speaker. “I’m from the opposition you see,” he explains to me. Sam, an SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) parliamentarian from the east of Sierra Leone is trying to make sure no one forgets about his people in the tiny border town that has been under Guinean occupation for almost 10 years. He is also part of ‘Save Yenga Save Salone’, an advocacy-through-music campaign that kicked off recently with a concert in Freetown. The aim is to rally support for government intervention in the region.

Yenga is a hamlet in the eastern Kailahun district of Sierra Leone, bordering both Guinea and Liberia. Situated on the bank of the Makona River, the fertile tract of farmland is also believed to be rich in diamonds. Guinean troops first entered Yenga in the mid ’90s to help fight the Revolutionary United Front rebels during the civil war and block their exit routes into Guinea. After the war ended in 2002, they retained their military presence in Yenga. Over the past week reports have poured in about Guinean officers trying to tax the locals.

Back in 2005 tensions were quelled with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries; Yenga belonged to Sierra Leone and the Makona belonged to Guinea. The borders reconfirmed, then Sierra Leonean President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah declared the issue resolved.

Not quite. Like with all border disputes, quick fix political solutions are often ignorant of ground realities. Even today Guinean military personnel continue to guard Yenga from a base just across the river. “They claim that the boundary should be another 800m inland, covering Yenga,” says Sam. Approximately 500 people call Yenga home. Sam’s mother lives close by and he fears for her safety if the situation gets out of hand.

It is hard to say exactly how many soldiers remain in Yenga but there is no ambiguity about the Guinean armoured tank on top of the hill overlooking the area. Recently the Sierra Leonean Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Presidential Affairs was halted from entering Yenga by Guinean personnel. The committee maintained their right to visit their own people and was eventually let in after a 90 minute standoff. “They then informed us that we were now in Guinea,” adds Sam.

The ruling APC (All People’s Congress) administration’s official response is that there is no problem in Yenga. A friend at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that Sierra Leoneans and Guineans are living peacefully as they share both language and culture. But the situation on the ground undercuts this argument. Media reports tell pitiful stories of residents that are starving because soldiers have usurped their farm lands. People are frequently threatened with arrest. “There are no schools or hospitals,” says Sam. This, despite the fact that the people still pay their local taxes. A few years ago World Vision tried to build a school there but were hindered by the military. For this same reason other NGOs hesitate to go there. So how do the people survive? Mostly on handouts from relatives in neighbouring villages and “by miracle”.

Part of the reason for the official silent treatment is that Sierra Leone does not recognise Guinea’s military government and are unwilling to engage in talks. Unofficially I’m told negotiations are underway but obviously with no visible results. War is not an option. There are enough scars here to remind people of the last time soldiers roamed the streets. “We need to increase pressure for a diplomatic solution,” Sam asserts.

Since I first wrote this post on The New Internationalist three weeks ago, a technical committee from Guinea has been mandated to evaluate the situation in Yenga.

The A-Z of food in Freetown

Sierra Leonean food for me has its ups and downs. Some days it can be comforting to drown your sorrows in a greasy bowl of cassava leaves. On other days the very smells make me want to hurl. Glutton that I am, I think I have gone through a fair number of local restaurants in Freetown and have gathered enough culinary expertise to write this bibliography. I’m missing a few letters in between, but I promise to keep eating until the list is complete.

A

Attieke: couscous with fried onions, tomatoes and cucumbers. Served best with grilled barracuda.

B

Banga soup: palmnut stew served with rice

Benachin rice: A Guinean version of jollof rice (see below), spicier.

Banana cake: Deliciously greasy banana muffin.

Bangku: cornmeal dumplings

C

Casaava leaves: The staple food of Sierra Leone. The omnipresent starchy tuberous root that manifests in many forms, cassava curry with rice, cassava bread with fish and even dried cassava chips.

Crain Crain: A slippery leaf cooked like cassava.

Checked rice: Rice mixed with crain crain.

D

E

Ebba: Now I haven’t actually tried this but I’m told it’s a pasty dish made from maize meal (gadi).

Efo: Nigerian spinach soup

F

Foo foo: A thick paste or porridge made from cassava or corn. Very sour and can’t say I care much for it.

Fry soup: Fried balls of onions, tomatoes and peppers, stuffed inside bread and served on the streets.

G

Groundnut soup: My personal favourite. Crushed groundnuts stewed to perfection with fish or meat. Served with rice.

Green Green: I’m told this is a local version of spinach. Again cooked like cassava with meat.

Ginger beer: Available wherever drinks are sold. Very pungent.

H

Humus: Safe bet when all else on a menu sounds dodgy.

I

Ice cream (the street version): Frozen plastic pouches of flavoured milk. Made with milk powder and tastes like sawdust.

J

Jollof rice: Prepared almost like risotto. Rice slow cooked with tomatoes, onions, spices and stock. Served with spicy chicken. Yum.

K

Kebbe: A lemon shaped cutlet deep fried. Normally filled with meat.

L

Lebanese bread: Flat bread available at all the supermarkets.

M

Mina fish: Finger sized fish served deep fried. Great snack food.

Meat pie: English pastry filled with meat.

Mayonnaise: Popular ingredient, liberally ladled onto burgers, sandwiches and even tea according to one source.

N

Nescafe: Quintessential Freetown coffee. Can be purchased from Nescafe carts around every corner. Frothed by juggling between plastic tumblers.

O

Omole: Very strong local gin. Not advisable.

Okra soup: Okra cooked in palm oil with shrimps and beef.

P

Plantain chips: Delicious deep fried plantains served with beef stew.

Potato leaves: Cooked the same as cassava

Pepe soup: Fiery goat stew made with crushed chili peppers. Will burn a hole in your stomach.

Palm wine: Sap from the palm tree. Don’t know what the fuss is about.

Q

R

Rice rice rice: It’s part of almost every meal. Imported from Thailand, India, China.

S

Sauce: all gravies are called sauce.

Snapper: Awesome local fish

Star beer: Light Sierra Leonean beer.

Sawa Sawa: Another leaf, once again cooked like cassava.

T

Tatale: plantain cake

V

Vimto: Sickly sweet soft drink that tastes like fizzy cough syrup. The locals love it.

W

X

Y

Yassa au poulet: West African chicken marinated in lemon, chiles and garlic.

Z

A Short Guide to Freetown

By Tristan Reed

Just found a very good guide to bars, restaurants, hair salons and all things essential in Freetown.

The Concise Freetown Dictionary

If you’re going to live in Freetown, you’ve got to speak the language. Here’s my take on the local lingo, a mix of Krio, and slang. Will update as my expands. For a basic guide to Krio check out The Peace Corps Krio Language Manual.

‘Mind your business’ bag: A black shopping bag . Great for carrying around the thick wads of cash the ATM spits out.

I’m coming: means I’m going.

Make fast: Hurry up

Take time: Slow down

Block: A hundred leone coin. Bread is 5 blocks and cigarettes are 2 blocks for three sticks.

Okada: a motorcycle taxi. Don’t get on if you’ve just had lunch.

JCs (Just Comes): locals who’ve just returned from abroad.

White girl/boy: any foreigner with lighter skin. Even me who’s brown.

Swazis: chaps who change money on the streets.

Poda poda: overcrowded mini van. It means hither and thither. At 8 blocks it’s the cheapest way to get around.

Pear: actually an avocado.

Done done (i'm done), tie tie (knotted plastic bag), ice ice (cold water), small small (slow down, a little bit), waito waito (wait please). Rule of thumb, repeat for emphasis:

Upstairs/downstairs: Up the road, down the road

Relaxation bar: Not a brothel as flat mate Steve seems to think. Actually roadside shacks that serve up beer and soft drinks

Omolanki: A mobile wheelbarrow store used to sell everything from toothpaste to tampons.

Junk sellers: Peddlers of second hand ware, shoes, lingerie and T-shirts

Coolaid: Generic term for local cold drinks

Rubber: Refers to plastic bottles and canisters

Cookery: Cooked meals brought off streetside vendors. That's how my friend Chris got food poisoning.

Pega pack: Small pouches of whiskey, gin and rum. Sankerdas is the popular brand, turns out the guy's Indian.

Nail polishers: Young boys who roam the street painting nails for a living.

Chop chop: food

PHD: Pull him down, this means cutting down to size a relative who has become too successful.