A Nation with a short memory.
How many Sierra Leoneans recall that it was on this day in 1999 that combined AFRC and RUF rebels invaded our nation’s capital, causing an unprecedented destruction to lives and property.
Thousand of our compatriots lost their lives, some lost their limbs, pregnant women disemboweled, kids kidnapped and made to tote guns, and houses that had stood for decades were brought to ashes.
Sierra Leoneans and Freetonians had never seen a sombre day like January 6, where human remains became the play ground for scavenging animals. The air was full of foul smell as a result of the decomposed bodies that were littered in every nook and cranny of the capital.
January 6 as we dubbed it was a turning point in our civil war.
That invasion informed the world about the tragedy that Sierra Leone was in, it was just like Rwanda in 1994 though ours was not a genocide.
Nearly all families in Freetown lost a loved one, or had a loved one who was wounded, captured, abducted or lost his or her house. How could such a day pass with little or no event to commemorate it. Couldn’t this day be one of our rememberance days?
We observe or commemorate many other days like June 16 in memory of the Soweto Massacre, and we can’t afford to observe our own Freetown Massacre.
On this same day in 2021, Trump supporters stormed Capitol Hill in Washington, in their attempt to overturn the election results, you only need to see how the American people, government and media are discussing what happened that day. It is a day Americans will never forget.
We still have the scars of our war with us, needless to say some of the causes of our conflict are still rife, and in some cases are more glaring now than they were during the war.
Are we a short-sighted nation that only thinks of today and care less about our history and key events?, January 6 is a day we should use to cement our fragile peace, and say no more again shall we repeat the things that led us to that dangerous path.
How do you think people will want to sacrifice their lives for a country that forgets about them once their remains are interred. We pray for those who lost their lives on that day. Serve God because it is only he who cannot ignore or forsake you in your moment of need.
