Stuck somewhere between Babylon and Zion…

“These streets remind me of quicksand…when your running you keep going down, and there is no one to hold on to and there is no one to pull you out – you keep on falling, no one can hear you calling…so you end up self-destructing” – Living in the Ghetto

A week no water, no electricity, and a fuel shortage meaning no power for the generator– a luxury item around these parts and our only ‘reliable’ source of electricity run nightly for about 3 hours. Boys fighting at a local football game and a public ‘flogging’- a community supported and encouraged beating (by the local authorities) of a youth caught stealing…not to mention the ‘flogging’ of children in schools as a tool of discipline…reality here - in the ‘ghetto’.

Numerous accusations of ‘jinni’ – dark magic frequently used in Sierra Leone particularly between competing wives and girlfriends…uneducated young women as economic refugees to their older unappreciative husbands…a man having more wives and children than he can care for properly making it near impossible to feed and school them adequately.

An attitude that encourages dishonest dealings, sneaky behaviour and the belief that you must take all you can before anyone else gets it…creating a culture of selfishness, corruption, and paranoia. Discipline through fear and order through chaos – a society that believes more in darkness then in light where the emphasis is on waiting to be saved, rather than seeking salvation from within.

Life in Sierra Leone will not change until the minds of the people change. ‘Reality’ is what we think it is…as Buddha states “with our thoughts alone we can change the world” until this is understood, this ‘ghetto’ will continue to be stuck somewhere between Babylon and Zion.