Miss Sierra Leone USA reflects on January 6, 1999

Hello world!!!

Hope all is well with you and yours. I am doing well, thanks to the Almighty. January 6, 1999. On this day in Sierra Leone, many lives were taken and our hearts were broken. It was a very sad and unforgettable day in my country, but we the people prevailed in the end. Even though this was a terrifying event for all, including the entire civil war, we prayed and persevered together as a nation. There was no classification of what tribe a person is or what religion they belonged to, we prevailed as Sierra Leoneans and called upon one God! 

Map of Sierra Leone colored with the nation's flag colors and alignment

Sierra Leone Coat of Arms

Fact: On January 6, 1999, rebel forces entered Freetown and launched a campaign of terror. Revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighters systematically murdered, mutilated, and raped thousands of civilians. The invasion lasted for a week and few days, but the suffering was untold. Hundreds were amputated, and a quarter of the capital city was burnt down. Over three thousand people were killed.

May the souls of the lives lost on this day and during the civil war rest in peace, and may happiness and blessings be granted on us all, the survivors. I pray the Almighty continues to comfort all those that still mourn the loss of loved ones on this day (14 years ago) and/or throughout the civil war. God bless the lion mountain. Land that we love, OUR SIERRA LEONE.

These children of Sierra Leone are our future, let us tell them of our nation's
history but also keep them optimistic for the nation's developing future.

In conclusion, I will like to share an excerpt from Nikki Giovanni's speech after the massacre at Virginia Tech. Her poem was specifically written for this incident but I believe it can be understood by all who mourn and face tragedy in life.

We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. 

We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again.

We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did nothing to deserve it

No one deserves a tragedy

We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. 

We are better than we think we are and not quite what we want to be. 

We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. 

We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness.

We will prevail.

We will prevail.

We will prevail.

We Are Virginia Tech by Nikki Giovanni

SMILE. The future of Sierra Leone is only brighter. It Gets Better!!!

WE ARE SIERRA LEONEANS

WE WILL PREVAIL!!!

Let us all have a moment of silence for the lives lost on this day, 14 years ago. 

Have a blessed Sunday, everyone.

Ruby B. Johnson,

Your Miss Sierra Leone USA

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SOURCE:

Sierra Leoneans Remember January 6

We Are Virginia Tech