Poem: Who hates Sierra Leone?
Saidu Bangura
Praia, August 12, 2022.
Who hates Sierra Leone?
When people
in a democracy
are hungry
and angry about
how they are
governed
and lament
how difficult
life has become
how hard life is
and leaders
become silent
and people
protest and
protests turn violent
become chaotic
and people die
and the blame games
begin
and the narratives
twist
and democracy
becomes autocracy
I ask:
who hates Sierra Leone?
When people
in a democracy
are described as
egocentric
opportunistic
terrorists
illiterates
misguided
brutes
bloody insurrectionists
after failing
to assume
leadership responsibility
I ask:
who hates Sierra Leone?
When the enlightened
are condescending
to the ‘unenlightened’
and (em)power(ment)
becomes bullying
bulldozing the people
and politicians
become contemptuous
of the people
infuriating them verbally
and light becomes darkness
I ask:
who hates Sierra Leone?
When unemployment
nepotism
tribalism
sectionalism
regionalism
and other isms
amid hardships
become the tools
of governance
and the relegated
the neglected
the denied
must be silent
and silenced
in a democracy
I ask:
who hates Sierra Leone?
When you are not assured
of freedom of speech
or freedom after speech
and you are uncertain
whether the system
is for you or against you
and your rights
have been sold
by your supposed
defenders
arbiters
in a democracy
I ask:
who hates Sierra Leone?
When hate spreads
like wildfire
and hostility sweeps
like lava from a
volcanic eruption
detonating a tsunami
and violence becomes
the only language
amid social turbulence
and conciliation seems
an expensive commodity
from leaders
in a democracy
I ask:
who hates Sierra Leone?
When we, the people,
are used
abused
misused
refused
and are mostly
forgotten
by the elected
in a democracy
except when our
votes are needed
I ask:
who hates Sierra Leone?
When after six decades
of misgovernance
and our people
are still enduring
underdevelopment
perennial blackouts
unsafe drinking water
pothole roads
death-trap hospitals
a broken educational system
sustenance and livelihoods
are far-fetched dreams
a resilient people broken
by repeated ignes fatui
I ask:
who hates Sierra Leone?
Dr Saidu Bangura is an Assistant Professor at the University of Cape Verde. He lectures in the English Studies Course, Faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, University of Cape Verde. He holds a BA, English & Linguistics (FBC, USL); PhD in Translation, Communication, and Culture with a specialty in English Linguistics (University of Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain).
 | A guest post by
|