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Recently the committee of SLIP met with Fr. Edward Flynn C.S.Sp. Fr.Flynn gave a brief outline of the medical condition and the problems associated with it for  the women of Sierra Leone. It has a terrible effect on women who have the condition and more needs to be done to raise an awareness of this problem. Check the internet to find out more about this condition.

Below are the notes Fr.Flynn used for the discussion.

My contribution this morning is in three parts.

1. Short personal account of how I got involved in this issue – 3 mins.
2. An account of who is involved at this stage, the work we do – most of this is contained in the piece I sent you Jim some weeks ago. It was entitled ‘Prevention’. You may have already distributed it to your members. – 3 mins.
3. Suggestions – about what SLIP can do to further this issue. – 3 mins.

Then we will have a Question and Answer session.

4. Q&A session – 10/15 mins. Depends on Qs and interest.

 I came across the issue first in Pakistan and while I was there I met a surgeon who does repair operations. I still have contact with him. When I was in Geneva for some years I attended a one day meeting on the topic. What I learnt there was that most people approached this issue from a medical perspective. One person spoke about human rights in relation to the subject of fistula. From then I started to speak about the issue at the human rights council in 2015 – I think. In 2017 I collaborated in the preparation of a report on the topic from a human rights perspective, which I presented to the office of the Special Rapporteur (of the HRC) on Health in Geneva. When I returned to Ireland in 2019 I took up the issue on a full time basis.

What motivated me to get involved was the terrible situation of women living with this condition. Take a minute sometime to think about the horror that it must be for those women. It is torture 7 days a week.

 In September 2019 a German Sister from the Good Shepherd Congregation joined me in the work of advocacy on this topic in Geneva. Since then we have been making statements at the HRC on the issue. We have also been in contact with a number of people and offices in Geneva to further our work of advocacy, awareness raising and making recommendations on the topic. Last year another Geneva based organisation – Geneva for human Rights – joined us in the work of advocacy.

During 2020, we had been in discussion with the WCC in Geneva and in December last year they officially decided to join with us in the prevention of Fistula from a HRBA. Meanwhile we continue our work of preparing reports for the review of various countries. Along with SL at this moment we are working on Tanzania, South Sudan and Zimbabwe. A word about the situation in Sierra Leone. There is one place in SL that does repair operations – The Aberdeen Women’s Centre, in Freetown. Haikal. A majority of cases/instances of Fistula are likely to be in the rural areas. There are about 3,000 living with Fistula in SL. From the Global Fistula Hub website there is only one surgeon in SL doing repair surgery.

 What can SLIP do to further this work of advocacy? Since I began this work, for many of the people I have spoken with it was the first time they heard of the topic or had a conversation about the subject. Each conversation about Fistula is progress. With each conversation we are lifting the veil of ignorance about it. It is a hidden and neglected topic.

 

 1) So, My first suggestion is to have more conversations about the subject. Here in Ireland and in Sierra Leone.                                 

2) With whom to have these conversations? – among yourselves, with all partners linked to SL. – other NGOs, Missionaries working in SL.  Irish citizens who have their origin in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leonians who are working in Ireland, organizations involved with human rights, in particular women’s rights, those with an interest in gender equality, education, development. Anyone with an involvement with SL. And other Dev Agencies.

3) With Gov contacts/officials. Encourage them to take a human rights approach to dealing with the issue. Irish Aid probably gives funds that help support the work of the Aberdeen Centre. This is supporting those who have Fistula. But is Irish Aid supporting the prevention of Fistula?

A sentence from the Irish Aid website reads in relation to SL: “Our main focus areas are improving the health and nutrition of the poorest communities and promoting women’s rights,” This is a good place to start a conversation with the gov agencies/such as Irish Aid.

  In SL – Have conversations with those who are already working on the issue. Find out if there are people working on this issue from a human rights perspective. Start a National Conversation. Speak to journalists. Ask one to write an article in the papers. Ask someone to make a TV programme about it. Interview women who have recovered. Ask your partners to collect Data.

  Spread Awareness and Be informed about the topic.

 No mention of Fistula in any UPR reports so far.

The next UPR Review of Sierra Leone is on the 12^th of May from 9.00am to 12.30. Geneva time.

 Link to the UPR page for SL. Here you will find all relevant documentation.

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/SLindex.aspx

 Check UNTV for live streaming of the session. http://webtv.un.org/ See will anyone mention the topic of Obstetric Fistula.

SEND West Africa is a charity that is active in Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone. In 2019 they received a grant from Irish Aid to assist in their work. SEND-SIERRA LEONE is based in Kenema and much of their work is concentrated on Eastern Sierra Leone. Their website is:             https://www.sendwestafrica.org/

The following article was published in “Africa Magazine” a few weeks ago. It tells the story of the journey Binta Jalloh made from Sierra Leone to Dublin. The article was written by Helen Fallon, Deputy Head Librarian in Maynooth University, who also worked as librarian in Fourah Bay College, Freetown.

From Sierra Leone to Dublin: Binta Jalloh tells her story.

I was born in Sefadu, near Kono, the main diamond and gold trading town in Sierra Leone, in 197  My family belong to the Muslim Fulani ethnic group. We are known for our skills in caring for cows, goats and other animals, that’s how our wealth is measured. There are Fulani people – nomadic herdsmen and women – in various parts of West Africa.

Family Life: In keeping with Islamic tradition, my father had three wives, my mother was the third. Each wife had her own house in the compound and they were great friends. My mum had six children, four boys and two girls. My Dad had twelve additional children and we all grew up together, sharing everything and looking after each other. Dad was in the Sierra Leone army. Mum was a housewife, who did some sewing as a sideline. I loved being part of a big family and helping to mind the children. It was dark when we rose at 6 a.m. to the call to prayer from the nearby mosque. Five times each day we faced towards Mecca and prayed. When I pray now in my home in Adamstown, Dublin, I face eastward to the sunrise. During the day I helped my mother at home. We cooked rice, groundnut soup and potato and cassava leaf stew. Outside the compound we had a small plot, where we had fruit trees – oranges, mangoes, bananas and avocados.

 Marriage: In the Fulani tradition, we don’t choose our husbands. My parents selected my husband. I married very young. Mamadu Jalloh was employed by his father, doing business in different parts of Sierra Leone. Iwent to live with his family in Kailahun, in the east of the country. I really missed my family, but his mum was very kind to me: she became my mother. When my daughter Fatima was born, my family came to visit. I was so happy to see them.

War: Things were getting bad in Sierra Leone. The civil war began in 1991 and lasted ten years. My father-in-law knew what was going on because he was involved in business around the country. As things worsened, he suggested Mamadu, myself and ten-month old Fatima leave the country. I didn’t know about any other country. I was very sad and frightened leaving all I knew behind. We left Sierra Leone, along with many others, as the war worsened and our villages and homes were destroyed. We crossed the border into Guinea with other refugees and stayed among Fulani people.

 Dublin: In November 1997 the three of us came to Dublin and applied for asylum. It was a very cold, bleak time. We lived in Swords for a few months in a house with other refugee families. This was a new life for me. In Sierra Leone we grow up outside the door. We eat outside, we share food with neighbours and it is very much a community way of life rather than an individual way of life. In Ireland people kept to themselves. In the beginning any time we saw a black person, we asked “Are you from Sierra Leone?” They never were.

Friendships: After some time we moved to an apartment in Parkgate Street. Around that time we met Tamu, a Sierra Leonean student. He introduced us to other Sierra Leoneans. We became friendly with Reverend Sahr Yambassu and his wife Clodagh. They are both Methodist ministers. Sahr spoke some Fulah and was like a brother to us. They welcomed us to their home in Wicklow at the weekends. They took us around and explained things to us about living in Ireland. I felt like I was back in Sierra Leone, I was so happy. Sister Maura Dillon from Crumlin, a Columban sister, and Father Michael and Sister Jamine also helped me a lot. They organised English classes for me. When I was pregnant with Umu, Sister Maura came to my house to continue the English classes.

 Sierra Leone Ireland Partnership (SLIP): I met Geraldine Horgan at an event organised by the Sierra Leone Ireland Partnership in Kimmage Manor. She and her husband Jim Owens had worked in Sierra Leone. Geraldine was like a sister, calling to see us and coming to hospital with me when my children were ill. At this point I had three children. Umu was born in 1999 and Ibrahim in 2004. Through SLIP I met the late Sister Hilary Lyons and other people who had worked in Sierra Leone. It was so nice to find this connection to my country when I was so far away and homesick some of the time. SLIP organised a diamond campaign to highlight that people in Sierra Leone and other places were dying in fighting to gain control of diamond mines. I attended the launch, where Conor Lenihan the Junior Minister for Irish Aid spoke..Myself and the children were invited to meet him and have our photograph taken. We featured on the national evening news! I also got to meet his brother Brian Lenihan, when he was Minister for Children. I was on FÁS work experience in Corduff Community Centre, making sandwiches and snacks, when he visited.

 Reunited with Family: In 2007 I travelled to Guinea, after 10 years in Ireland. I was so excited to go and see my mum and to bring my children to meet her. Our family home was destroyed during the war and she never returned to Sierra Leone. She died in 2012. My children speak Fulah and loved being in Guinea, eating outside and meeting their family.

 Daily Life: I’m now living in Adamstown. Sadly, my marriage did not work out and my husband returned to Sierra Leone. I began working in the Clarion Hotel, Dublin, in 2011, first in accommodation and then in the restaurant. It is a nice job where I meet a lot of people and my colleagues and the manager are like family. Now with the coronavirus I have to stay home and I really miss work. Fatima has graduated from Maynooth University and is now working in Canada. Umu is in Waterford Institute of Technology, Ibrahim is 16 and is in Transition Year in secondary school. I love cooking. I cook rice, groundnut sauce and stews. I can’t get cassava and potato leaf here, but I use spinach and palm oil instead. I go to African markets sometimes, there’s a big Euro Asia market nearby and I can also get lots of things like spinach in Lidl and Aldi stores. I pray five times every day. I pray for everybody – Muslims, Christians and people of other faiths and no faith. Now I pray especially for the coronavirus to end. My dream is to return to work and for my children to enjoy health and peace in their lives. I came to Ireland in 1997, when I was twenty. I still carry a sense of loss for my life in Sierra Leone, but Ireland is home now.

 

Lois Roberts-Lebbie is a student from Sierra Leone studying for a MSc in Social Policy in University College Cork. She has just experienced her first Christmas in Ireland and in her blog has described her impressions of an Irish Christmas.

The blog may be accessed with the following link:

Sierra Leone student blown away by her first Irish Christmas

Currently there are 3 students from Sierra Leone studying Masters Courses in Ireland. They are funded under the Irish Aid Scholarship Programme. The following is an article written by Aminata Seilloh Conteh who is studying for an MA in International Development in University College Dublin.

Whilst I was preparing for a 12 months Master’s Degree in the Republic of Ireland, I forgot to pack the zest for screaming “Nollaig Shona” alone from a room in the Glenomena Residences with a window that faces the woods.

Together with 7 country mates, we flew from Freetown to Dublin on a Thursday afternoon with all the excitement like a 5-years-old. We have worked hard for this, prayed for it and flew with one mind to sharpen our excellence. Being awarded the Irish-Aid 2020/21 scholarship was an honor and as we pranced with regal importance to our different schools across Ireland, we still kept one heart.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we pulled through a trimester, catching up on phone and seldom arranging meetings. For the two others who lived farther off, we threw pictures and smiles their way.

Nonetheless, staying sane through this global halt has been a personal decision. I lost a sister back home but found a strong support system from school and few friends I met here. School has been good too – with an intentional dress-up for every zoom class becoming a habit.  

It’s Christmas Eve and after looking around, I do have a lot to be grateful for. There’s a family that constantly cheers me on, there are friends who believe in and motivate me, and there is the Irish Government who makes sure I don’t lack everything; there is the University College Dublin, whose excellence does not only radiate from its beautiful pictures I wowed at on the internet, but has been consistent in nurturing the International Development Expert I desire to become and there is me, a whole ball of perseverance.

It’s Christmas Eve and I got mashed potatoes for breakfast in an apartment where every other student returned home for the holidays. Dublin City Centre is full of life – we toss the spirit of Christmas around behind our facemasks. The lights are on, trees are dressed with Red, Green and Gold ornaments and we cross ourselves, tightly gripping our shopping bags.

I do think of home, I miss the fairs, laughs and family tradition. But here is home too and even though I am alone in my room, my heart is out on the streets, enjoying the warmth of the season, sending messages to other Irish Aid Fellows across the world whilst I sip Irish Coffee, stare through my window and whisper “Nollaig Shona / Api Krismes” to myself.

Tomorrow is Christmas Day and I can only ask Santa to “Heal the World” and restore Joy to nations – the type we sing about in carols.

 Aminata Seilloh Conteh

Irish Aid Fellow – Sierra Leone

2020/2021