Sierra Leone is not in any form, prepared for a Massive Natural Disaster

If  you have visited or lived in  Sierra Leone, you will agree that the devastating earthquake in Haiti  n January 12, 2010, that killed over two hundred thousand people should raise some concerns in Sierra  Leone.  That quake measured 7.0 on the Richter scale, and it was very powerful.  It struck16 KM  from  the  Capital Port-Au-Prince  and 27 KM  from  the Town of  Petionville. (Photo: Donald   Sholabumi   Georgestone)

Some  people  were  crushed  to  death  by  the falling debris from  the buildings, some  had their  hands and leg  crushed and some  were  pulled alive  from  the  wreckage.  Dead bodies were lying all  over   the  streets and no  place  for  them  to be buried.  They had to dump  the dead bodies  in massive  graves  with  no identification.  Also, some of  the dead  bodies could  not be pulled out, because they   were  completely buried  under  the  debris.  It  was  heart  breaking  to  see  thousands of  those  people,  buried without the dignity  they  deserved,   but   there   are  many  unanswered questions.  Those    people are  extremely  poor,  and  they  had suffered  so  much,  that  the  question every  one   was  asking is:  “Why  these  people ? “

Half of  the buildings in certain  areas  were  completely  demolished  by   the  earthquake.  Even  the  Presidential  Palace  was  damaged. It  was  a  sorrowful  sight  to  see  young  babies  fifteen  days  old    and  younger,  being removed  from  the  wreckage.

That  7.0 earth quack  was  the  strongest  to  hit  that  region  in  more  than  Two  centuries,  so  natural  disaster  is  something  we  have  to live with, so  we  have  to  be  prepared  individually ,  as  well as   a nation .

Although  Sierra  Leone  is  far  away from the  major  earthquake zones  of  the World,  yet,  she  is  still   prone  to  earthquake  disaster.   It  will  be  naive  for  anyone  to  feel  that an  earthquake  of  this  magnitude  will  not  happen  in  Sierra  Leone. Let  me  remind  you  of  the Guinea, West Africa earthquake of  December 22, 1983.  Thank God, the epicenter area of  the earthquake, was  the  coastal  margin,  intra-plate  locale with  a very low level of  historical seismicity, s  the  damage was  minimal.    Experts  pointed  out  that  the  seismic faulting  occurred  on  a  pre-exiting fault  system, but  they  were not  able   to shed  light  on the reason  for  the  unexpected  occurrence  of  this intra-plate  earthquake. That  earthquake  was   felt in  Sierra  Leone,  and  it  was  a shocking  experience  for  a  number  of  Sierra  Leoneans.  God  alone  knows what  would  have  been  the  results, if   the quake  had  centered  in  a  populated  area   in  Sierra  Leone .

In  the 1980’s,  there  was  an  earthquake in  Southwestern  Nigeria,  and  after brief  studies,  the experts  came to  the conclusion  that  there  is   a  Pelusium  megashear  system  or  similar  fracture  zones  that penetrate  deep  into  the  continental  crust  of  West  Africa.  They  asked  for  more  studies  to   be  done on  the Pelusium  megashear  system, so  they  will  be able  to determine a  precise  location of  future  events ,  and  also  be  able  to  identify areas  where  large scale  crustal adjustments  might  be  taking  place.   Seismologists  had  told  us  that earthquakes can occur  anytime, where    their   is  a  fault  line. The  Ennrigaill-Plantain Garde  fault  runs  through part  of Haiti  and  part  of  the  Dominican  Republic,  and  that  fault  is   believed  to have  played a  major  role in  this  massive  earthquake that took  place  in  Haiti.  The  surprising  thing  is that,  there  had been  no  major   earthquake  on  that  fault  system  for  a  period  of  200  years .

Haiti  was  not prepared for an  earthquake of  this  magnitude,  and  Sierra  Leone  is  no  exception. This  should  be  a  lesson for  Sierra  Leone, because  the  two  countries  have  too  many  similarities, which I  am  about  to discuss :

Haiti  is  the  poorest  country  in  the  Western  Hemisphere,  and  Sierra  Leone is  one  of  the  poorest countries  in  the  African  Continent.   In  Haiti,  ninety  percent  of  the people  are  so  poor  that  they  cannot see   beyond  Tomorrow.  The  same  problem exits  in  Sierra  Leone.  Over  ninety  percent  of  the  people  live  in  abject  povert.  

Haiti has  a  population of  about  9  million people,  and  Sierra  Leone  has  a  population  of  about  6  million  people.  

In  Haiti ,  the  average  citizen  lives  on  less  than 1$  a  day,  likewise  in  Sierra Leone, the  average  citizen  lives  on  less  than  1$  a  day .     

Haiti  is  a  country that  had  been  plagued  by  corruption  over  decades,  and  Sierra  Leone  had  also  been  plagued  by  corruption  for over  the  same  period. 

Port-  Au- Prince  which  is  the  capital  of  Haiti ,  has  three  times  more  than the  number of  people the  city was  constructed  to  accommodate . The   same   problem exists  in  Sierra  Leone.  Freetown   which  is  the  capital city ,  has  three  times  more  than  the  number  of  people  the  city  is  constructed  to  accommodate .

Haiti has  an illiteracy rate of  about  65  percent,  and Sierra  Leone has  an  Illiteracy rate of  about  90  percent .

Haiti  played  a  significant  role  in the  abolition of  Slave  Trade,  and  so  did Sierra  Leone.   

Haitian  women  had  been  suppressed  for  years. They  have been kept  out of  top  Government  jobs  and  out  of  the  decision  making  process.  in  the  country.  Sierra   Leonean  women  had  gone  through  the  same  treatment  for  decades.  They  have  also  been  denied  equal  education  as  the  men.  Things  seem  to  be  getting  better  under  President  Ernest  Koroma,  but more  has  to  be  done,  and  it  should  be  done  at  a  faster   rate,  to  make  up  for  past discrimination  against  our  women.

In  Haiti , especially in  the  capital city,  buildings  are  put  up,  with no  re-enforcement  or  building  codes.  This  is  nothing  more  than a death  trap   and   a  recipe  for disaster. The  same  problem is  going  on  in  Sierra  Leone  today.  In  Freetown  and  other  big cities, buildings  are  recklessly  put  up, with  insufficient  re-enforcement  and  no  regard  for  the  building  codes,  if  there  are  any,  or  are  not  just  being  enforced .   

Haiti  has a  terrible  history of  civil  wars  accompanied  by destructions of   lives  and  properties,  and  so  does  Sierra  Leone. This  brings  the ten  year rebel  war to  memory.

The  medical  care  in  Haiti,  is  way  below  expectation for  a  nation  of  9  million  people, the  same problem  exists   in Sierra  Leone   with  6  million  people.   

Haiti cannot provide its  citizens with enough  pure  drinking  water  and  food.  Sierra  Leone Is currently   facing  the  same  problem.

In  Haiti, a  large number  of  the population is  engaged in  the practice of   witchcraft and   voodoo,  with  no  good  intention,  other  than  to destroy their  fellow human beings.  Since  the  end  of  the   rebel  war  in  Sierra  Leone,  the  practice  of witchcraft  and  voodoo  to  destroy other  human  beings has  been on the  rise. That  is  not a good  sign  for a  nation.

I  am  not  trying   to  play  Nostradamus ,  but  as  a  concerned  Sierra  Leonean ,and  an  Advocate  for  the   poor,  the  disadvantaged, the  underprivileged  and those  who  could  not  speak  out  for  themselves,  I  am  calling  on  President Ernest  Bai  Koroma, the  First  Lady  Sia  Nyama  Koroma, and  the  leaders  of all  the  political  parties,  to  put  politics  aside , and  prepare  the  country  for survival  in a  massive natural  disaster. It  could  be  an  earthquake, a  tsunami, a hurricane,  a heavy  flooding   or  a  brush  fire.  We  should  be  able  to help  ourselves,  before  foreign aid  comes  in.  The  point is  that,  each  time  a natural  disaster of  a  big  magnitude  occurs,  time  is  of  vital  importance, especially   when  it  comes  to saving  lives. It  usually  takes  time  for  foreign aid  to  come  in,  so  during  that  time,  the local people can save lives if  they are trained  and given  the  proper  tools  and materials  to do  what  is  necessary.

It  is  time for  the government  to  crack down on  people, who are recklessly putting  up   buildings  with  no  re-enforcement.  It  is  time building  codes be instituted  and  enforced.,  especially if  the  building  is  two or  more  levels. This  is  one  of  the  main  reasons,  why  the death  toll in  Haiti  has   already been   estimated  to  be   over  two  hundred thousand. 

It  is  time we improved our  airport. The   airport   right  now , is  not  capable to hold  those  giant cargo  planes,  that  transport medical and  food  supplies  to devastating  areas  around  the  world. That  could  be  a  serious  setback in saving  lives.  The  infrastructure  needs  to  be  modernized, hospitals and  Medical care  in  the  country,  needs  to  be  improved .  More people need  to  be  trained  in  the  medical  field . That should  not  be  the  end, they should be  encouraged and  greatly  rewarded  to  stay in the  medical field. It  is time the  government come up with some  type  of  programs, that  will attract people  to  move  to  other  parts of  the country, than  overpopulating  one  section  of  the  country.  That  usually resulted  in  massive  loss  of  lives,  if natural  disasterof  a  big  magnitude  should  strike  that  area. 

Let  us  don’t gamble with  the  lives  of  our  fellow  Sierra  Leoneans  because  of   political correctness. Practicing  witchcraft  and  voodoo with  destructive  motives, is an  individual decision,  that  has nothing  to   do  with  the  government.  However,  I  am appealing  to  those  Sierra  Leoneans  who  use  voodoo  and witchcraft  to  destroy  other  human  beings,  to  refrain  from  being followers of  Satan,  and  turn  to  a  new  page  by  becoming  God’s  children.  Life  experience  had  taught  us  time  and  time  again , that  people  who wrap   themselves  in  that  type  of  demonic  behavior,  usually  ended  up with a  curse  by the Almighty  God, and  doomed  to  die a  disgraceful  and  gruesome  death, which  can  be  individually or  on  a   large  scale .

At   the  same  time,  let  us  pray  for  the  people of  Haiti, that  this is  a new  beginning of  the  journey  to  prosperity  for  that  impoverished  nation.  

I  applauded President  Koroma  for  the steps  he  has  taken  so  far, to eradicate  corruption,  but  that  is  just  a  tip of  the  iceberg, a  lot  more  has to be  done.  Once  corruption  is  eradicated, people  will  begin  to  see the  light  at  the  end  of  the  tunnel. 

Last  but  not  least, it  is  time  primary education  be  made  mandatory throughout  the  Country.  We  have  to  eradicate  illiteracy, because  it  can compound  the  problems  in  case  of   a  massive   natural  disaster. Let  us  make  that  a  priority.

By  Donald   Sholabumi   Georgestone, California

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