Historic farewell BBQ party in Sydney, Australia
A barbecue (BBQ) get-together was organized to bid farewell to a Sierra Leonean journalist, Dan Parkinson Jnr., who was here in Sydney on a two-year postgraduate study. The Association of Sierra Leone Journalists in Exile (ASALJIE), in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Community Council in Australia (SLCC) and with the support of the Sierra Leone Hunting Cultural Group, organized the BBQ as the only event that could be organized for a colleague journalist who was only spotted about a month to his departure to Sierra Leone.
An unassuming intelligent young man, Mr. Parkinson had been in Australia for a two-year double Masters programme in Policy and Development Studies at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). His Sierra Leonean journalist colleagues in Sydney did not know he was in Sydney until one month to his departure and therefore thought that he would not leave Sydney without a befitting farewell get-together. The BBQ get-together, held in Sydney on Thursday December 27 2012, was attended by a number of Sierra Leoneans who came to wish their fellow Sierra Leonean a happy and safe journey home.
Edmondson Sonny Cole, a veteran photo-journalist and the current Chairman of the Sierra Leone Community Council (SLCC) and Deputy Chairman of ASALJIE, introduced Mr. Parkinson and the various speakers for the evening. He said in spite of the fact that we are out of Sierra Leone, every person that comes to Australia from Sierra Leone is always regarded as part of the family. Mr. Cole said Sierra Leoneans may have diverse beliefs, diverse political ideologies and diverse aspirations but that we all have one goal – to solidify our unity for the development of our country.
Nathaniel Ola Robert, a former librarian at Fourah Bay College (FBC), University of Sierra Leone, and also former lecturer at the Institute of Library Studies at FBC, is the current Coordinator for the Sierra Leone Hunting Cultural Group here in Sydney. In the opening remarks of his welcome address, Mr. Robert thanked the organizers of the memorable gathering and said that the get-together was one of the good things that he loved seeing in the Sierra Leone community. “I like to see different groups in the community coming together to do things in common because we are all brothers and sisters,” he said. He concluded that Mr. Parkinson is our brother and therefore our responsibility to make him feel at home even though our connection with him was short-lived.
Edison Yongai, the Chairman of the exiled journalists association (ASALJIE) and who is also the Managing Director of the Sierra Leone community radio in Sydney, spoke on behalf of the association. He said that Mr. Parkinson is a brother and colleague in the field of journalism and was therefore our duty to do all things within our reach to make him know that he had met his brothers, sisters and colleagues in the Diaspora. Mr. Yongai said that it was a pity because ASALJIE members were unable to meet with Mr. Parkinson as early as possible during his two years in Australia. “However, meeting him for a few days is better than not meeting him at all before his departure,” he said.
In his responses, Mr. Parkinson Jnr. thanked all the Sierra Leone community groups that spared their busy scheduled in order to make him feel at home. “I feel delighted and honoured at such a profound brotherly gesture offered me and it will surely linger in my memory while I’m in Sierra Leone,” he said. He went on that he was not expecting such a big wonderful gathering at short notice and added that he would disseminate the good news in our country, especially in his office, the Ministry of Information in Freetown, about the good works and unity of Sierra Leoneans in Australian, particularly those in Sydney. “It is wonderful to know that Sierra Leoneans in Australia, especially you in Sydney, are so loving and caring for one another and it impresses me a lot,” he said.
The vote of thanks was given by Battilo Kallon, the innovative Secretary General for the Sierra Leone Community Council (SLCC). He said that Sierra Leone, formerly regarded as a small country, was getting bigger as we continue to spread and do mighty things all over the world. He said Sierra Leoneans are of various political ideologies but that our differences always enforce our unity when we meet for a common goal.
The BBQ lasted until after midnight and Dan Parkinson left Sydney for Sierra Leone the next day.
By Tony Bee, Sydney, Australia
Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!
© 2013, https:. All rights reserved.
