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C’O M f l ï f ’ tC Â Sierra Leone
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ountry to lo
oks for past
return
peaceful
by
R on W eber
T he P ortland O bserver
econom ic pursuits. H owever this all began
to change during the 15th Century when the
A lth o u g h the capitol is named Freetown,
Portuguese started inhabiting the country.
those w ho founded Sierra Leone had th e ir
O ver the next several centuries, Europeans
roots grounded in slavery. The co u n try
from several countries, including Portugal,
touches the A tla n tic Ocean and is b o r­
England, France, and Spain, w ould fig h t
dered on its sides by L ib e ria and Guinea.
over the new ly discovered lands in N o rth ­
It was form ed in 1787 as a home fo r freed
west A frica . In 1808, the British declared the
slaves, firs t fro m England and later fro m
area part o f the C row n C olonies. They
the A m ericas.
abolished slave trade and settled free English
W h ile Sierra Leone provides much o f one
o f the w o rld ’ s most valuable treasures, that
slaves there, between
o f diamonds, a great deal o f
became the center fo r trade
the people live in dire pov­
throughout the entire region.
erty and a state o f war.
D u rin g the 1950s, re s i­
U n lik e the large
dents began to rise up,
m id d le
class
d e m a n d in g fre e d o m
population o f the
fro m B ritis h rule. F i­
U n ite d S tates,
n a lly on A p r il 27,
most residents o f
1961, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone are
was granted fre e ­
either rich o r very
dom. A lth o u g h it
poor. English is the
has seen p o litic a l u n ­
o ffic ia l language, but
rest, tr ib a l w ars, e c o ­
most resident also speak
local tribal dialects. This country
is one o f the smallest on the A frica n
continent w ith 4 m illio n people.
Sierra Leone has seen better times. H u­
mans began inhabiting the area more than
Photo by Mark Washington/The Portland Observer
Roseway Vision Planted
Friends o f Trees board member Elizabeth Skorohodov, plants a tree Saturday on the city park blocks dividing
Northeast 72nd Avenue in the Roseway neighborhood. Skorohodov's efforts are part of a large-scale
Roseway Vision tree beautification project, planting 80 tall shade trees in the midway green space that
stretches along four blocks.
nom ic devastation, a g ric u l­
tural collapse and c iv il w ar, its
inhabitants remain true to th e ir m o th ­
erland. In Ju ly o f 1999, Sierra L e o n e ’ s
President Kabbah signed a plan c a llin g fo r
an end to warfare.
tw o and one h a lf centuries before the birth
M uch is being done to fig h t poverty,
o f Christ. Livestock such as cattle were
economic difficu ltie s and A ID S . The United
reared and plants were grown across the
States, along w ith several European coun­
region, including vegetables, rice, m illet,
tries is sending financial aid and contribu­
and yams. S killed laborers worked w ith iron
tions o f food. Not surprising are life expect­
as far back as 600 BC. G old, diamonds, and
ancy figures o f both men and women in the
silver were mined to make expensive rings,
m id to high 40s. As the country continues to
necklaces, ornaments, and trinkets.
receive aid and repair itse lf p o litica lly, there
The people o f Sierra Leone prospered fo r
are high hopes that Sierra Leone can one day
centuries. T heir only real d iffic u ltie s were
return to the peaceful and prosperous nation
fig h tin g w ith other tribes over territory and
it once was.
Thanksgiving, a
Cultural Exchange
Celebration is
nation’s first
multicultural
holiday
Thanksgiving is the first great
multicultural holiday for Americans,
thanks to Native Americans who
taught the Puritans how to adapt to
a strange new world, says a Uni ver-
sity o f California at Davis historian.
"This was a new environment
for the English because o f the d if­
fering nature o f American w ilder­
ness," says Clarence Walker, an
authority on the history o f A m eri­
can race relations.
“ England had been farmed for
centuries, and the land was not
heavily forested," Walker adds. "In
the New W orld, because o f the
Indian slash-and-bum agriculture,
land had reforested itself, and it
would have to be cleared.”
In a spirit o f cooperation, Native
Americans taught their English
neighbors in the Plymouth settle-
ment — mostly artisans and not
farmers — to raise crops in the
unfam iliar soils and how to trap
animals for food and build nets and
baskets to catch fish.
The Indians also helped the En­
glish survive by helping them con­
struct homes and by serving as
cultural mediators. Squanto, for
instance, forestalled initial hostil­
ity between the English and native
tribes that could have driven the
Puritans away, Walker says.
A lthough the Puritans faced
being starved out as other early
English settlements w ould be in
the 1600s along the American
coast. W alker says Thanksgiv­
ing became a story o f American
success. It was celebrated as a
New England holiday long be­
fore President Lincoln declared it
a national holiday in 1863.
Automation Kills 60 Airport Jobs
Piirking cashiers to be replaced by machines
Almost all o f the 60 cashiers at
Portland International Airport who
handle parking payments w ill be
replaced by machines next fall, un­
der a plan approved by the Port o f
Portland commission.
The $7.9 m illio n retrofit is ex­
pected to make it quicker for dri vers
to leave the airport's parking area,
said Dan Brame. Port parking sys­
tem manager.
Officials say the workers targeted
for jo b losses are contract laborers
employed by Ace Parking.
"The cashiers w ill most likely
movo into other positions i f they're
interested or able," said airport
spokesman Steve Johnson. "They
probably w ill not see layoffs, but
it ’ s a little d iffic u lt to say at this
point in time.”
A irport officials said they don't
expect parking rates to change as a
result o f the new system. Parking
revenue w ill pay for the remodel­
ing. which is expected tocost about
$32million.
T raffic at the payment stations
backs up in the evenings, the
airport's busiest hours. Brame said.
•it
Under the new system, motor­ i i!
ists w ill pay for parking at self-
« u
serve machines in the airport park­
ing garage or the long-term parking
lo t— before they reach their parked
cars. W aiting times at the 20 ma­
chines that are planned should be
minimal compared with the wait at
the current eight exit lanes, Brame
said.
The machines w ill electronically
stamp motorists' parking tickets,
validating that parking fees were
paid. A final automated station w ill
check the ticket before raising an
exit-gatearm.
Associated Press contributed to
this report.
1808 and 1860,
Freetown continued to grow rapidly and
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at financial and emotional risk.
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referrals to local treatm ent centers 24 hours a day.
Or visit www.oregonlotteryhelp.org for:
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