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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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1-877-2-ST0P-N0W
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referrals to local treatm ent centers 24 hours a day.
Or visit www.oregonlotteryhelp.org for:
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