As Sierra Leone emerges from conflict, the Irish Government and Concern are trying to bring justice and hope. Conor Lally reports.
In the slums of Mabella in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, the dividends of the country's two-year tentative peace remain elusive. Some 20,000 people live in the 5,000 shacks, which run down to the seafront at Susan's Bay. The stench of two streams which flow through this patch of dirt hangs heavy in the air. The water is black and full of rubbish and food scraps. Wild pigs forage in the filthy water.
Across town in the New England district the picture couldn't be more different. It is here on Jomo Kenyatta Road that the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the country's war crimes tribunal, has been established. A whole network of clean, new, air-conditioned offices fill the hillside. For almost two years the court's investigators have been busy preparing their case against 11 men accused of war crimes perpetrated across Sierra Leone since 1996, by which point the country had been ravaged by civil war.
Some 34 international donors, including the Irish Government, have provided the funding for the tribunal. Public opinion in Sierra Leone is firmly split on the merits of the court. Some believe that bringing members of the public to testify against those responsible for war crimes - politicians and army and rebel figures - will seriously risk the safety of those witnesses and may lead to unrest. Another school of thought is that the $80 million earmarked for expenditure on the tribunal would be better pumped into essential services such as healthcare. Others say the court is vital in order to lay down a clear marker that those who violate human rights will be punished.
The tribunal was set up by the UN in conjunction with the government of Sierra Leone. It is mandated to pursue those who "bear the greatest responsibility" for the war crimes in the west African state. Its chief prosecutor, David Crane, rejects criticism of his work and that of his colleagues. Speaking to The Irish Times at his Freetown office this week, the former Senior Inspector General at the US Department of Defence said he believes bringing to justice those responsible for atrocities is vital if a lasting peace is to endure in Sierra Leone.
"Just two weeks ago in Makeni a woman stood up at a meeting I was at and her face was missing. They (her attackers) had jammed her face into a pot of boiling oil. She said 'all I want to do is tell you that and hope that you seek justice'. It was a very moving moment. You can't just walk away from this. We have to clearly say, this can't happen in the 21st century, we're better than that. A lot of these victims are going to have to relive the very tragic moment during which they lost lips, ears, eyes, buttocks, breasts, genitalia, arms, legs etc, or seeing, as one woman has described, her family, her husband and four children, chopped to pieces. These people will show the world what took place here."
This week the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Tom Kitt TD, visited Freetown and announced a new permanent Development Cooperation Ireland office in the city. From there, Irish officials will monitor the progress of Irish-funded projects and will examine ways Ireland can work more closely with Sierra Leone and neighbouring Liberia, as both emerge from periods of conflict.
The Irish aid agency Concern runs a health clinic for women and children in Mabella. It provides vaccines and other health care for the slum district's 20,000 residents. It costs less than $20,000 annually.
Concern's country director in Sierra Leone, Toireas Ní Bhriain, has just returned to Freetown after two years.
"The biggest change here now is that people are safe, they couldn't move around freely before but now they can. In terms of poverty it is still as bad but there is now hope because of the peace. We're at the stage where we can start rebuilding. It's genuine hope."