Fresh Air, Joseph Opala and Zainab Bangura

By: Terry Gross

Narrated by: Terry Gross

Length: 44 mins

Publisher's summary

On this edition of Fresh Air, host Terry Gross and her guests Joseph Opala and Zainab Bangura discuss the controversial efforts to bring peace to Sierra Leone. As part of the agreement to end the civil war, members of the rebel forces were invited to participate at high levels of government these were the same people who committed atrocities such as hacking off the limbs of children. Opala, an anthropologist, is an American who lived in Sierra Leone for 23 years. This past May, the Sierra Leone army staged a coup and Opala thought he would be safe in the hotel where the Nigerian General was staying. Instead, the hotel became a target and caught on fire from the attacks. Opala had to help other people get out of the country and was eventually evacuated himself. Bangura is a human rights activist and pro-democracy leader in Sierra Leone. She's been threatened both by the government and the rebels because of her outspokenness. She speaks about the situation as it stands right now. (Broadcast Date: May 23, 2000)

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