His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma,
President and Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Sierra Leone,
State House,
Freetown.
2nd June, 2008.
Your Excellency,
The Plight of Sierra Leoneans in Mali: Open letter to the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
I am honoured by the Executives and entire membership of the Sierra Leonean Nationals Union in Mali (SALNUM) to write you this open letter which by the special Grace of the Almighty we all pray would meet you in good health and patriotic spirits.
There is now a significant number of Sierra Leoneans living in Mali, most of them came here to escape the brutal wars in our country while others are here for greener pastures. But for the last twenty and more years, there is nowhere Sierra Leoneans can look for protection as foreigners in Mali and efforts at pricking the conscience of the Sierra Leone embassy staff in Conakry on this issue have all ended in naught.
We now take the opportunity to address to you this letter and to call on you as President and Father of the Sierra Leonean nation to pay attention to the plight of your children living in Mali. SALNUM was recreated in 2002 as a non-profit organization to cater for Sierra Leoneans. We believe God has brought you to power at the right time to address issues affecting Sierra Leoneans at home and those outside the country.
One of the problems we face in Mali as foreigners is the lack of a Consul at least to cater for your children here. We are not advocating for an embassy of Sierra Leone to be established here, though it would be a welcome move should your government do so, but the creation of a Sierra Leone Consular service in Mali would help ease the problems faced by Sierra Leoneans in Mali.
We would therefore wish to ask that Your Excellency take a second look at our plight in Mali and make the necessary provision for the existence of a Sierra Leone Consul for your children.
While we wish you long life and success in all your undertakings as President of Sierra Leone, we pray that God Almighty may Guide and Protect you to give this letter the favourable consideration it deserves.
Thank You.
Sincerely Yours,
Pa David Kargbo
President of the Sierra Leonean Nationals Union in Mali (SALNUM)
(Telephone contact: 00223-6126382) mobile.
Email:salnum2002@gmail.com
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