Commentary
By Ngozi Monica Cole, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
On August 14th ,many areas in Freetown experienced severe flooding, as houses were either fully or partially submerged, and a catastrophic landslide occurred in Regent, a community situated in the outskirts of Freetown.
In total, an estimated 500 people have died because of the floods and the landslide, and approximately 800 more people have been declared missing. Over 2000 people are homeless, and have been lodged in temporary shelters such as schools and churches, until a more permanent solution is found.
Torrential rains are nothing new to Freetown, a densely overpopulated city, carrying just a little over 1 million of Sierra Leone’s 7,396,000 citizens. Regent bore the brunt of the casualties, with the landslide burying homes ranging from magnificent structures to ordinary shacks, at the bottom of Mount Sugar Loaf.
However, many of the communities that the flooding heavily affected were informal settlements (see video) , with the houses poorly built with sticks and tin, and tightly packed together. These informal settlements, or ‘slums’carry thousands of people, many of whom were part of the migration from the provinces, both during and after Sierra Leone’s decade long civil war.
One of the communities, known as Culvert (photo) , is built around a stream that flows into the ocean, and is also next to a famous landfill,Bomeh. During the rainy season, the dirt flows downstream, flooding the pathways in a community that is built on a swamp. When the heavy rains hit on August 14th, the wind and the rain blew most of the houses away, leaving little or nothing behind.
Many of the people who live in such communities find their sources of livelihood in the inner-city area, trading goods such as used clothing, cheap Made in China items, and stationery. One of the men at Culvert, mentions that he has a Sociology degree from Fourah Bay College,but has been unable to find meaningful employment. So now he teaches Social Studies at a nearby primary school to make ends meet. His home was destroyed when a loose rock slid down during the rains and crushed his tiny shack. Luckily for him, he was away the morning of August 14th. One would question why people would leave the comfort of land in the provinces, to live in a shack in a dangerous community. Unfortunately, Sierra Leone’s socio-economic makeup places many opportunities in Freetown,in terms of employment and access to key services. And even if they cannot see tangible opportunities, migrants feel as though an escape from their poverty and miserable life is closer in the city than in the provinces. Coping with the rainy season is just one aspect of the larger struggle for survival.
However, year after year, episodes of flooding take place and the cycle continues: disaster happens, the victims are carted off to shelters, donations pour in from well-meaning organisations and individuals, some of the aid will reach the victims, some will slip through cracks and pockets,some noise will be made about an investigation-nothing will come of it-in three moths time the nation will forget, and we will all wait for another rainy season and its tragedies.
Freetown is poorly planned and overcrowded and because of such poor planning, corruption with regards to land regulation and allocation, as well as lack of affordable housing, many people are forced to reside in dangerous and vulnerable homes such as the ones at Culvert, Kroo Bay and Dwozark areas. Finding proper affordable housing in Freetown is extremely expensive, and low-cost houses, if they exist, are situated far from the economic opportunities in the capital city.
The measure of any effective government is how much difference they make in the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable of their citizens they are meant to serve. Will the government finally find a solid solution to Freetown’s pressing affordable housing problem? Will it finally enforce environmental protection policies or will many more continue to perish and suffer in subsequent rainy seasons?
Time will tell.
The author, Ngozi Monica Cole
Comments