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| GEOGRAPHIC
LOCATION: POPULATION: AREA: COASTLINE: LENGTH OF BORDERS: NEIGHBOR COUNTRIES: CAPITAL CITY: INDEPENDENCE DAY: CONSTITUTION: SUFFRAGE: CHILD MORTALITY: CHILD MORTALITY UNDER 5 YEARS OLD: LIFE EXPECTANCY: RATE OF PEOPLE INFECTED WITH HIV: NUMBER OF ORPHANS DUE TO AIDS (2001): ESTIMATED NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITH AIDS: MORTALITY DUE TO AIDS: LITERACY RATE (2001): CLIMATE: ANNUAL PRECIPITATION: TERRAIN: HIGHEST POINT: ETHNICAL GROUPS: RELIGIONS: LANGUAGES: |
N8°
30' W11° 30' ca 5,883,889 (2004 estimate) 71,740 Km² 402 Km 958 Km Liberia and Guinea Freetown 27. April (1961) 1 October 1991 18 years old boys - 332/per 1000, girls - 303/per 1000 284/per 1000, worlds highest (2002 estimate) men = 32,4 years, women = 35,7 years 7% 42,000 children ca 170,000 (2001 estimate) ca 11,000/år (2001 estimate) Men - 51%, women - 23% MaY to November - tropical rainy season, December to April - dry season Up to 5000mm in the coastal areas. The Freetown peninsula has 1000 m high mountains mostly covered with tropical rainforest. The remaining coastal areas are dominated by flat terrain with large river deltas and mangrove forests. The north west is mainly plains with some hills and frequest farmland. The north east is dominated by rugged mountains and hills topping shy of 2000m. Parts are covered with ancient rainforest and the rest has been burned as a part of local farming techniques. Loma Mansa 1948m 20 different tribes (90%). Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%. Krio 10% (descendants from freed North American slaves in the late 1800s) Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, other indigenous beliefs 30% English (official) Mende in the south, Temne in the north, Krio in the Freetown area. (Krio derives from the freed slaves in Freetown. |
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| CHILD
SOLDIERS:
http://www.childsoldiers.org/ Children has often been used as soldiers in armed conflicts around the world. One of the worst examples of this is the recent 10 year unrest in Sierra Leone. This site aims to put a focus on this problem. CRY
FREETOWN: http://www.cryfreetown.org/ HUMAN
RIGHT'S WATCH: http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=africa&c=sierra SIERRA
LEONE INFORMATION: http://www.sierra-leone.org/ CIA
FACT BOOK: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sl.html FN
- UNAMSIL: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unamsil/index.html SIERRA
LEONE'S GOVERNEMENT:
http://www.statehouse-sl.org/ RAFAELE
CIRIELLO HOT SPOT JOURNALIST:
http://www.ciriello.com/site/56main.html ANPUTEES:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/sierra_leone/index.htm |
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The
Portuguese were the first Europeans to discover the coastal areas now
known as Sierra Leone. Later British traders got interested in the area
and in 1808 the coastal areas of Sierra Leone became a part of the
British colonial empire. After the American revolution there were
several attempts on freeing slaves in the area today known as
Freetown. About 2000 freed slaves arrived from America and
Jamaica. Today most of the descendants from these slaves still live in
and around Freetown and make up the "Krio" part of the
population. They got the name by the local population when the slaves
first arrived. Krio is also the main language spoken around the capital
Freetown. Besides used as a trading base, Sierra Leone was also utilized
as a navy base by the British for the anti slavery patrols along the
West African coast. In 1896 the interior was proclaimed a British
protectorate, mostly to forestall French ambitions in the region.
Until WW2 there was little progress in the nation. After the war the
local population got increased political responsibility and on April 27,
1961 Sierra Leone became independent. The time that followed was
turbulent with several military coups. Worst was the time from
1991 to 2001 when paramilitary groups controlled the nation as well as
the feared rebels known for their atrocities against the civilian
population. It was not until 2002 that the UN troops finally
managed to disarm the majority of the paramilitary and the rebel
forces and the nation returned to peace. The battles since
1991 had then caused about 50,000 casualties. The war torn nation is now
trying to rebuild it's infrastructure and governmental functions but
with the nations extremely limited financial resources the progress is
slow.