Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 21, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba Opinion Region ligation May be a Good thing for Canadian politics slice of life skateboarders Are a misunderstood but they Are hardly a threat to Eva Weidman writes Winnipeg free press b1 Bruce Owen 6977523 May 2000 brits Hail Blair baby British prime minister Tony Blairs hard driving attorney wife Cherie gave birth to the couples fourth Early yesterday while he is the first child born to a sitting prime minister in 150 Leos Early arrival caught the tabloids off see Page b2 let dad ditching the training wheels is a Delight for but usually Tough on see family Page b3 letters cry for help Sierra Leone teacher seeks safety Here Aid groups bemoan Federal red tape Wypa Ulmcke a and atrocities the Sierra Leone War began in a convoluted series of invasions and highly educated citizens Are regularly persecuted because since they were in they supported now they Are pleading for Here Are excerpts from some of the letters coming to International House Asfe Jughes in the Gambia we have a Tot of limitations m securing appropriate Means of survival and i cannot return with my fam ily to Sierra Leone for Secu Rity i will be very if your Organiza Tion will be Able to assist obtaining a permanent resettlement in systems analyst and they asked me to have sex with my 1 refuse but can not because they used their guns to beat me and my Mother and As to save my Tufe and my t to As they i he order to bring my own Sisters and undress the but my Mother seeing that they will kill me and my two she started crying Call my name that my life is what is important in this so words i sex a poor now living in continued please so cow 12 his name is Tamba rebel soldiers tortured and detained him without they raped his wife in front of they stole his Little else is known about Tamba he taught primary school in Sierra leones free he now lives in one of hundreds of thousands of refugees from War torn Sierra and he wants to live in Yam Basus Strong desire to leave War ravaged West Africa for a Safe Haven Here is blocked by Cana Das immigration procedures and an International Community that Doest see a crisis As Large As so Winnipeg International Centre has received letters from Sierra they arrive at the rate of 35 to so a Yam Basu wrote one of those it came to the Centre on May he wrote although i have never been a politician in my i thought it was morally wrong for me to remain silent when democracy was being brutally murdered in Broad Daylight with unimaginable human rights abuses throughout the he joined the pro democracy move formed a youth league and was elected its Little did i know that by denouncing the unprecedented human rights including Amruta the Burn ing of houses in towns and other forms of indescribable atrocities committed against the civilian i was qualifying myself As a potential target by the gun toting just to let us know what kinds of atrocities Are going on in his Home country in and out of War and coups since 1991 Yam Basu sent along some pictures he burned out bloodied charred the so far one million people limbs hacked off people several rebels raped my wife in my full View while the others rained blows and gun boots on i went into a coma for several its a Litany of horrors the International centres Marty Dolin has seen he holds up a stack of every one of those postage Stamps is where is department Dolin said Kosovar came to Canada under special permits from the immigration so that has it happened for refugees from Sierra sister Aileen of hospitality said As horrible As the situation was in More horrific things were happening in Sierra Leone Back its worse Gleason gets but she cant read them any they just give me a guilt she of the thousands of Sierra Leone ans who applied to come to Only a few will be allowed and that will take months or Gleason said she has people arriving who first applied in november at least people survive if they see the Light at the end of the said the United nations High commis Sion for refugees in Ottawa says the situation in Sierra Leone is not As bad As Kosovo because the Borders Are not information officer Nanda Nachampassak said refugees May travel to bordering Guinea or but Gleason said those countries Harbour the rebels As refugees Arent even Safe in the she Nachampassak said when the fighting settles most refugees will return to Sierra in Fig ures for the end of 1999 show Sierra Leone refugees out of a coun try of the situation changes rebel Leader foday Sankoh now is in Cus tamm1mumv wimp to of Lull Wpm Yam Basus pictures depict beating of burning buildings in his his detainment in the past Actu ally inflamed his supporters to wreak havoc across the the agony of my 12yearold Sia who was abducted while trying to flee still causing havoc in my my wife and i have refi ised to perceive Sia we believe she is living in the Jungles with her 1 do no want to imagine the present state in which she May be finding amnesty International has asked the Canadian government to address the refugee Dolin is some what encouraged that a local meeting is set for thursday with provincial and Federal foday Kamara will be at that meet who also is knows the horror from which Yam Basu and thou Sands of others Kamara was an economist for Sierra leones minister a finance before he turned up in win Kamara recalled the first shots being fired in but they were Border the Seaside Capi Tal of Freetown was relatively Kamara said in 1994 everything he left Sierra Leone to study at Montreal Mcgill a 1992 coup already under his several More coups followed after he came to my own brother was with his he rebels went into Kamaras Home town and rounded up All the women Over 20 had their limbs hacked women under 20 became wives to polygamous Kamara said the amputations Are cruelly the rebels ousted democratically elected president Ahmad Tejan the hands that were used to vote for president Kabbah will be Cut explained continued please 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