FCC Communications: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 10 March 2022:
Yesterday, Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, councillors and staff of Freetown City Council joined a cultural parade led by the leaders of the 17 ethnic groups in Freetown, in celebration of 230 years (1792 – 2022), since the founding of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown as the home of freed slaves – the Krios.
(Freetown At 230 Years Theme Song, featuring Blessing, Drizilik, Mello Seven and Raymond Allie)
The rich display of culture in the streets through music, outfits and dancing was a true testament of Freetown being the home of ethnic diversity.
We are proud that Freetown is home to all and we say a big thank you to all who made the parade a success as we continue to celebrate #FreetownAt230
Actions speak louder than words. In celebrating this historic event of the founding of Freetown 230 years ago, is not only poignant in helping shape our country’s past, but has also helped shaped the future trajectory of our country.And our country and its place in history is so unique in the African continent and to the millions of Africans displaced by the barbaric slave trade from their African roots, which by the way says a lot about how our country is directly connected from the point of departure to the return as emancipated and liberated Africans that were brought back to the continent after their ordeal from the cottton plantations of the Americas and west Indies with the hope to begin to reconstruct their shattered lives both politically, culturally, socially, and economically that made Freetown what it is today.
The fact that a descendants of those people that were enslaved in the from of Mayor Akin Sawyer, was able to bring all the tribes, that historically were initially hostile to the new arrivals, says something about her unique personality of how she is able to bring people together to celebrate what unit us instead of what divide us. After all we are all Sierra Leoneans, speaking the Krio language that have helped glued our country together.
Yes it is important to note one of the participants in the parade, voicing what many of our countrymen and women will hope and pray for that one day we might just say there is no tribalism in Sierra Leone. And Mayor Akin Sawyer, through her leadership and actions has been spareheading that fight to make Sierra Leone less tribalistic and more tolerant of the other. And what better way to help add more glue in helping us stick together as Sierra Leoneans than celebrating the uniqueness of Freetown. The birth place of Free Africans.