Link to Article: https://www.thesierraleonetelegraph.com/kandeh-yumkella-calls-on-sierra-leoneans-to-unite-for-the-good-of-the-nation/
Summary: Sierra Leone is known as country that is poorly managed and fragile. Hon. Kandeh Yumkella notes that for a majority of his compatriots, their lives either remain poor or get even worse when governments change. Yumkella also says that in the past three decades there have been no significant change in the economy, social capital, or well being of the people has occurred. he then follows up with a question asking “Are our people forever condemned to live in a poverty trap?” Yumkella then calls on the nation to “come together to face the hard times ahead” “…Our common enemies are poverty, ignorance, and corruption, not people of other political parties.” He calls on Sierra Leoneans now in order to take advantage of the current opportunity to unify the country”around a shared national purpose and the pursuit of a common destiny” Yumkella also says, “We must learn to forgive each other and eschew violence.”
Analysis: For most countries today their biggest threats lay outside of their borders and have other countries as their main opposition to stop them from reaching the place they want to be. We need to remember that their are some countries such as Sierra Leone that are struggling heavily with domestic issues. Yumkella says many times that their enemies are not each other and they need to learn to forgive one another and not resort to violence. This tells us that until this country can get over there past issues and stop the conflict that happens inside its borders it can’t move up and develop as a country. Countries can not contribute to the global community if they can’t deal with their own internal issues.
How this relates to class: This relates to the different stages of countries. Many other powerful countries have already gone through times of massive internal issues but they have solved the internal issues for the most part. Some examples of this are America with the Revolutionary War which separates America from England and then the Civil War which was a internal fight and since then America has solved its issues and moved more into the international community. Sierra Leone needs to solve its internal issues if it ever wants to move past the stage it is at currently.