15 years on

It is already 15 years since the guns fell silent officially in Salone. For some, it would seem that the past conflict is history and only the bad memories of its horrors reappear from time to time. When one scratches below the surface of our economy or reflect on the state of poverty, it is not evident that we recall the conditions of pre-conflict Salone. The factors/conditions that led to the conflict, and worse the lessons we should have learnt all seem lost to us. In Rwanda every year they devote a week (actually happening now), when offices close at 3:30 and sessions are conducted in memory of what happened throughout the country. No music or festivities but reflection on how to avoid it in the future.
In Salone, we have just gone through Ebola and should at least spend time to review what went wrong – and not only in the health sector. Otherwise, I am afraid we are missing yet another opportunity to avoid errors of the past.