At the celebration marking the 240th Independence of the United States of America (USA), held at the Radisson Blu on Wednesday, the Ambassdor of the USA John Hover disclosed that “the scourge of slavery is something that links the USA and Sierra Leone”.
Speaking on the theme for the reception ‘red, white and blues’ but with special emphasis on the blues which he said is has been a “remedy for suffering and hard times over the years, and it speaks directly to human suffering but does not wallow in self-pity” rather the blues inspire resilience, strength, humour and hope so that can and hope “that can overcome hardship and suffering”.
Because of these qualities of the blues, Ambassador Hoover said “is perfect for Sierra Leone that have endured immense suffering and hardship in recent history, during the rebel war and more recently because of the ebola outbreak”.
The root of the blues the US Ambassador furthered has its root in Africa believing that the earliest roots of the blues were in West Africa as most slave were sent to America Southeast in the 18th and 19th centuries. “Ironically, slavery is probably what gave the blues.
On the issue of politics since the country will be having presidential elections in November making the end of the Obama presidency and the one thing that they are sure of is that someone is going to be the president and Americans are going to vote for the president.
However he went on the campaing in the USA has been bitter and bruising “the rhetoric from the candidate has at times been not just impolite, but downright nasty”… “an election id not a beauty contest, it is competition off words and ideas. And in the heat of competition, given that at stake, sometimes the words can get quite hot”.
Ambassdor Hoover maintained that the there has harsh criticism of immigrants and hard proposals to treat people differently based on their religion. However assured that “no matter who is elected US president in November, people of all religions, races, creeds and nationalities from around the world will be warmly welcome to visit or live in the United States”.
In his speech the Minister of State II in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maohamed Gibril Sesay gave a background of US battle of independence which he called ‘AMERIXIT’ and if not for “we would not have had Thomas Peters coming over to Africa to found Freetown”.
Speaking about the blues, Sesay maintained that the blues emerged from the experiences of African Americans. They are about resilience, about the will to move on. They tell sad stories, but they tell them in ways that give strength, resilience and hope”
He said “the blues are also like the ways Sierra Leoneans -tell their stories, even when we tell about sad events we many a times say them to elicit strength, even laughter”.
The Minister of States maintained that “stories about slavery, about convict lease and Jim Crow laws after the American civil war, about mass incarceration of African Americans and recent police killings are very tragic, but listening to the blues adds to your resilience in the face of these troubles”.
He expressed condolence on behalf of President Koroma, to the USA for the death of the five Police men and the two black men in the US, Ambassador, as “we totally condemn the injustices of the violence. We also believe that Black Lives Matter is a very legitimate speech act that should be listened to. We believe that nobody would say blue lives don’t matter, or that all lives don’t matter, but when juxtaposed with ‘black lives matter’, they betray an appropriation of colors for ends that may be bigoted”.
Adding that “we are heartened by the Ambassador’s reassurances that bigotry has no place in America, that it is a betrayal of America’s core values. Sure, we believe that though we may not sometimes like what America does, America is a great force for good in the world”.
Highlighting some of the support US government has made to Sierra Leone Mohamed Gibril Sesay maintained that “when Ebola struck our region, America stretched forth her hands in support to our countries, and even to our nationals in America, many of whom were granted Temporary Protected Status”.
By Betty Milton
Thursday July 14, 2016
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