Freetown, Sierra Leone - This is Sandra reporting from her room at noon on Saturday, August 11, 2007. This is not just an ordinary Saturday; this is the day that 2.6 million Sierra Leoneans have the chance to decide the fate of their country. Polling stations were due to open at 7am but many opened late, possibly due to a delay in the ballot papers being delivered as a result of heavy rainfall on Friday. Word has it that as early as 5 am, citizens lined up with umbrellas at the various stations, in some cases hours before the stations opened, waiting to cast their vote. So far the process seems well-organized and peaceful.
Seeing as I am confined to my compound today (as a safety precaution), my personal experience of the elections is limited. However, we do happen to have a polling station on our road, less than 50 meters from our gate. So, at 11 am this morning, I decided to climb up the ladder onto the roof of our generator room to scope out the neighborhood a bit. Sure enough, there was still a line of people outside the polling station. Apparently, earlier this morning, the line reached past our house. There were also many people walking up and down our road; much more than usual. Fortunately, everyone seemed content and besides hearing a constant chatter in the distance it is very peaceful.
1 comment:
Leave it to Sandra to get a glimpse of what is going on :) Hiere at the centre, we boiled the rice, heated up the sauce and did the dishes, beside some noises outside the gate - direction dancegroup, not much excitement here.
Love
mama
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