Island hopping in Sierra Leone: 'falling in love with Freetown requires a different way of seeing. Upcountry, men digging for diamonds in the riverbeds train their eyes to find the gems hidden in the mud. So it is with Freetown.' Kate Eshelby went 'island hopping' in Sierra Leone and brought us this report.

New African › Nbr. 2010, January 2010

Author: Eshelby, Kate

Position:: SIERRA LEONE

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SIERRA LEONE

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Island hopping in Sierra Leone: 'falling in love with Freetown requires a different way of seeing. Upcountry, men digging for diamonds in the riverbeds train their eyes to find the gems hidden in the mud. So it is with Freetown.' Kate Eshelby went 'island hopping' in Sierra Leone and brought us this report.

IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY, USE THE life jackets," the captain announces as the helicopter shudders and shakes noisily into the ink-black sky. "That always makes me laugh," shouts Ali, another passenger, above the din. "Because there aren't any." And there aren't any seatbelts either.

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The helicopter swirls into the hot air, the propeller a whirring white, like a glow-stick, its red beams the only visible light in the darkness. Muggy air pours in, with several of the helicopter windows flung open on their rusty hinges, devil-may-care style. It is exciting, a night-time flight into the unknown.

Helicopters are one of several unusual ways into Freetown, the capital o...

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