Sierra Leone

Language English, Krio (a Creole language that derives from a mixture of English and African languages), and various African languages - Religion: 60% Islam, 30% Christian, 10% African Indigenous

Geography Sierra Leone, on the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa, is half the size of Illinois. Guinea, in the north and east, and Liberia, in the south, are its neighbors. Mangrove swamps lie along the coast, with wooded hills and a plateau in the interior. The eastern region is mountainous.

Government Sierra Leone became an independent nation on April 27, A military coup overthrew the civilian government in 1967, which was in turn replaced by civilian rule a year later. The country declared itself a republic on April 19, 1971.

Diamonds Sierra Leone is rich in minerals, especially diamonds The term “conflict diamond” came from wars like the one in Sierra Leone due to the large role that diamonds play in perpetuating the conflict A conflict diamond is a diamond that comes from an area controlled by forces that oppose internationally recognized governments, usually through war or bloodshed - The government had a long history of corruption, including pocketing money from diamonds and smuggling

Beginning of the civil war RUF attacked eastern Sierra Leone in 1991, marking the start of the 11 year civil war - The government did not have the resources to fight off the RUF due to years of corruption and misuse of government funds - Not even a year after the RUF first attacked Sierra Leone, the army turned on the government and took over

Child Soldiers 10,000 child soldiers are estimated to have participated in the war - Today, 2,000 children are still soldiers in the army Children were often given drugs such as cocaine to make them more numb to what they were doing - Initiations into the RUF(Revolutionary United Front) included cutting the letters of RUF into the chest, killing prisoners, and raiding villages for supplies and more recruits

Results of the war It is estimated anywhere between 150,000 and 200,000 people died in the war from various causes - More than half the country became homeless - 600,000 people became refugees - 200,000 women were raped - 1,000 civilians had one or more limbs amputated