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<div id="system-message-container"> </div> <div id="system"> <h1 class="title">Witness to Truth</h1> <div class="items items-col-1 grid-block"><div class="grid-box width100 leading"> <article class="item" data-permalink="http://sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/2-uncategorised/6-pics"> <div class="content clearfix"> <p style="text-align: left;"><em> <div class="moduletable"> <div id="djslider-loader120" class="djslider-loader"> <div id="djslider120" class="djslider"> <div id="slider-container120" class="slider-container"> <ul id="slider120"> <li> <a href="http://sierraleonetrc.org/" target="_blank"> <img src="/images/front.page.slideshow/intro image.jpg" alt="homepage - INTRO" /> </a> </li> <li> <a href="http://sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/view-the-final-report" target="_blank"> <img src="/images/front.page.slideshow/report 1 image.jpg" alt="homepage - REPORTS" /> </a> </li> <li> <a href="http://sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/resources/recommendations-matrix" target="_blank"> <img src="/images/front.page.slideshow/recommendations 1 image.jpg" alt="homepage - RECOMMENDATIONS" /> </a> </li> <li> <a href="http://sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/download-reports/popular-reports/item/witness-to-truth-volume-three-a-chapter-2-governance?category_id=16" target="_blank"> <img src="/images/front.page.slideshow/witness 2 image.jpg" alt="homepage - WITNESS" /> </a> </li> <li> <a href="http://sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/resources/voices-of-the-trc" target="_blank"> <img src="/images/front.page.slideshow/voices 3 image.jpg" alt="homepage - VOICES" /> </a> </li> <li> <a href="http://sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/national-vision-for-sl" target="_blank"> <img src="/images/front.page.slideshow/nvsl image.jpg" alt="homepage - NVSL" /> </a> </li> <li> <a href="http://sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/sierra-leone-peace-museum" target="_blank"> <img src="/images/front.page.slideshow/museum image.jpg" alt="homepage - MUSEUM" /> </a> </li> </ul> </div> <div id="navigation120" class="navigation-container"> <img id="prev120" class="prev-button" src="https://sierraleonetrc.org//modules/mod_djimageslider/assets/prev.png" alt="Previous" /> <img id="next120" class="next-button" src="https://sierraleonetrc.org//modules/mod_djimageslider/assets/next.png" alt="Next" /> <img id="play120" class="play-button" src="https://sierraleonetrc.org//modules/mod_djimageslider/assets/play.png" alt="Play" /> <img id="pause120" class="pause-button" src="https://sierraleonetrc.org//modules/mod_djimageslider/assets/pause.png" alt="Pause" /> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear: both"></div> </div> </em></p> <hr /> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>I pray never to see again what I saw in my beloved Sierra Leone.<em><br /></em></strong><em>-聽</em><em><span lang="EN-GB">Extract from the poem "I Saw" by Mohamed Sekoya, <br /></span>submitted to the <a href="/index.php/national-vision-for-sl">National Vision for Sierra Leone</a>, a project of the TRC.</em></p> <p><span lang="EN-GB"><img src="/images/marketplaceinmakeni6.small.jpg" border="0" width="230" style="border: 1px solid black; float: right; margin: 5px;" />After years of brutal conflict in Sierra Leone there existed a need to confront the past. The nation wanted to know what precipitated the wave of vengeance and mayhem that swept across the country.聽 How was it that the people of Sierra Leone came to turn on each other with such ferocity? Why did so many abandon traditions of community and peaceful co-existence? Why were long held and cherished customs and taboos so wantonly discarded? What needs to change? How will we effect the change?</span></p> <p><img src="/images/trcpublichearingsmakeni1small1.jpg" border="0" width="220" style="border: 1px solid black; float: left; margin: 5px;" /></p> <p><span lang="EN-GB"><br />The <a href="/index.php/view-the-final-report" title="View the Final Report">Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Sierra Leone</a> explores these questions. 聽It does not only expose perpetrators and identify victims but also serves as a mirror through which all Sierra Leoneans can examine their own roles in the conflict. It is only through generating such understanding that the horrors of the past can be prevented from occurring again. Knowledge and understanding are the most powerful deterrents against conflict and war.聽</span></p> <p><span lang="EN-GB"><br /><em><img src="/images/wardamaged.jpg" border="0" alt="War damaged building in Freetown" title="War damaged building in Freetown" align="right" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; cursor: default; border-width: 0px; float: right; border: 0; margin: 5px;" /></em>The Commission鈥檚 findings encourage the Sierra Leonean nation to confront the past. They reinforce the belief that the past must never be forgotten. The Commission鈥檚<a href="/index.php/resources/recommendations-matrix" title="SLTRC Recomendations"> recommendations</a> touch on every aspect of the lives of Sierra Leoneans. They represent the hopes of Sierra Leone鈥檚 children and youth as well as the yet unspoken hopes of future generations. 聽聽</span></p> <p><span lang="EN-GB">The Commission hopes the Report will serve as a roadmap towards the building of a new society in which all Sierra Leoneans can walk unafraid with pride and dignity.</span></p> <p></p> </div> </article></div><div class="grid-box width100"> <article class="item" data-permalink="http://sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/2-uncategorised/2-home"> <div class="content clearfix"> <p style="text-align: center;">This site was made possible with the support of 聽<a href="http://www.osiwa.org/" target="_blank"><img src="/images/osiwa.png" border="0" width="160" style="vertical-align: top;" /></a></p> </div> </article></div></div> </div></section> </div>  <aside id="sidebar-b" class="grid-box"><div class="grid-box width100 grid-v"><div class="module mod-line deepest"> <table style="width: 204px;" border="0" bgcolor="#788760"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <div style="font-size: 12px;"> <p style="color: white; padding-left: 30px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Witness to Truth:<br />Final Report of the TRC</strong></span></p> <p style="color: white; padding-left: 30px;"><a href="/index.php/view-the-final-report/table-of-contents" style="color: white;">Read the Final Report</a></p> <p style="color: white; padding-left: 30px;"><a href="/index.php/view-the-final-report/download-table-of-contents" style="color: white;">Download the Final Report</a></p> <p><a href="/index.php/view-the-final-report"><img src="/images/vol_1_cover.jpg" border="0" width="160" height="220" style="border: 2px solid white; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div></div><div class="grid-box width100 grid-v"><div class="module mod-line deepest"> <table border="0" bgcolor="#2e7b93"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <div style="font-size: 12px;"> <p style="color: white; padding-left: 30px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/index.php/view-the-final-report/popular-reports" style="color: white;">Popular Reports</a><br /></strong></span></p> <p style="color: white; padding-left: 30px;"><a href="/index.php/video-photos/witness-to-truth-video-report" style="color: white;">Witness to Truth: A Video Report</a></p> <p style="color: white; padding-left: 30px;"><a href="/index.php/view-the-final-report/popular-reports/item/trc-report-a-secondary-school-version?category_id=16" style="color: white;">TRC Report: A Secondary School Version</a></p> <p style="color: white; padding-left: 30px;"><a href="/index.php/view-the-final-report/popular-reports/item/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-report-for-the-children-of-sierra-leone?category_id=16" style="color: white;">TRC Report for the Children of Sierra Leone</a></p> <a href="/index.php/download-reports/alternative-versions" style="color: white;"></a></div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div></div><div class="grid-box width100 grid-v"><div class="module mod-line deepest"> <table style="width: 204px;" border="0" bgcolor="#788760"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <div style="font-size: 12px;"> <p style="color: white; padding-left: 30px;"><a href="/index.php/resources/recommendations-matrix" style="color: white;"><strong>Recommendations Matrix:</strong>聽status of implementation of the TRC recommendations</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div></div><div class="grid-box width100 grid-v"><div class="module mod-line deepest"> <table border="0" bgcolor="#2e7b93"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <div style="font-size: 12px;"> <p style="color: white; padding-left: 30px;"><a href="/index.php/video-photos/voices-of-the-trc" style="color: white;"><strong>Voices</strong><strong style="color: white;"> of the TRC:</strong> stories of victims and others聽</a></p> <p><a href="/index.php/video-photos/voices-of-the-trc"><img src="/images/voices.jpg" border="0" width="175" height="130" style="border: 2px solid white; vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div></div><div class="grid-box width100 grid-v"><div class="module mod-line deepest"> <table style="width: 204px;" border="0" bgcolor="#788760"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <div style="font-size: 12px;"> <p style="color: white; padding-left: 30px;"><strong>SierraLeoneTRC.org Brochure</strong></p> <p style="color: white; padding-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><a href="/images/docs/sltrc_brochure.pdf"><img src="/images/sltrc_brochure_full.jpg" border="0" width="165" height="123" style="display: block; margin-right: auto; vertical-align: middle;" /></a></p> <p style="color: white; padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.3em;">We invite you聽to print and distribute the </span><span style="color: #ffffff;"><a href="/images/docs/sltrc_brochure.pdf"><span style="color: #ffffff;">SierraLeoneTRC.org brochure</span></a> for</span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.3em;"> purposes of promoting the website.</span></p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div></div><div class="sidebar-bg"></div></aside> </div>  <footer id="footer" class="grid-block"> <a id="totop-scroller" href="#page"></a> <div class="module deepest"> <p style="font-size: 10px;"><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/80x15.png" border="0" alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width: 0;" /></a>聽This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.<br /><a href="/index.php/contact-us">Contact information</a>聽</p> </div> </footer> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; 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