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Transitional Justice in Sierra Leone: Oral History, Human Rights, and Post-Conflict Reconciliation by Joseph Ben Kaifala, JD

“The concept of oral history is not a novel idea in Sierra Leonean society where historical knowledge has always been passed on from one generation to another around late night fires beneath a moonlit sky. The fireside gatherings, in addition to various secret societies, served as institutions of learning in which elders transmitted stories of cultural triumphs or tragedies to the younger generation. The stories were intended to alert the youth to the circumstances underlying their past and their future responsibilities as heirs to the cultural heritage. Formal education, as an element of the colonial enterprise, removed children from these fireside academies into Westernized classrooms where we studied only colonial versions of our past. … “

http://www.oralhistoryforum.ca/index.php/ohf/article/view/548/626

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