Archive - October 3, 2014

My Turn Reflections of a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone by Betsy Small Campbell (Sierra Leone 1984–87) For the Concord, New Hampshire, Monitor Friday, October 3, 2014 (Published in print: Friday, October 3, 2014) (This is Part One in a two-part series. Look for the conclusion in tomorrow’s Forum.) . NO ONE WHO LIVED through the well-documented “blood diamond war” in Sierra Leone has forgotten the terrifying sound of an approaching automatic weapon. Still today, the loud noises of thunder, fireworks, a honking horn can cause panic. Millions of people in this mountainous West African country have fought to put the nightmare of 11 years of bloody civil chaos behind them. The conflict has been over for more than a decade, but the harrowing scars of war are everywhere. There are thousands of amputees, and the elders who should have been around to guide the next generation are . . .