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CNN Live Saturday

Sierra Leone: First Elections Scheduled in Over a Decade

Aired May 11, 2002 - 22:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Folks in Sierra Leone hope Tuesday marks a new beginning in that West African country. That's when elections are scheduled there, the first after nearly a decade of fighting. And on this last day of campaigning, there was dancing in the streets and some fighting. Brawls broke out between supporters of the incumbent president and former rebels who terrorized the West African country for more than 10 years.

Nine candidates are in the running for president. And voters also will choose 112 members of parliament there. The election was called after rebels in Sierra Leone signed a peace accord in late 2000 under pressure from international forces and the military of neighboring Guinea. Now that country has been flooded with refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia.

And journalist Sorya Sumara went inside a refugee camp, where even the food distribution effort became a horror story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SORIOUS SAMURA, JOURNALIST: Distribution day. The hungry crowds queue up with their Russian cards. They are greeted with more bad news. Not only will there have been no cooking oil in their ration, they are told there is also no maize. This news does not go down well with the refugees.

The angry crowd rush to where the food is. The French aide agency in charge of distribution was ready to call it a day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, no. I'm going.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to solve the problem today. You have to solve the problem today.

SAMURA: This is Premier Augence's (ph) first contract for distributing food. But already, shallow tasks [inaudible] little sympathy with the refugees' behavior.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So actually, they're never happy. Whatever we change, they're never happy. So you know, that's their main occupation. They complain.

SAMURA: A refugee has been hit by one of the rocks. They try to take him to hospital, but it's not medical aid he wants. Charlotte remains defiant. Are they going to get their supply today at all?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My whole staff in such a distress. Some were crying. I don't want to distribute. I come back tomorrow. If the thing settle down and if people are more quiet, we can arrange something.

SAMURA: But the point is they say, I mean, the ration has been refused and it's not likely that it's going to stop if they are not assured that they're going to get all the usual ingredients.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they don't accept it, I don't come back. So they -- anyway, at the end, eventually they will have to accept it, because they have no choice. They have no choice.

SAMURA: But Charlotte is convinced that there is one choice left to the refugees. If they're not given the food, they can always try to take it.

Charlotte desperately calls for help, but too late. I was witnessing the result of the desperation that [inaudible]. Tensions in the camp were now so high, that the army was called in. First, they removed the barricades the refugees had hastily put up. And then, they escorted the aide agency's safely off the camp. Back at the food depot, those who lost out in the riot are left to pick up the scraps. Once again, it's a vulnerable who suffered as the food was taken by the young and strong.

(on camera): It's now one hour after food distribution was made to happen. No one here is surprised that this riot took place this morning. There's confusion all over the place. Nobody knows what's going to happen now. But one thing we know for certain, there's going to be no food distribution today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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