On vans, helicopters and aeroplanes

Some places are just precious enough to warrant some effort in getting there. The last day of the mission. This place does not skip a beat. As we leave, counsel from Holland arrives.

Can't say I'll miss the heat. Just went up to UNICEF to leave the excess food and I sweated buckets.

I'll miss this good ol'library. As usual, this was my habitat.

Oh yeah - so we will be driven by van to the UN helipad. From there we fly out to Lungi Airport on a brief, fun helicopter ride. Finally, we negotiate through the baggage handlers and other airport staff to catch our flight to Accra.

I'll try to communicate if we are seriously delayed in Accra.
Otherwise, I'll see you tomorrow my love.
xoxooxoxoxoooxo

Getting down to business

With 2 days to go, things finally kick into gear.

The trial is back on track. The prosecution is on its second witness. The prosecution plans to call over 300 witnesses. I assume the defense teams will call at least that many. And that is just for the first 3 indictees. Litigation of this scope is hard to comprehend. No wonder the Rwanda and Yugoslavia tribunals have been in session for so many years.

I am working on a little bit of research and writing. Everybody else is doing what they can to stay busy.

Also, the last 2 nights have brought fierce thunder, wind and rain. It is an awesome and humbling show of nature's power.

Oh yeah, I finally found a place with decent coffee - a Lebanese restaurant called Molina. Despite the absence of falafel, they serve one mean cup of Turkish coffee. Yum.

That is all for now sweetheart.
I will see you in 3 days.
Love you.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

River No. 2

Once again, I had the opportunity to spend some time at the beach. This time it was the River No. 2 beach.

River No. 2 is far more secluded than Lumley. The 45 minute drive from Freetown was almost worth the price of the trip. The beach is nestled in the rainforest and mountains south of Freetown. The tide actually floods part of the beach - cutting it in 2 sections. The resort section is a small compound with bungalows, a restaurant and some shopping huts run by a group of locals who want to develop the area into a full-blown resort town. The locals might get their wish because all the guests were European or American - I can only imagine that guest recommendations will make this beach a popular tourist spot.

Although short, our stay at River No. 2 was the highlight of the trip thus far. The sand is ivory white and the water light blue. We had barracuda with cous-cous for dinner. It reminded me of the fish at Joloff's.

Yesterday we headed to the local chimpanzee preserve. High in the inland mountains, the preserve was an interesting place. A German guide showed us the different holding facilities for the different chimp groups. The idea is to rehabilitate hurt or displaced chimps so they can go back to the jungle.

We ended the weekend with dinner at an ocean-side british restaurant called Alex's. The soccer match between France and England was on the tele. As you can imagine, emotions ran high as both French and English ex-pats/tourists were each rooting for their national team.

Also, the weekend had an introspective quality as we all came to realize that our time here is almost up.

Out of time again my love.
Love you.
Will double check about the arrival time at JFK this Saturday.
xoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxo

Indochine

We all went out to an Asian restaurant last night to bid adieu to Elizabeth. We had a good time talking to some of the other interns. Too bad I did not notice that the restaurant also served Thai food - I would love some chicken pad thai right about now.

The group paid with some of the newly exchanged currency - which I procured earlier in the day. Turns out that currency exchange is way more stable and safe if done through UN contacts. Our contact is a guy named Barry who sets up shop across the street from UNAMSIL headquarters and keeps his cash in plastic bags. Initially, exchanging money through the passenger window of a UN transport 4x4 is a bit of a thrill. Then I realized I had to count about 750 bills of 5,000 Leones. When we settled the bill last night we had a stack of money about 5 inches high to pay for what amounted to approximately $250 worth of food. One of the interns took a picture of the stack to commemorate the occasion.

While on my trek to exchange currency, I was fortunate enough to be driven by the old mosque in downtown Freetown. Very cool edifice facing the ocean. I also saw the domestic courthouse - which was rebuilt within the last 4 years. But the hightlight of the trip was seeing the Old Cotton Tree. The tree is as old as the city - and every bit as beautiful as the city is in places. It is a symbol of endurance and strength for everyone.

The Indian and Lebanese contingents seem to be doing well. They own the grocery and building supply stores around the city. I always forget to ask the Indian store owners where I can find a cup of chai.

Oh yeah, quick update on the sick Dutch intern. Apparently, it was food poisoning. He remains at the hospital for now, but we are quite certain he will recuperate.

I must leave you for now babe
I will endeavor to make this last week go as fast as possible.
See you here on Monday
I love you
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxo

Green

Everything is lush and cool today. Apparently, the rainy season (approximately from mid-June to September) has finally arrived. Everyone has a smile on their face.

I have a smile on my face because I had my first proper cup of tea in Sierra Leone yesterday afternoon. On the return trip from an outreach presentation, we stopped at UNAMSIL headquarters and had a chance to sit at the cafeteria for a little while. I had 3 cups of Ceylon tea with milk and sugar. Delicious.

The trial continues today. The only thing on the agenda is a brief appearance to find out whether Norman's case will continue at the same pace as everyone else's on the docket.

Everyone in the group seems to have recovered from the excesses of the weekend. Either too much local food or too much sun - we shall never know. One of the other interns, a Dutch fellow named Michel, was hospitalized last night - we don't yet know the cause of his illness. We are all pulling for him so he can recover quickly.

I must leave you for now my love.
I love you.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Infancy

The international criminal tribunal process continues to develop. Today, the Trial Chamber refused to declare an unqualified right to self-defense for Sam Hinga Norman. Careful drafting of the Special Court Statute certainly helped the Trial Chamber make this decision.

Unlike Milosevic, Norman was not granted much time to make his much awaited statement. Apparently, Milosevic had the opportunity to repeatedly contest the jurisdiction of the ICTY before his microphone was turned off.

I sense that the proceedings are pretty much over for this month. The next step is for the Registrar, in concert with the defense office, to procure a willing attorney or barrister for Norman.

The second consolidated case - against the Revolutionary United Front - is scheduled to begin on July 5th.

Darker Shade of Brown

This past weekend, I did what I love to do most - I went to the beach. Lumley Beach is a little bit of paradise. Apparently, the beaches south of Freetown are even better.

The locals are mostly shy. We did hear the occasional "white boy" while walking down the streets. Otherwise, closer to the tourist spots, like the beach, the people of Freetown are incredibly enterprising. I am sure that during your travels you became well acquainted with offers to arrange for transport or to go buy you a soda in exchange for a tip.

On Saturday, my roommate and I walked from the Hostel to Lumley. The journey took 1.5-2 hours each way. I feel that day was the best one thus far. We walked past a beautiful old mosque - standing alone in a neighborhood burgeoning with churches.

Yesterday, the group originally planned to visit a chimpanzee preserve due south from Freetown. However, transport did not materialize (we could not get a proper rough terrain vehicle or for that matter someone who could guarantee they knew the way out to the preserve). I guess city people are generally the same all over the world. They know their territory and little else.

So instead, we headed back out to Lumley again. I could not have been happier. I swam for hours. The group paid the price for being out at the beach most of the day. Michael (the other 1L), Steve and Elizabeth (she went to Haiti & Jamaica in the other UJ trips) had rough nights. We have not pinpointed what it was that they ate or drank that could have made them sick. We are all hyper-vigilant about the stuff we ingest. Thus far we conclude it must be related to the prolonged exposure to the sun. They are all taking some of that fizzy vitamin stuff you give me from time to time.

I have to return to work now.
I love you baby.
I miss you.
xoxoxooxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo

7th Day

The crescendo of excitement regarding the first trial came to an abrupt end when Sam Hinga Norman discharged his attorneys and proclaimed that he wanted to represent himself. The outcome of Norman's maneuver is that the judges will put all proceedings on hold until Tuesday, when they will issue a ruling regarding this request. Milosevic did the same during his trial. The problem is that his strategy did not work.

There's now a sense of stability and routine for the journey. We are all working on different research or summarization exercises.

Guess where I currently spend my days? Why at the library of course. Actually, it turns out that there are not enough workstations to spare at the offices - so some of us use the terminals at the library to type our summaries or research.

As far as socializing with other people at the Special Court, we have gone out to dinner with different groups twice thus far. Personally, I like our usual place. However, these other places let us realize that Freetown does have a very real western contingent who calls this place home.

We are all looking forward to the weekend. In an ideal world we will all have enough juice to spring out of bed early on Saturday. That scenario is unlikely.

I will blog again Monday -
I love you sweetheart
The night sky carries my love so it can kiss you goodnight
xoxoxoxoxxooox

Dante

In its opening statement, the prosecution alluded to the journey it has planned for the Special Court.

I am grateful for the opportunity to hear these statements. Importantly, the Special Court also recently ruled recruitment of children as combatants a crime under international law.

And then comes the Rain

I'll backtrack to our first couple of days in Freetown.

The Hostel
We moved into the National Stadium Hostel - a nice 5 story hotel built with the help of the Chinese government. The fire hydrants, the water heater, the toilet and the air conditioner are all Chinese. With Chinese character names and instructions. We've had intermittent electricity at the hostel during the night. So the nights are a bit warm, but enjoyable nonetheless.


The Food
We've found our nightly dinner spot about a quarter of a mile down the road - Mari Nella's. This place serves traditional fare: fish and chips, chicken and chips, egg sandwiches, and beer. We stumbled upon this Lebanese bakery from which the office orders lunch. They have quite possibly the best chicken shawarma sandwiches I've had the pleasure to eat. Finding drip coffee or tea has been next to impossible. For now I make do with instant coffee and coffee-mate.


The Special Court
The compound is heavily fortified with cement walls. It slopes downward (as does much of Freetown). This is truly an international scene. Advocates from all over the globe work here. We also have a UNICEF outpost accross the street, so we see quite a few Europeans when visiting the UNICEF Canteen. Everybody is running around excitedly because opening statements for the first trial are scheduled for tomorrow. Most attorneys are foreigners with local co-counsel managing the development of the cases. One sweet thing is that since Monday night we were told to utilize the UN transport system whenever we wanted. The UN mission (UNAMSIL) has become a part of the city.


Thus far, I have attended a couple of rulings on motions at the smaller chamber housed within the detention center. The second ruling we attended concerned Charles Taylor's status of immunity as head of state (the Court declined to grant him immunity). We will all definitely attend the opening statements tomorrow. Apparently everybody has to procure tickets for the event. The first phase of the first trial is scheduled to last at least 4 months.

Today two of us tagged along on an outreach presentation - the Special Court is really pushing to make the trials a national event and I am sure it will be the news for the next month or so. I am thrilled to witness a pronounced level of interest in understanding the legal process - especially a unique application of international criminal law such as the Special Court.


Oh yeah, the Rain
It finally started to rain last night. Heavy and healing. People look forward to the cleansing power of the rain. It was awesome to get a break from the heat as well. I stayed awake thinking of you last night. Missing how you feel next to me. I miss your laughter. It was definitely noticeable to the group how much I missed you because they asked if I had emailed you yesterday. Anyhow, I must go for now. I love you. xoxoxoxoxoxoxo sleep tight

The Journey

For 30 or so hours of travel, the trip was great. I slept most of the way on the 10 hour flight from JFK to Accra. I did have 2 bundles of loud joy behind me who I eventually canonized as Captain Chaos and Doctor Doom. Nevertheless, I slept, ate and watched Anger Management with the volume on too low.

During our 7 hour layover in Accra, I stayed awake while the others dozed on and off on the seats and floor of the restricted area for travelers waiting for connecting flights. I read the Economist and watched a local cable channel that showed local hip-hop videos, cnn and African Christians preaching as Sunday morning arrived.

The flight to Lungi was uneventful - I woke up only to eat breakfast and to see the landing. From Lungi we took a hovercraft into Freetown. The city is small yet bustling with activity. Roadside vendors push cell phones and DVDs. Locals are not fazed by us - or I assume by any foreigners walking their streets. Thus far, we have seen Western Europeans, Ukranian, Chinese, Pakistani and Indian nationals.

I will sign off for now as I already have an assignment summarizing court documents. I'll try to make daily updates.

For you lovely - xoxoxoxoxooxxoo - I miss you so much and am counting down the days till I next see you.