By Our Correspondent
Canadian writer and development specialist, Ian Smillie, has through Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Switzerland Dr. Lansana Gberie donated over 1000 books to Fourah Bay College library in Freetown. The books, for which Ambassador Gberie arranged shipment from Canada, were delivered to the the Vice Chancellor and Principal of FBC, Professor Lawrence Kamara (Prof. Kamara (left) and Ambassador Gberie in photo) at FBC library on Monday 20 December.
The books, covering a range of subjects and interests – including African history, politics, international relations, contemporary studies, civil society and many other subjects, reflecting Mr. Smillie’s eclectic intellectual interests over a period of more than 50 years – arrived in sealed boxes. They were enthusiastically received by Vice Chancellor Professor Kamara, FBC Students’ Union President Ms. Adama Sillah, and staff of the university’s library. “This is a most welcome and timely gift,” Professor Kamara said. “We are in the process of revamping the library, equipping it with books, journals and good reading rooms. Donations like this give us confidence that we are on the right track,” added Ms. Sillah: “We are very delighted to receive this important gift. Rest assured Ambassador that we will make good use of them. They will be read, and they will be properly preserved.”
From left to right: FBC Students Union President Adama Sillah, Vice Chancellor and Principal Prof. Lawrence Kamara, Deputy Minister of Higher Education Sarjoh Aziz Kamara, Ambassador Gberie and other members of the FBC community.
Among the dozens of boxes that Mr. Smillie donated were several important engineering texts donated by his friend, Ghanaian-born Professor Patrick van de Puije, who is an emeritus at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.
The Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Mr. Sarjoh Aziz Kamara, an old friend of Ambassador Gberie, thanked Mr. Smillie for his gesture on behalf of the Government of President HE Dr. Julius Maria Bio, and noted that it fell well in line with the government’s human resource development programme. "This is an important gesture," the Minister said, "and as a government we are truly appreciative. We thank Mr. Smillie immensely for his kind gesture."
Mr. Smillie first came to Sierra Leone in the 1960s as a volunteer teacher sponsored by the Canadian government, after graduating from McGill University. He taught at Yengema Secondary in Kono for many years. He never lost interest in Sierra Leone, subsequently visiting many times. At the height of the civil war in Sierra Leone, Mr. Smillie led a team – including Dr. Gberie – which produced the highly influential report, “The Heart of the Matter: Sierra Leone, Diamonds and Human Security” in 2000. The report galvanized international public opinion against the Revolutionary United Front rebels and their chief sponsor, Liberia’s Charles Taylor. The report was issued by the Canadian NGO Partnership Africa Canada, which subsequently launched the Human Security and International Diamond Trade project. Mr. Smillie and Gberie were awarded the ‘Outstanding Research Award’ by the Canadian government in 2002 for their work with on the project. In 2004, Mr. Smillie and his colleagues, including Ambassador Gberie, were also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Senator Patrick Leahy and Congressmen Tony P. Hall and Frank R. Wolf for their role in establishing the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme to limit the ability of armed groups to fund their operations through the sale of conflict diamonds.
In 2014, Mr. Smillie, the author of over half a dozen books, published Diamonds, an incisive history of that precious but troubled resource. Mr. Smillie is retired, and lives quietly in Ottawa, Canada.
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