HRW: In the Field in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone's civil war began in 1991, when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) entered Sierra Leone from Liberia, launching a rebellion to overthrow the repressive and corrupt one-party rule of the All Peoples Congress (APC). Led by Foday Sankoh, the RUF's rebellion quickly degenerated into a campaign of brutal violence whose principal aim appeared to be simply gaining access to the country's diamond and mineral wealth. Thousands of children were abducted and forced to fight for the RUF, whose signatory crime became the chopping off of its victim's limbs and a widespread campaign of rape and other brutality. After several failed peace accords, Sierra Leone finally appeared to be emerging from more than a decade of war in May 2002, when fair and peaceful elections brought the war to an end.

Concerned about the unspeakable brutality of the Sierra Leone civil war, and the lack of international attention the crisis in Sierra Leone was receiving, Human Rights Watch decided to set up a permanent research presence in the country in April 1999. Human Rights Watch hired Corinne Dufka, one of the best-known war photographers in the world and a journalist, to become its Sierra Leone researcher.

Join Corinne Dufka for a first-hand account of her experiences in documenting human rights abuses in Sierra Leone. Corinne discusses the origins of the civil war in Sierra Leone, the tactics of amputation and rape that are used by the RUF rebels as tools of terror, and her own experiences documenting the suffering of the people of Sierra Leone.

1. Introduction 56k modem      broadband 3. Sexual Violence 56k modem      broadband

2. Amputation 56k modem      broadband 4. Corinne 56k modem      broadband

Special thanks to Sorious Samura for providing video footage from "Cry Freetown" (RUF invasion of Freetown, 1999). Additional video footage from Human Rights Watch (Freetown, 1999), Barry Brown (interview with Corinne Dufka). Video editing by Joshua Dautoff.

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