Speeches of Former Amb. Chaveas

Amb's Homecoming Summit Speech

December 30, 2002

Freetown, Sierra Leone

REMARKS BY AMBASSADOR PETER R. CHAVEAS AT THE OPENING OF THE HOMECOMING SUMMIT

It is my pleasure to be with you this morning. I want to congratulate the government of Sierra Leone and the Sunrise Group of companies for this initiative to bring Sierra Leone’s sons and daughters back to their home soil and to challenge them to play an important role in rebuilding their country. 2002 is fast drawing to a close and for Sierra Leone it has been an amazing year. Only one year ago, this country was still at war but by May it had conducted the most peaceful elections in its history.  For the first time in almost thirty years, Sierra Leone has a government that was elected under a multi-party, democratic dispensation through elections conducted over the entirety of its sovereign territory.

In November, the government joined with its principal international partners at a Consultative Group meeting in Paris for a very frank and productive discussion of the issues confronting Sierra Leone’s efforts to rebuild its economy and build anew its political and social institutions. The results included agreement on important benchmarks for assessing progress and commitment by the international community to continuing support for that progress.  Only a few weeks ago, the government took a critical step in meeting one of those benchmarks as it launched the national effort to assure that HIV/AIDS is not added to the plagues that have frustrated this country’s efforts to realize its considerable potential.

Despite these impressive accomplishments, the picture is far from being entirely rosy.  Sierra Leone is a country well endowed with natural resources. It has great mineral wealth. It once had a significant tourist industry. Its land is fertile and it has abundant water and marine resources. Yet for many years now it has been listed at the bottom of the United Nations human development index. How could this happen? I think we all know that this result did not just fall from the sky. It was not foisted upon Sierra Leone entirely or even principally by outside influences.

Regrettably, a major part of the answer to my question is that Sierra Leoneans did this to each other and to themselves. Through bad governance, corruption and a lack of respect for the rule of law, they wasted much of the first forty years of their independent history. Many of those of you who have returned from the United States or other homes abroad for this summit have long been absent from you homeland because you recognize this reality and you have been frustrated or even threatened by it.

Fortunately, the events of the past year and the broad support that Sierra Leone currently enjoys in the international community offer a new opportunity for this country and I believe that the Diaspora has a very important contribution to make towards realizing the full potential of this opportunity.  You are among this country’s most important resources but unfortunately you are not here. How ironic that a country whose capital was once known as the “Athens of Africa” should suffer from a severe shortage of trained human capital.  Many of you have had access to excellent education and the opportunity to develop your skills in some of the world’s most successful economies. Sierra Leone badly needs you skills and your insights into what it takes to make an economy successful.

I would put particular emphasis upon the latter point. Many of Sierra Leone’s current leaders are seeking to make the very best of the possibilities offered by recent developments. Unfortunately, there are others who give every indication that they have learned nothing from the ugly experiences of past decades and are intent on returning to business as usual, on maintaining the traditions that have served Sierra Leone so badly. The Diaspora can play a critical role in determining who wins this confrontation but only if you are prepared to make the investment required to tip the balance.

During the recent Consultative Group meeting in Paris, the American delegation spoke forcefully to the necessity of creating an environment in Sierra Leone conducive to private investment, both foreign and domestic.  I will close by reemphasizing that point and by pointing out that one of the single most important investments that can be made in this country is the investment potential represented by each and every one of you. Sierra Leone’s richest resource is its people. If you are seriously committed to using that resource well, there is a great deal that the international community, including the United States, can do to support your efforts. If you are not committed, then there is nothing we can do to overcome your lack of commitment.  I hope and trust that this summit is an important step towards demonstrating that commitment.