What a HISTORY...or ESSAY...two THUMBS up..
- In SALONEDiscussion@yahoogroups.com, cwarburton@... wrote:
>
> The Krios of Sierra Leone
>
> Once upon a time there was a group of settlers and resettlers
called the
> Krios of Sierra Leone. The expression Krios alludes to status
crystallization;
> meaning that contrary to the erroneous thinking that the Krios
were
> foreigners, they were indeed a hybrid of Recaptives (Africans) and
those who claimed to
> have a superior exposure to western civilization who were Africans
anyway,
> like the Nova Scotians (some of whom fought alongside the
Americans as
> Africans during the American War of Independence). The Recaptives
were of course
> typical Africans who never made it to the plantations, but were
recaptured and
> resettled. "Indigenous/native" Africans/Sierra Leoneans who worked
very hard
> to become wealthy and educated were able to challenge the
presumption and
> arrogance of the Nova Scotians and through intermarriage and
status
> crystallization, a distinct group known as the krios emerged.
> The krios and the missionaries disseminated western education, of
which some
> of us are beneficiaries and could write intelligently today and
argue. More
> so, they ventured into remote parts of Sierra Leone and adopted so
called
> "natives" to give them a better shot at life. They even opposed
excesses of the
> colonial administration, as evidenced by their opposition to
fiscal
> repression (the Hut Tax). Some even changed their names to show
solidarity with the
> "natives" e.g. Lamina Sankoh; not to talk about the socialist
movement of
> Wallace Johnson and co. This openness and sensitivity to the needs
of the less
> fortunate eventually put the Krios in the cross fire between the
British and the
> "indigenes," which ultimately resulted in the Hut Tax insurrection-
-the
> "natives," blaming the Krios for the Tax, and the British, blaming
the Krios for
> incitement. We now know that thousands of Krios were hacked and
slaughtered
> in the hinterland because of misguided colonial policies for which
the Krios
> became a scapegoat or easy targets.
> These Krios were ostracized and marginalized by the British just
before the
> departure of the British for what was perceived of as treachery; a
policy
> which resulted in the prominence of the Lebanese, Indians, and
others, as the
> mercantile class of Sierra Leone; not to talk about
the "banishment" of Krios
> from civilized politics. Today we have a country which was founded
on the
> notion of "one country, one people." We are still trying to
understand the
> practical limits of this enigma which defy human comprehension as
the country
> continues to disintegrate into political and economic morass.
>
> Christopher Warburton,
>
>
>
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>