I was in the IRC office in Koidu Town, Kono Wednesday morning when I heard members of management talking about unrest among youths in the center of the town.  At a staff meeting that morning, the field coordinator announced that gangs of young people were blockading one of the main arteries of the town in protest against the government's refusal to allow them access to a sand tailing that many thought contained diamonds.  The youths claim that the government promised them access to this tailing during the last election. 

Around lunch time the situation had not improved and there were rumors that some youths had stolen a gun from one of the police officers trying to control the situation.  My coworkers began to head home just in case the situation worsened, and my housemates and I called a friend of ours out in the field close to the mining areas to tell her to head back to town and to our house.  When she arrived she reported that police were lining the highway and the main town roads and were heavily armed.

We spent the afternoon and evening in the housing compound, and this morning we were told that the youths had been dispersed by army reinforcements from the town of Makeni.  We were back at the office today and everything seems quiet.  More information on the events can be found here.

This unrest certainly is not new in Kono, nor is this the worst case in recent memory.  Similar protests took place in Kono in December, also over mining issues.  Property was burnt and destroyed and several residents were killed. 

One of my friends in Sierra Leone has commented that if the country destabilizes again the process will begin in Kono.  The area was hit hard by the war, and most young people lack education and employment opportunities.  As food prices increase and the local government elections in July draw near, tension among these young people is increasing.  When I travel in much of Sierra Leone, I notice the poverty and unemployment, but I also notice the hope among people who are working to rebuild their lives.  I tend to see Sierra Leone as a peaceful country with a promising future.  When I am in Kono, though, I begin to wonder if I am wrong.