First Friday at Work

My day was adventurous at work today as I got to meet some of the defendants in person and speak with them. It is an experience that I will never forget. I was scared but at the same time interested in meeting them. We dropped by to give them transcript of their trials. They each took tiime to ask me my name, where I was from and how I liked the job. I was very intimidated to be around people accused of such atrocities.

Attached to today's posting is a picture of me at work today (we're allowed to wear jeans on Fridays) and a picture of my ID card.

Today was an especially difficult day for me emotionally because two of my friends (one in New York and the other here in Freetown) lost their dads to cancer. I was really emotional and devastated at the news of both deaths. I paid my respects at the home of my friend (in Freetown) after work, and it was very sad to see him without his father. I have known him and his family since our childhood. As for my friend in New York, the passing of her dad was more difficult because I couldn't be there for her during this very difficult time. I really feel like a bad friend, but I called her and she made me feel better. We both cried on the phone and I expressed my deepest condolence to her entire family. May both their dad's souls rest in peace.

Once again, thank you all. I hope that you all will have my friends, their dads and their families in your prayers. Thank you very much and I look forward to your comments.

Mo

Second day at work

Hello all, it's Mo here again. Today was my second day or work and I will have to say it was an experience. I finally got a computer on my desk, my phone with an extension assigned and the opportunity to view an international criminal law proceeding in person. I will have to say it was an experience and a legal education that I will never forget.

The proceeding was starkly different from what I'm used to in the U.S. (Common Law System). The court uses both common and civil law. The judges could directly ask the witnesses questions, there are minimal objections (even when the testimony is clearly hearsay or a prior inconsistent statement). Also, there are no rules of limited admissibility (evidence against one defendant can be used against the other as long as there is any relevancy without any consideration of its prejudicial value). This was really interesting and educational to me.

I will post more comments about my first court appearance sometime this weekend. I have a project I will be starting on tomorrow. I have not been told yet what it is, but I believe it will be interesting and will require lengthy research. I was also advised that I may have the opportunity to meet Charles Taylor which I look forward to.

I welcome your comment, questions and concerns; please feel free to come with me on this experience. I thank you all and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Mo

First day at work.

Hello everyone, it's finally here; my first day at work was today. I met with my supervisor and the entire defense team. They were very happy to meet me as I was to meet them. I was given a tour of the entire facility, met the heads of all the various departments of the court, assigned a U.N. email, a desk and a security I.D. I'm very excited at the opportunity to work on such an exiting court.

I met other interns from around the world including South Africa, U.K, Uganda, Sierra Leone and the U.S. They were all very nice and helpful to me. The dress code at work is either suit or business casual from M-T and on Fridays, it's casual and you can wear jeans which helps because it's so hot here right now.

The security at the court is very very intense and intimidating. I'm not used to seeing guns everywhere; but that's exactly what you see around the court especially since the arrival of Charles Taylor. I was advised by my supervisor that I may have the opportunity to actually participate in Court proceedings and meet the detainees including Charles Taylor (I'm not sure what impact that will have on me). The internship is going to be mentally, physically and emotionally exausting, I was made aware of that today, but I believe I'm ready for the challenge. Finally today, I had the opportunity to participate in a tour of the Special Court with grade school students and explaining to them the responsibilities of the defense and prosecution sections of the court.

I will like to take this opportunity to thank you all for coming with me on this experience. I hope to hear from you all soon and I look forward to your comments, questions and concerns.

Mo

I'm finally here, I start work tomorrow (May 10th)

Hello everyone, it's Mo here again. I'm very sorry if anyone has been worried about the fact that I had not updated my blog. Due to the internet access in the city, I was not able to check my email for almost 4 days since arriving.

When I landed at Lungi (Freetown International Airport), my first act was to kiss the ground. I was happy to be back home. I went through immigration and customs (they took $30 from me, for what I'm not sure) with no problems. I've been in the country for four days now and there has been no electricity. I found a place to stay on Monday which is very close to the Special Court (less than 1/3 mile from the court; walking distance) but I will still need a generator, freezer, television, internet and running water. I finally bought a generator today for about Le. 1million (about $350), paid for my internet subscription which costs (including equipment) about $150 a month (only about 6 hour access per day).

As many of you know, it's been over 11 days since I last saw my family here in Sierra Leone. The emotion of once again seeing my grandma, dad, step-mom, brothers and sister, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, friends, and all my other family members was overwhelming. I didn't sleep for about two days because I had so many people who came by to see me. Everyone had stories to tell about how they survived the civil war in the country. The stories were sad, amazing, frightening, depressing, astonishing and downright scary. I had nightmares for two days. I couldn't sleep and I will wake up in the middle of the night yelling or sweating. It has been a struggle.

The economic situation in this country is deemer than I thought. To see the sufferings in the eyes of men, women and children has given me a greater appreciation of my life and privileges in the Unites States. I have no doubt that my internship and visit to my home country will have a lasting effect on my life. I already feel very confused, disappointed and at the same time happy and excited about the status of the country. There are good things, but there are also not so good things. I can't understand some of the things I've seen and heard with my own ears and eyes.

My first day of work is tomorrow (May 10th) at 9am. I'm very excited to finally meet my boss and the rest of the defense team. I'm not sure what awaits me but I feel as ready as I can possibly be under the circumstances. As I indicated, I hope that you all will come on this journey and go through this experience with me. I have no doubt that this internship will forever change my focus on the world and life itself. I will update this blog as much as possible; but due to my internet access and speed, I may only be able to update this blog on a weekly basis. Please forgive me and I look forward to all your comments, questions and concerns. Thank you very much and I hope to hear from you all very soon.


As for all those of you who were unable to post on my blog due to technical difficulties (such as requests to register), that problem should now be fixed. Please email me if you're not able to post a comment or suggestions at mch4434@fsu.edu.


Sincerely Mo