Congratulate Freetong Players on a Quarter Century of Activity

To The Freetong Players on the occasion of their 25th Anniversary Celebrations. March to May 2010.

First of all let me say congratulations to the Freetong Players on an achievement that is not to be underestimated. To have survived, let alone thrived as an artistic institution in Sierra Leone for 25 years, particularly these last 25 years is a remarkable achievement. It has taken significant measures of determination, courage, single-mindedness, strength, loyalty and consistency of purpose, not to mention vision, artistry, creativity and goodwill. I am sure we have all already done so but please, let us ponder this outstanding achievement for a moment, then rise and applaud the people that have made it happen.
These are people to be proud of. People to be honored and appreciated. People to be protected and supported. They are people to be emulated. These are the Freetong Players.

Many people at home in Sierra Leone and also worldwide, have had significant input into the work, development and success of Freetong Players over the years. However, no history, tribute or discussion of this group, this institution, would be valid without acknowledgement of the total commitment and sacrifice of the founders Charlie & Fatie Haffner and their immediate and extended family. Charlie & Fatie please stand up and be recognized. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, these are people of vision and integrity, of commitment to the arts and to their country. They are tenacious and determined, creative and talented. They are the artistic spirit personified, and we are thankful for and appreciative of the caliber of their ongoing efforts and achievements. Please let our appreciation and esteem ring loudly in their ears.

I am very proud that the foundation day of Freetong Players May 20 is also my birthday. The group was founded in 1985 though I was born a few years before that. This shared birthday is just one source of my affinity with the Players. Living in the UK at the time, I first heard of Charlie Haffner from the late great Dele Charley of blessed memory. We would talk late into the night about the arts in Sierra Leone and the people involved. The esteem and respect with which he always mentioned Charlie stuck with me, and Dele was very accurate in his prediction that “you en Charlie go gree bad.” As Dele was something of an artistic mentor to me, my curiosity was aroused and I began to look forward to meeting this Haffner fellow. When I decided to introduce the Salone Jamaa Fest, Charlie Haffner was one of the first Sierra Leone based artists I contacted by letter.

The great irony is that my first ever meeting in person with Charlie Haffner was in a pew at St John church in Freetown in 1995. I had arrived early for the service and was sitting alone as I didn’t know anybody present. A guy with short dreads and small glasses entered the same pew and slid up next to me. As I recall, we both instinctively knew who the other was, and we have remained close friends since then. The occasion? The memorial service for Dele Charley.




Since that time I have become an unofficial member of Freetong Players as has my family, and a huge fan of their work. I have seen the Players at work in Freetown, and collaborated with them in the UK and the USA. At all times they have been champions of Sierra Leonean arts and cultural practices. Veritable cultural ambassadors. During the 1990’s I accompanied the group to the historic and world famous Sidmouth Folk Festival in Devon, southwest England. There were groups invited from all continents representing more than 20 countries, but the undeniable highlight of the festival was the contribution by the Freetong Players. Neither my family nor I will ever forget the opening parade where the Players were chosen to lead a procession of all the performers at the official commencement of the festival. We entered with a drum beating; song singing and costume-wearing extravaganza that set a joyous tone that lasted until the closing ceremony four days later. For the entire time we were there the other artists, the organizers and of course the audiences were fascinated by everything the Freetong Players had to say and do. Let me add that the opening parade took place at about 1PM on a day in which we had met the group at London Gatwick Airport at around 7AM, at which time they got straight onto a coach and were driven to Sidmouth. A journey of about 4 hours. They were literally straight off 24 hours of traveling when they led that procession. A testament to their composure, preparedness and professionalism.

To be honest, it would take me about 24 hours to recount the many experiences I have shared with this remarkable group of people. Remind me one day (perhaps at the 30th anniversary) to tell you the story of the London tour we collaborated on and the episode in which someone stole our mamkpara. Yes, you heard me correctly. “Dem tif we mamkpara.” Not just the costume oh, the whole entire mamkpara. For now, suffice it to say that through some excellent detective work, we found and reclaimed said mamkpara, and when Charlie recounted the story on stage at the last event of the tour; we had to restrain audience members from storming the dressing room and beating the mamkpara. Mamkpara miss for turn to Dudas! Let’s just say that with Freetong Players the drama is not confined to onstage.

An essential part of the Freetong Players work ethic is an unwavering commitment to learning and teaching. The group makes an effort to learn about all aspects of Sierra Leone history, arts and culture, and then transmits this knowledge to its members and through them, to audiences worldwide. I am sure that one day their dream of a fully-fledged artistic training school will be realized. Noto so Fatie? (Smile)

There is now a considerable Freetong Players Diaspora made up of former members, collaborators, supporters and fans of this venerable institution. From Gambia, to Belgium, Holland, Britain and America, former players are using the skills and talents nurtured at the Telem Centre, to educate, inform and entertain, and present Sierra Leone in a positive light.

It is my hope that the next 25 years will see the harnessing of this Diaspora and its resources to strengthen the core group here at home, and develop it’s invaluable work even further. In closing, I ask you to once more rise and acknowledge this significant milestone in the history of a beloved and invaluable institution.
Ladies and gentlemen, The Freetong Players are 25 years old. Hearty congratulations and here’s to the next 25.

My thanks.

Les Rickford
Dallas, Texas, March 2010.

Of Monkeys & Murder

What is your attitude to free stuff? Is it your objective to obtain goods and services for nothing at every opportunity or do you pay the proper price as a matter of principle? Does your attitude depend on whether the services or products are supplied by a Sierra Leonean? What are your experiences of supplying to this community?

In my photographic work I will almost always choose the Salone related engagement over another when faced with a choice, and this usually entails accepting a lower fee. I do so in part because it serves my (self-appointed?) role as a community documentarian. In twenty years I'd rather have an archive containing hundreds of thousands of images of our individual & collective Salone families in the diaspora as a record of our evolution in times sad and glad, than a collection of photographs of people I didn't really ever know and may well never meet again. There is a point beyond which the income differential will take priority but most of the time the community service principle prevails.

The price I agree for bookings always includes a "kinship discount" in anticipation of the presentation of coupons such as :borbor ah sabi yu mami, hah wi ol go Samaria skool," "yu wef na mi close fambul," and, "bo yu na mi main man." Even so there is always the notion, sometimes expressed, mostly implied, that one should be doing this for free, at least for this individual, or fro "granat koppoh." Many people are reluctant to secure their booking by paying a deposit, and will try to extract services way beyond those contractually agreed.

In my print on site event portrait work I also price under market rate and immodest as it may sound, the quality produced is better than good. Would it be rude of me to point out the irony to the man in his $400+ suit, $250+ shoes (and the most consistently impressive shoes I've seen on Salone men, I've observed since moving to Dallas) and bling, and his spouse in expensive fabric, exclusive designer labels and augmenting accessories? They approach my mobile studio looking fantastic as a couple and seeking to memorialize their glorious fabulousness in an 8.5x11 print, and balk at a charge of $10. I've resolved that next time this happens I will quietly lay down my Canon 40D camera with additional battery grip, speedlite EXII flashlight, and portrait lens, reach for my blackberry mobile phone, raise it to my eye and state calmly, "say cheese!" If you want to pay peanuts then I'm gonna monkey with you.

About four weeks ago I met a young Salone man aged about 20 in Dallas. He told me he was here for a few months before joining the military and that meanwhile he'd like to assist in my work and learn photography. I took his number and told him I'd give him a call when a suitable booking arose. Two Sundays ago I saw his uncle at an event and recounted the conversation to him. He informed me that the young man was back in New Jersey as he had shown up unannounced and that the joining the military was something he was thinking about but had not started the process. I learned that as a child the young man had been an excellent student in Sierra Leone, and that had continued when he arrived in the USA some 10 years ago and attended high school. However, in the last couple of years he had become involved with drug dealers and adopted a lifestyle which had led to him being catching 8 bullets Fifty Cent style in Ohio, and being banished from the homes of a host of family members, including that of his father and stepmother, as his lifestyle was not conducive to living in a home with two younger girls, his sisters. The uncle and I spoke a bit about how to mentor young men on the cusp of adulthood and at the fork in the road where life can go permanently negative or positive and ended on the thought that whatever form of help could be successful would require a genuine intention to choose a positive path on the part of the young fellow himself. That conversation was had on a Sunday and by the following Wednesday, that young man was in custody in New Jersey accused of having broken into the house of his father and murdering his stepmother who was in her early 30's. A tragedy in the ending of two lives and devastation of several more.