Since the end of the civil war in 2002, there has been a rush to exploit Sierra Leone’s plentiful resources of iron ore, gold, diamonds, rutile and bauxite, and to use its fertile land for industrial agriculture. The potential investment could enable the people of Sierra Leone to break from poverty and underdevelopment.
However, the deals currently struck between government, corporations and communities are made in the context of a vast power imbalance. Land transactions are often made without consulting the families or communities concerned. This makes rural communities susceptible to losing their lands to powerful interests, such as mining and agriculture companies; or environmental damage which disrupts traditional land use.
Namati trains and deploys paralegals who are supporting these communities to understand, use, and shape the law to secure justice. This short film digs into the heart of the issues and shows what ordinary citizens can achieve when they power of law is in their hands.
"Lifting a Curse" was directed and produced by award-wining documentary filmmaker Jerry Rothwell. It was made possible through a grant from Stories of Change, a project of the Sundance Institute supported by the Skoll Foundation.