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Sierra
Leone Freedom Fighter on U.S. Tour, March-April, 2006 |
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CHERNOH
ALPHA M. BAH
Leader
of the Africanist Movement
of Sierra Leone and West Africa |
Chernoh
Alpha M. Bah was born on March 28, 1979 in Makeni, Sierra Leone
where he attended primary and secondary school. He later pursued
African Studies at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra
Leone in Freetown.
At
twelve, Chernoh was recruited into the Sierra Leone army as
one of the infamous child soldiers. Chernoh was forced to fight
in the deadly civil war instigated by the brutal Revolutionary
United Front (RUF) that devastated the country in the 1990s.
Chernoh was in the army until 1994 when the masses of the people
of Sierra Leone were demanding peace.
In
1995 Chernoh participated in the formation of the Pan-African
Movement for Human Rights and Democratic Development, which
campaigned for the protection of the oppressed masses of Sierra
Leone. The Pan-African Movement was instrumental in building
the national demand for civil rule.
As
Secretary General of the Pan-African Movement for Human Rights
and Democratic Development, Chernoh became politically active,
participating in the campaign against the oppressive military
regime of the National Provisional Ruling Council then in power.
Chernoh was part of the fight to restore democratic rule to
Sierra Leone in 1996. This struggle led to the installation
of President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah as head of state.
In
1997, at seventeen, Chernoh joined forces with other comrades
to form the Awareness Movement to unite young Africans in Sierra
Leone to struggle against the notorious atrocities of the Revolutionary
United Front. When President Kabbah was overthrown that same
year by the Sierra Leone Army, Chernoh again participated in
pro-democracy campaigns to fight for the restoration of civil
rule. Since that time Chernoh has remained actively opposed
to the ongoing military rule in his country.
In
1998 Chernoh became the editor of The Point newspaper after
most Awareness Movement members fled Sierra Leone due to incessant
attacks by the ruling military junta.
When
RUF rebels invaded Freetown in 1999 Chernoh was forced to move
to Guinea-Conakry. In exile he formed the Young Writers Association,
which worked to unite writers and journalists displaced from
Sierra Leone and Liberia. Journalists from the association reported
abuses against the thousands of African people from war zones
of those countries who were seeking refuge in camps in Guinea.
The
Young Writers Association quickly developed into a mass movement,
bringing together Africans from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia
to discuss problems facing refugees and their persistent harassment
and intimidation by the Guinea police. The Association became
a vehicle not only for the discussion of problems facing the
war-torn African population in Guinea but also of the need for
the African masses to unite and organize for genuine liberation
in Africa.
As
president of the Association, Chernoh helped established The
Nations Newspaper, the first English publication in Conakry
to provide news and analysis of the conditions of Africans in
exile in Guinea and the conflicts in both Sierra Leone and Liberia.
In
2001 Chernoh was arrested in Guinea and detained on charges
of “espionage and sedition.” After his release from
prison the regime in Guinea banned the Young Writers Association
and The Nations Newspaper. Chernoh returned to Sierra Leone,
bringing together what remained of the Young Writers Association
to form the Africanist Movement whose goal is to fight for the
uncompromising liberation and unification of the oppressed African
masses. Since that time the Africanist Movement has grown into
a mass movement dedicated to African liberation and unification
with thousands of members in more than eight countries throughout
West Africa.
Chernoh
is currently Director of the Africanist Movement, leading its
activities in West Africa, and now works with the African People's
Socialist Party to build the African Socialist International.
In
addition Chernoh holds the posts of editor of the Critique News
International Magazine, and publisher and editor of The Africanist
newspaper and the African-Extro Bulletin. He is also a member
of the West Africa Monetary Zone Media Forum established to
promote grass roots participation in the economic development
of West Africa.
Mr.
Bah was editor of the Concord Times Newspaper; he was a columnist
for The Democrat Newspaper and winner of the 2002 African Journalist
of the Year award. Chernoh is one of the few journalists in
Sierra Leone trained to report on international criminal justice.
Several of his newspaper articles are available online at AllAfrica.com.
Highlights
of Chernoh Alpha M. Bah's political activism and journalistic
accomplishments include:
•
Secretary General of the Pan-African Movement for Human Rights
and Democratic Development, 1995.
•
Co-founder of the Awareness Movement, January 1997, formed to
unite young Africans in Sierra Leone to campaign against the
atrocities of Foday Sankoh's Revolutionary United Front.
•
Editor, The Point newspaper, March 1998
•
Founder and President of the Young Writers Association, 1999,
formed to unite exiled writers and journalists from Sierra Leone
and Liberia
• Founder of The Nations Newspaper, first English publication
in Conakry to provide news and analysis on the conditions of
‘refugees’ in Guinea and conflicts in Sierra Leone
and Liberia.
•
Founder and Director of the Africanist Movement, 2001-present,
formed to fight for the uncompromising liberation and unification
of the oppressed African masses.
• Former Editor of the Concord Times Newspaper (several
articles available on AllAfrica.com)
•
Former columnist for The Democrat Newspaper
•
Winner of the 2002 PAMHADD’s African Journalist of the
Year Award. Mr. Bah is one of a few journalists in Sierra Leone
trained to report on international criminal justice.
•
Editor of the Critique News International Magazine
•
Publisher and Editor of both The Africanist newspaper and African-Extra
Bulletin
•
Member of the West Africa Monetary Zone Media Forum established
to promote grass root participation in West Africa's economic
integration process.
•
Director of the Africanist Movement now working with the African
People's Socialist Party to build the African Socialist International,
committed to organizing African people in Africa and dispersed
around the world.
