WRITING

The Pulse of Humanity

Carrie MacLeod

At the turn of the millennium, the United Nations had declared Sierra Leone, West Africa, the "worst place on earth." Unthinkable atrocities of enslavement, exploitation and torture invaded media headlines and the world was finally summoned as an audience after ten years of civil war. The Canadian government began to offer support in the form of post-war rehabilitation and reconciliation programs for the widespread population of amputees, war-wounded casualties and former child soldiers. The scope of these initiatives led me to confront a central question that has been at the forefront of my awareness for years: How can an artistic process be of service to humanity in a country ravaged by war and oppression? My journey to Sierra Leone led me to the place inside of myself that prompted this question again and again. I did not find the answers I was looking for.

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