Finding Home

6 years ago I visited my Mother and Fathers Places of birth for the first time: Guinea and Sierra Leone. I remember The night we landed after a chaotic and humid experience at the crumbling airport we were greeted outside by my father's elder sister. This was the first time I was seeing her. She came with two vehicles one for herself and the five other family mebers that came with her and the other for myself, my brother, my sister and my mother and father. I will forever remember that drive The driver was playing Salif Keita's Tomorrow whilst the three of us sat squashed in the back. there were no street lamps and I could only put a smell to the place- salt sea baked cookies. The air was damp and clammy. Sitting there at the back I remember feeling a calm over-whelming feeling of joy which disallowed me to share with my sister sitting next to me. I remember sobbing for a while..... I was trying to figure ut whetehr there was a tinge of sadness there, whether my tears had to do with being in a place associated with the death of so many relatives ( at this time Sierra Leone had just come out of its 10 year civil war) but it wasn't this it  was plain ole simple joy and contentment.

Mind you I must inform you that I have lived most of my 20 years o f existence in the UK., however my visit to Sierra Leone felt  as if I was finally meeting my other half........ I have never felt at home in London, o fcourse my family live on a street and on that street is a house and in that house is a room where I feel comfortable. But this  personal attachment to the place never. This desire to ever defend the place. Sadly never.......