Haakon in Sierra Leone '05

[norwegianne]

Crown Prince Haakon will be landing in Sierra Leone this evening. Since he will be landing rather late, it has been deemed unsafe for him to be taken into Freetown (the capital), rather he shall have to spend the night at an hotel by the airport.

For as short time as three-four years ago, Sierra Leone was judged the most dangerous country in the world. Freetown is situated on a penisula, and isn't safe to travel to by night. The other option would be to take the Crown Prince in by helicopter, but because of Snipers this option was nixed.

http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=102576

[trinny]

Aaaaah Haakon, be still my beating heart!

[KikkiB]

CP Haakon is visiting Sierra Leone as a Goodwill ambassador to the UN (I think something to do with developement). He will be there from 7/2 - 11/2. I saw a clip of him on the news. And I'll try to find some photos from the visit. If others have photos from the visit please post :)

[pdas1201]

From Civil War to Peace And Development: Norwegian Prince to Visit Sierra Leone

January 26, 2005
Posted to the web January 31, 2005

Confidential sources have disclosed the visit of HRH Crown Prince Haakon's to Sierra Leone beginning 7-11 February, describing it as a meeting between the country being on top of UNDPs list of Human Development, and the country being on the bottom.

11 years of civil war had catastrophic consequences for Sierra Leone, among which is the life expectancy at birth dropping to 34 years, but assistance from UN peacekeeping forces (UNAMSIL) has brought peace to the country and the rebuilding is on track.

His Royal Highness The Norwegian Crown Prince of Norway will be visiting Sierra Leone in his capacity as Good Will Ambassador for United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Sierra Leone was almost destroyed by a civil war that lasted 11 years and was officially ended in 2002.

During the war over 50% of the population was expelled from their homes and more than 50,000 were killed.

The war had enormous consequences on the level of development: the maternal mortality ratio became the highest in the world and the number of children registered in schools dropped dramatically.

Only 36% of the children in Sierra Leone carry through primary school, compared to 100% in Norway.

While life expectancy in Sierra Leone is 34 years, it is 79 years in Norway.

57% of the population in Sierra Leone lives for less than 1 USD a day.

The programme for HRH The Norwegian Crown Prince will focus on the transition from violent conflict to peace and long-term development.

The Crown Prince will among other things meet ex-combatants now participating in the work of collecting illegal weapons, and will also visit prisons and meet prisoners who are convicted for crimes committed during the civil war.

The programme also includes a visit to Kono where the so-called "blood diamonds" are being found- the natural recourses that contributed to the extension of the war.

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan recently launched a report on the security in the world and the need of a reform of the UN system. Sierra Leone is one of the countries where UN peacekeeping forces have contributed to securing peace and security after 11 years of civil war. Following the end of the war in 2002, local elections and presidential elections have been pulled off peacefully.

More than 500,000 refugees have returned to their homes and the government has carried through extensive reforms.

Thousands of young soldiers have been demobilized, and together with other partners UNDP is working to give them education and work experience, making them able to have a civilian livelihood.

The Goodwill Ambassador, HRH Crown Prince Haakon, was appointed Good Will Ambassador for UNDP in 2003, and since the pronouncement he has visited UNDP in New York, Tanzania and Cambodia.

The focus of his work for UNDP is the Millennium Development Goals that were approved by the world's leaders at the UN Millennium summit in September 2000.

The Millennium Development Goals consist among others of a promise to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and to halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day.

[KikkiB]

It is quite interesting to see how much less media coverage CP Haakons visit to Africa get than CP Mette-Marits :( And both trips brings awareness to important issues!

[Ava Elizabeth]

God point, KikkiB!! Thats too bad!

[norwegianne]

Well, TV2 has a team there... I caught him on the news tonight, as he was congratulating the Prince of Wales on his impending marriage.

[Dennism]

Bravo to the Crown Prince for going to Sierra Leone. I hope there will be more coverage so that people don´t forget about this troubled land.

[norwegianne]

http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=266451

The cars of the Crown Prince and the people along with him, were stoned in Sierra Leone. It happened because the people assumed that it was the president of the country, or some spoiled rich person, as the police car who had been travelling the route beforehand had hit a person. When the two police-men had left their car to check, they had been met by a mob of people and escaped. The police car wasn't as lucky.

The people are furious because of the high corruption in the country.

They did not realise that it was the cars of an UN delegation they stoned, and not one of their own.

The Crown Prince's car was not hit, but it might have been fairly gruesome as he wasn't in an armoured car, and sitting on the side of the car as the stones were coming from.

[norwegianne]

http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=266452

The gist of the article: Crown prince Haakon met people who had suffered from the civil war in the country. Some had had their arms amputated. 420 of them have received help from Norway to get housing and a new start in life, and 600 of them are waiting for more help from Norway...

[norwegianne]

Pictures from the meeting with the people who have had their arms amputated.

[Dennism]

Originally Posted by norwegianne

http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=266451

The cars of the Crown Prince and the people along with him, were stoned in Sierra Leone. It happened because the people assumed that it was the president of the country, or some spoiled rich person, as the police car who had been travelling the route beforehand had hit a person. When the two police-men had left their car to check, they had been met by a mob of people and escaped. The police car wasn't as lucky.

The people are furious because of the high corruption in the country.

They did not realise that it was the cars of an UN delegation they stoned, and not one of their own.

The Crown Prince's car was not hit, but it might have been fairly gruesome as he wasn't in an armoured car, and sitting on the side of the car as the stones were coming from.

What an amazing story. Luckily, the Crown Prince was okay but that´s a shame that the police car had hit somebody. These people have suffered so much already.

[Josefine]

does he often do these kind of trips