Elinor Sisulu

Passionately dedicated to the written word and to human rights, writer and activist Elinor Sisulu has a natural affinity for the work of Fambul Tok—both as a storyteller and as an advocate. As a scholar, she brings keen insight into the forces shaping policy around development assistance and in particular, the lives of women in developing countries. At Fambul Tok International, we are delighted to welcome her to our Advisory Board.

Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Elinor’s studies include history, English literature, development and feminist theory. She completed her first two degrees at the University of Zimbabwe and studied at the United Nations Institute for Economic Planning and Development (IDEP) in Dakar, Senegal.  She obtained her MA in Development Studies at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands.

As an academic researcher in the Department of Research and Development in the Ministry of Labour in Zimbabwe, she published studies of women’s work and development assistance. This included a major study for the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation that was later published by the Southern African Political and Economic Series as Women in Zimbabwe. She then worked for the International Labour Organisation’s Lusaka Office on ILO programs of assistance to the African National Congress, Pan Africanist Congress and the South West Africa People’s Organisation.

Elinor has also worked as a freelance writer and editor, and served as Assistant Editor for SPEAK, a black feminist publication. In 1994 she wrote an award-winning children’s book about the first democratic elections in South Africa entitled The Day Gogo Went to Vote. Her biography on her parents-in-law, Walter and Albertina Sisulu: In Our Lifetime secured her the prestigious 2003 Noma Award for publishing in Africa. Time Warner Books published the book in the UK in November 2003. Elinor is passionate about children’s literature and played a key role in establishing a Southern African children’s literature foundation.

Elinor is an advisor and political analyst on Zimbabwe and was instrumental in establishing the Crisis Coalition of Zimbabwe’s South Africa office. She worked for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition and chaired the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa board and served as a board member of  the National Arts Festival Committee responsible for the Grahamstown festival. She lives in Pretoria with her husband Max and three sons, Vuyisile, Duma and Sandile.

Elinor Sisulu’s perspective on our program will be invaluable as Fambul Tok continues to expand in Sierra Leone and beyond, and her voice will be invaluable in sharing the stories of peace that flow from our work. We are grateful to welcome her to our circle.

Few stories from Sierra Leone’s terrible Civil War have resonated so deeply or so widely as the personal narrative of Ishmael Beah, author, human rights activist and former child soldier. Mr. Beah’s biographical account, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, has moved, educated and engaged his readers with the plight of child soldiers in Sierra Leone and around the world. Fambul Tok works for peace, but works also to tell individual stories of peace. To have Mr. Beah lend us his perspective and his voice is a great honor.

Mr. Beah has shared his story and his cause on National Public Radio’s Fresh Air, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, with former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and with Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton. He has also shared his story here in Portland, at the invitation of the Douglas M. Schair Memorial Lecture Committee at the University of Southern Maine. Fambul Tok’s own Libby Hoffman screened an early rough cut of Fambul Tok: The Film as part of the evening’s program, and with Mr. Beah took part in a Q&A session afterwards.

Impressed by the film and by Fambul Tok’s impact in his home country, Mr. Beah’s admiration for Fambul Tok deepened during a subsequent visit to Sierra Leone when he met Executive Director John Caulker and observed the program firsthand. He offered to assist with the program in any way he could, and we are grateful for his agreeing to serve on our Advisory Board.

Mr. Beah, who lost his parents and brothers at the outset of the Civil War and who was himself forcibly conscripted at age 13, has a keen understanding of the ravages of war and firsthand experience with the hard work of making peace with yourself and others. After two years of fighting, Mr. Beah was rescued the front lines by UNICEF and placed in a rehabilitation program in Freetown. He went on to finish high school and came to the United States to attend Oberlin College in Ohio. While he completed his education he came to his life’s work—speaking for all children affected by war.

Mr. Beah regularly returns to Sierra Leone to address the ongoing difficulties faced by child soldiers repatriating into their communities. His insight into war, passion for peace and love of his home country have much to offer Fambul Tok. Mr. Beah has made his own story both indelible and universal in A Long Way Gone. We are grateful for his help in sharing the stories of the people of Sierra Leone—and all they have to teach us—with the world.

In accepting Fambul Tok International’s invitation to serve on our Advisory Board, Benedict F. Sannoh, Chief Human Rights Officer of the United Nations Mission in Sudan and distinguished lawyer, activist and scholar, noted that the work FTI has done in Sierra Leone “represents the single most significant and constructive contribution to national reconciliation and the overall promotion of peace and stability in Sierra Leone by a non-governmental organization.” As Mr. Sannoh headed the UN Office in Sierra Leone as Chief of the Human Rights Section for several years after the Civil War, his words—and his offer of support—are particularly meaningful.

Mr. Sannoh knows the challenges facing the people of Sierra Leone intimately. “I have followed the work of Fambul Tok over the years,” he recalls, “during my assignment in Freetown as Chief of the Human Rights Section, UNIOSIL/UNIPSIL.” During his six years in Sierra Leone Mr. Sannoh was charged with consolidating the peace by building national capacity for promoting human rights. From establishing a reparations program for victims of the conflict to organizing Human Rights Committees in each of the country’s 12 districts, Mr. Sannoh worked diligently to implement the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

It is a sense of work left undone that underlines his enthusiasm for joining Fambul Tok. “The reconciliation mandate of the TRC was not fully implemented,” he explains. And in the consultations, truth telling bonfires and follow-up activities we support, he sees a realization of the objectives he strove for in Sierra Leone.

He also sees the potential of our approach in other post-conflict countries. Prior to his work at the United Nations on behalf of Sudan and Sierra Leone, Mr. Sannoh was a human rights activist with civil society in Liberia, using his practice of the law to sensitize, advocate and litigate on behalf of Liberians. Threatened by the government of Charles Taylor, he fled Liberia in 2002 and was granted political asylum in the United States. “I am confident that the programmes of Fambul Tok will be expanded not only throughout Sierra Leone but perhaps the other countries of the sub-region,” he declares. We are honored that he has chosen to work with us to realize this vision.

In joining our Advisory Board Mr. Sannoh has expressed his conviction that Fambul Tok International is on the right path towards peace. We celebrate his willingness to walk that path with us and, most importantly, with the people of Sierra Leone.