WHEN Tommy Garnett, a Dublin-based Sierra Leonean, returned to his homeland in January he was full of hope: so much so that he decided to bring his son David (14) with him. David wanted to see where his father grew up and experience a different way of life.
The previous year there had been multi-party democratic elections. The war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which had started in 1991, was still going on, but there was hope that the newly- elected government would bring an end to the violence.
"The rebels tried to disrupt the elections," Tommy explains. "They even cut off people's hands to stop them from voting. But the people wanted to exercise their right to elect a leader, and they did.
"There was also growing confidence in Sierra Leone's economy and the World Bank was beginning to take an interest again. There was hope."
That hope was shattered on May 25th when RUF staged a coup in which over 100 people were killed.
Tommy Garnett had first left Sierra Leone in 1977, aged 18. He travelled on a scholarship to Minsk to study agricultural and development economics. Returning to Sierra Leone six years later, he was unable to find work. He reluctantly emigrated to Kenya where he worked as an agriculture teacher and met his Irish wife, Anne. They moved to London and then to Ireland where they now live with their four children.
While living in London, Tommy heard nothing from Sierra Leone but bad news about widespread corruption and a dwindling economy. In 1991 he saw a television programme on the exploitation of resources in Sierra Leone. He was moved to set up the Environmental Foundation for Sierra Leone (ENFOSAL) - to raise awareness about the environment, and to educate and work in partnership with communities to reclaim and rehabilitate the land for planting.
"Dictator after dictator just invited mining industrialists to come in and do whatever they wanted," he says. "Fifty per cent of Sierra Leone used to be covered in forest but now it is only six per cent, because of the mining companies' practice of 'cut and burn'."
The companies cut down vast areas of forest, he explains, burning what was left above ground and then starting open-cast mining for titanium or diamonds. Much of the time they flooded areas to make extraction easier. Much of Sierra Leone is now covered in artificial lakes, Tommy says.
"Sometimes the rebels would attack a mine to drive the mining companies out but all that achieved was a lot of people out of work and an abandoned open-cast mine. The mine owners tried to grow some trees on mined land when they were finished with it, but they grew cashew trees and palm trees and the cashew nuts and palm oil were exported.
"We cannot even grow rice in Sierra Leone now. We have to import it. Sierra Leone has so many natural resources and could have a thriving economy if it were managed properly."
ENFOSAL worked with the people to refill the land, fertilise the soil and plant tree seedlings and crops. "We provide the tools, food, seeds and technical expertise and the people provide the labour and then they reap the harvest," Tommy says.
"We were working on a number of projects with communities when the rebels took over. On the day of the coup, David and I were at home in a village four miles from Freetown. The rebels ... were shooting in the air and we were very frightened. Eventually they left us alone. For days afterwards we could hardly sleep."
They moved from the village into a hotel in Freetown and Tommy got David out of Sierra Leone on the first flight to London. Tommy got a boat to Conakry in Guinea, from where he made his way back to Dublin.
He intends returning to Guinea in a few days and, as soon as it is safe, crossing the border into Sierra Leone.
"It's the rainy season and now is the time to plant. We have 13,000 tree seedlings waiting to be planted," he explains.
During the coup the bank and the treasury were burnt down. Now there is very little food and any that is available has tripled in price.
"I want to go hack to Sierra Leone, Tommy says. "I feel I have a job to do, and some day I hope tub be able to bring my family there to live."