By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The historic and iconic Cotton Tree of Freetown on the night of Wednesday 24th May 2023, came crashing down in a heavy rainstorm, igniting calls from authorities and the general public to use the logs retrieved from the fallen tree for art, so that its history would not fade out.
The Education and Outreach Manager of the Monument and Relics Commission, Mohamed Farray Kargbo noted that they were shocked by the collapse of the tree which has been a natural heritage and a very big landmark in the history of the country.
He stated that the preservation of natural heritage is different from the preservation of artificial heritage, noting that the cotton tree is natural and history says that freed African Slaves first sought solace around its premises when they returned to Africa. He added that the tree is very important for the commission and that they are finding ways for its preservation.
He confirmed to Politico that the commission will collect some of the logs from the falling tree and place it in the national museum so that they can be used by sculpture or other artists to create historic items or images that will represent different things but with the inscription that they were made out of logs taken from the cotton tree.
Kargbo said they have started receiving suggestions from people that the tree will grow again and that the country will have another cotton tree in the future.
He said others are saying that to avoid a recurrence of such a situation, the artificial cotton tree should be erected in its place either with metals or other materials, whilst others are recommending the erection of something that will replicate the cotton tree.
“The commission believes in the preservation and restoration of the country’s history,” he said.
In his brief visit to the site of the fallen tree, President Julius Maada Bio said the incident is surprising for the nation and that no one ever knew it would fall at this time but said nature is reminding everyone that climate change is real.
“The falling of the tree is an act of nature; therefore we should know what to do to make sure that we keep the history of the cotton tree,” he said.
He stated that since the incident just happened, he cannot ascertain what to do with the relics of the tree but he would want to have it either at the State House, the Museum, or City Hall to keep its history alive.
A social media post from the former Mayor of the Freetown Municipality, Yvonne Aki-Sawyer indicated that she was “deeply saddened to learn that the iconic symbol of our city, the Cotton has fallen in tonight’s storm.”
“A major part of our city’s identity is no more…,” she said.
In explaining the importance of the cotton tree, 92-year-old Besoudu Davies noted that it was the symbol of the country whose history will not be complete without mentioning the country.
He recommended that if authorities could not remove it from its usual place, they should leave it to re-grow again so that children yet unborn will witness its rich history.
An eye witness when the tree fell down, Victor Tutu Rogers explained that he was returning from work when it started raining and he had to go around the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) building, considering the magnitude of the wind. He said while he arrived at the CID, he saw a flash of sharp lightning and suddenly heard the heavy sound of the drop of the cotton tree.
He stated that immediately after the CID police personnel heard about the fall of the tree; they intervened by directing the vehicles to use the other way instead of the normal route of the cotton tree roundabout. According to him, he shared the news on social media that the giant cotton tree has fallen.
The cotton tree was of historic significance to not just Freetown but Sierra Leone as a whole.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (26/05/23)
