By Hassan I. Conteh

“Despite we are risking our lives at night when people are sleeping soundly, we get nothing out of it,” says Mohamed Turay, a vigilante at Kissy Dockyard community in the east part of Freetown.

‘Vigilantes’ are members of a group of people who work to prevent crimes or punish criminals in their community.

They do ‘night patrol’ especially when they have strong cause to believe that police are not effectively performing their responsibility by protecting citizens’ lives and property.

All over the world, police usually work with a team of community security persons who are helping the police to ‘chase-out’ bad people or criminals at community level.

Sierra Leoneans too are doing just that in the form of ‘community policing’.

These men are referred to as community safety volunteers. But, sadly, they don’t live a life that is good since they are not motivated by the government and community stakeholders.

Mohamed is among the growing number of youth volunteers in Sierra Leone who are being kept on the margin by the government and community stakeholders.

He tells their several ordeals they have been going through which now account for a ‘slow progress’ on their part to keep criminals away at Dockyard.

“We don’t have safety boots, torchlights; pepper spray, uniform, cutlass,” he complained.

“What is so sad is that some elders are exploiting us. [ We are made to understand] elders had been holding up our money in the past which was given by business companies operating around. We really need these companies to work with us directly or for government to help us join the police force.”

Kissy Dockyard is home to several factories like Fawaz Building Materials, Jetty, Shankerdas & Sons, Mackay, and Freetown’s terminal is also found here.

Over the years, Dockyard had been a hideout for criminals, but the vigilantes said they were able to overpower the criminals through series of ‘night patrol activities’ and other methods use to restrain hard-core criminals.

But are their riskier efforts rewarded?

Turay and his colleague vigilantes are sad over police refusal to pave a smooth way for them to be recruited in the force.

The vigilantes neither get pay nor enlisted into police force after years of service. Mohamed has served for about fifteen years without pay.

“Our hopes are that we would have long been recruited as police officers after some promises over the years but all failed,” he wished.

“We still struggle to get help (medical and financial benefits and work equipment) and most of us are family heads and our wives and children expect much from us, but we keep serving the people without having benefits from the community and the government.”