The text for the closing remarks I made at the Farewell event in Freetown, Sierra Leone came from the saying that my Grandmother used: “Every closed eye ain’t sleep and every goodbye ain’t gone.” This spoke so well of my feeling upon the occasion of the day: we were leaving Freetown after 57 days. The ship and the Nation were saying goodbye, but we will still be together in spirit and soul.

We have become a part of the fabric of the city with untold hundreds of people wearing the green, white, and blue Atlantic Freedom Tour bracelets, with the more than a thousand school children who walked to see the ship, with the street vendors whose stalls surround the Naval base where Amistad was housed who would shout “Amistad” whenever one of the crew passed on the street. The people call out “Captain” when they saw me on the street or riding by in a car. The name Voytec Wacowski that melded into “Amadou Barrie” to all who met our stalwart IT-Guy/Webmaster/ Video & Still Photographer, who was adopted in to the Fulah Tribe (Polish Branch). The city and national governments who extended themselves well beyond their limited resources to provide a memorable experience for us and an opportunity to participate in the rebirth of the nation.

Yes, we said goodbye but we are not gone, because we are taking part of Sierra Leone with us in the form of four crew members who are citizens of Sierra Leone; from the Navy, Port Authority, and the Murray Town part of Freetown. We left the giant Sierra Leone flag that flew over the ship during our stay in the safe-keeping of the Minister of Tourism and Culture and the Mayor of Freetown, to be returned to fly again when the ship returns.

We were given a mandate by the Minister to tell the story of Sierra Leone as we saw it; a warm beautiful nation with material and human wealth yet untapped, the place to start and develop business ventures and be part of a potentially unlimited source of growth, a place of peace and security. No sadness, but joy, the joy of being part of making dreams come true for Sierra Leone and AMISTAD America. The dream of seeing  "Sengbe’s Boat” anchored off the Portugese Steps where so many sons and daughters of Africa came home from the pain of bondage across the sea, the dream of a small group in the United States who longed for the story to be told on the shores of Sierra Leone.

No, our goodbye ain't gone, and our closed eyes ain't sleep. T.E. Lawrence said it so well when he wrote: ”Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind, awake to find that all is vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous for they may dream with open eyes and make it a reality.”
 

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