Planning Priscilla's Homecoming

An interview with JMU alum, Joshua Klemm ('04)
Jeanine Talley

Joshua Klemm (’04), a JMU alumnus who majored in international affairs, has traveled extensively throughout West Africa. The West Virginia native speaks French, Fulani, Krio as well as English and currently works with the National Accountability Group, an anti-corruption, watchdog agency staffed and directed by Sierra Leoneans. Common interests, fate and Priscilla’s Homecoming, which he co-organized, brought us together on an early summer afternoon for this interview.

Thursday, June 9, 2005

Q: Tell me the story of how you came to be in Sierra Leone in the first place.

A: My junior year I left JMU to spend a semester abroad in Ghana and that was my first taste of West African culture. I ended up loving it so much that I stayed for another six months after the semester ended. When I finally returned to JMU, I met Joe Opala through a class he was teaching. I became fascinated with Sierra Leone; and when Joe said that he could get me a position here with Zainab Bangura and her new organization, National Accountability Group, I jumped at the chance. I have so engrained myself in this culture that now I’ll be connected to it for life. I’ve been here in Salone [Sierra Leone] for about a year with a little six-week break for the holidays last winter. Overall, I like to say I’ve lived in West Africa for about two years.

Q: What kind of preparation did JMU provide you for traveling abroad and/or working on a project like Priscilla’s Homecoming?

A: Going to JMU was the first time I had the chance to be truly independent. Most college experiences provide you with the privilege of being on your own enough that you’re deciding what you want to do with your day, your week and everything else. The course work at Madison obviously helped to give me an understanding of this region of the world. However, reading about a country or its political system is a lot different than living inside it. I think the biggest thing was the independence, though, because I then believed I could live halfway around the world on my own. I was actually supposed to go to Ghana after high school, but I think it was better that I waited until after a few years of college and then went.

Q: What were some of your fondest memories of Madison?

A: I miss the Little Grill [Restaurant] very much and biking around Harrisonburg or hanging out on the Quad.

Q: What about this country has kept you around for so long?

A: It’s the region. West African countries share a lot of cultural things. Small interactions with people are so important here. And it’s so easy to talk to people, and once you learn the language its so rewarding to talk with them in their own dialect. It’s interesting that people can live such happy lives without cars, high-speed Internet or other things that we connect happiness to in the states. You don’t really need those things here. It’s also very rewarding to feel as if you know a place. Ghana prepared me for Sierra Leone. You start to learn the deeper aspects of culture after you get those basics.

Q: Will you ever move back to the states?

A: I feel like it will be more rewarding to stay here. Everything is new here. Living in the states, I understand already; I grew up there. Here, everything is new; that keeps things interesting and fresh.

Q: What has been your role in organizing Priscilla’s Homecoming?

A: Most of the time it was independently done with a lot of e-mailing. My largest role was keeping people to their commitments, delivering papers and making calls. I had to deal with logistics, and to do anything logistical in this country takes forever. One thing can take up your entire day — meetings, trying to get support from a resource-strapped government, which eventually came through in the end. Juggling all that with a day job was also very difficult. At the end, I gave up and just focused on the homecoming. When I started working on this project back in January of this year, I was maybe working four hours a week on it but by April/May as much as 50+ hours a week. Just for one week of events!

Q: What has been the most enjoyable moment for you throughout the planning, preparation and implementation stages?

A: I don’t know if I can say there was one thing that was better than everything else. I enjoyed a lot of things. It was great to hang out with Joe and watch how he interacted with Sierra Leoneans. The most powerful moment I think was at the American Embassy listening to the Freetong Players and watching Thomalind cry. That was truly powerful. At that moment it hit home, all the planning and organizing finally turned into something real, it was then more than something fun to work on.

Q: So, I didn’t know that when I came to Sierra Leone for the homecoming that I would have the pleasure of experiencing an African wedding too. Tell me about it.

A: My wedding to Binta Bah on Sunday, June 5, 2005, was a traditional Muslim Fullah wedding. It was held at the bride’s family compound. Though I didn’t convert to Islam, it was still interesting to participate in such a tradition. Instead of carrying just flowers, Binta’s young cousin walked in with the Cabash on her head. This is a really significant part of the ceremony because the gourd she carried was filled with gifts from me to the bride — things like kola nuts, a traditional offering of respect; perfume; nail polish; and, of course, money.

The first part in the main room of the house was spent negotiating a bride price. My Sierra Leonean godfather represented me since my family wasn’t able to be there and was the one that actually handed out the cash to different members of Binta’s family. After a couple of hours, she finally came out and prayers were spoken; and there was more deliberating among family members. After that we were pushed (literally) into the next room into a service, and I have no idea what went on because it was in Fullah, and I don’t understand a word of it! My guess would be a lot of prayers and a lot of speeches. After that we ate and talked until late into the night with family and friends that had traveled to Freetown. I’ve really made commitments to being in Africa, especially now having married into it, in a way.

Q: Would you ever have guessed back on those days lying out on the Quad that you would be here in Sierra Leone married to a beautiful African woman?

A: If I had known, I’d never have believed it.

About the author