Fate of Freetown hotel tells story of Sierra Leone | bbc.co.uk

In Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, a hotel made famous by author Graham Greene has come to symbolise a country caught in a cycle of conflict and decay. It was only a pile of rubble but it had a powerful effect on me. I was standing on the crummy corner where Gloucester and Lightfoot Boston streets meet, hoping not to be run down by swarming Okada motorbike taxis or pick-pocketed by street kids.