Baby 'Obamas' in Sierra Leone
2008-11-05 22:19
Freetown - People sang in the streets, motorists sounded their horns, the church bells rang out - and newborn babies were named "Barack Obama", as Sierra Leone celebrated the election of Barack Obama.
Six out of the 10 male newborns at Sierra Leone's main maternity hospital early Wednesday have been named Barack Obama doctors said on Wednesday.
"It is an historic event not only for the US but the world as well," the excited mother of one such baby told AFP.
On Wednesday jubilant residents of the capital Freetown shook hands and clenched their fists to mark the victory of the United States' first black president-elect.
Hundreds of people had stayed up through the night to follow coverage of the vote count, despite the seven-hour time difference between Sierra Leone and the US.
When Obama's victory was confirmed, churches bells rang out, motorists honked their horns and revellers broke into a jubilant rendition of the song We shall overcome, changing the words to We have overcome.
Radio stations were swamped with calls urging the football authorities to change the name of Sierra Leone's under-17 national team from Shooting Stars to Obama Stars.
Daily newspaper the Premier News expressed the hope that Obama's election would herald a new era in US foreign policy.
"He knows his roots and Africa will be in the centre of a more favourable American policy," it said.