J. Sorie Conteh was born in Sierra Leone. He received a B.A. from the University of Rochester, NY, and a Ph.D. in Anthropology & African Studies from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. He was a Research Fellow in the Department of African Studies at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone and the Afrika-Studiecentrum in Leiden, the Netherlands. He was a Political Affairs Officer at the Permanent Observer Mission of the Organisation of African Unity to the United Nations in New York. Dr. Conteh has published several short stories and articles. His writings cover topics and concerns on the effects of diamond mining in Sierra Leone, female circumcision, secret societies, African culture, and democracy in Africa. Dr. Conteh was later Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations Iraq Kuwait Mission and also at the United Nations Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia.