by Joe Tucker Current Evangelism Ministries (CEM) Women and Children at Risk Program

“I was in Form II (second year in secondary school) when the war broke out. In 1998, the rebels attacked my village, a small village with about fifteen mud houses. They at first told us that they entered the village to look for government troops and chiefs. This gave us some hope. At night however they started attacking our sisters and raping them. When the men tried to talk to them, they set the houses on fire and also started shooting. People in the villages nearby heard the shots and some men came. When they saw what was happening, they ran away with their relatives.

I managed to escape with some of my family members to the main town, Mattru Jong, where we stayed for few months. Some fishermen decided to go by canoe to Bo the Provincial headquarter town to report to the garrison commander (the road was no longer safe). They did not return till many months later. I was able to continue my schooling up to Form II in this town.

One evening, on our way from a fishing trip, we were ambushed by a group of rebels and were kidnapped together with my friends, four of us in number. From that point, we were given loads of looted items to carry to their base, a very long distance from my home. I think it was more than 100 miles but we walked through forest paths every night and hide during the day. We would wake up early at night to continue the journey. When we are sleeping during the day, some rebels climb trees and watch around us. Also when we are walking at night my friends and the other people who were captured stay in the middle of the group. If you stand behind they will beat you with sticks. No man was allowed to smoke during our journey. When you appear tired, they either beat you or give you [an] injection. I was given [an] injection only once. I got [a] headache but after some hours I did not appear tired anymore. I had no idea where they were taking us. At no time did we enter any town.

When we came closer to any village or town, we were instructed to stay quiet and not to even move from where we were. The younger rebels would go and spy and report about what was happening in the village. After this, we would lie down and wait till nighttime then continue our journey. At certain times, we were given each a roll of dry leaf which I later was able to recognize as marijuana and we were forced to smoke it. The senior rebel told us the journey was not short so we needed to smoke the “cigarette” to help us walk faster. The journey took us 9 days.

Whenever we felt hungry, we were given powdered cassava called garrie which we ate. It often made us very thirsty but you have to eat it. On two occasions, the rebels attacked villages for food and drinks, which were carried by the new people who were captured. I was very scared at both times, and prayed in my heart for God to make a way for me to escape. When the rebels noticed that I was scared, during attacks, they shaved my head, undressed me and gave me twenty-four solid lashes and told me that they will slaughter me if I attempted to escape.

We arrived early one morning in a thick bush where I was able to see a heavily bearded man who instructed the rebels to keep us away from where they were seated. Later I came to know that this was one of the biggest camps in their area. This camp was called camp Bokina.

We were brought before the old man who was only named Papay. He talked to us and told us that we were going to help save our own people and that he will make sure that we fight the war. At this point I knew who the man was. This was the Foday Sankoh we all feared.

We were given series of injections later and I fainted for several hours not knowing what was happening to me. After the few days, I gained consciousness a little. I never knew that this was just the beginning of the ordeal I was to go through. I was carried to a place they called “Base” A fair complexioned man use to come and train us and tell us how to lie down when shooting. We were not given guns at first. Many days later, when we had learned how to go at night and watch what is happening in a town without people seeing us, they gave us heavy sticks to take from the ground, raise it to knee-level and to chest level. Later we were given guns and trained in shooting. We were then given few cartridges and the rebels put us in front to go to a town I never knew. This was the first attack in which I participated as a rebel. During that fight, the senior rebels captured four soldiers who were seriously wounded and they asked me to kill one of them. Under the influence of the drug, I managed to fire the First shot in my life. It missed the target and killed one of the rebels. I was tied down with cables, with my hands tied at my back and I was made to lie down flat on my back to look at the sun for the whole day. I was even given a guard to watch me. The next day, I was made to go through the same exercise, this time with a promise that if I miss my target, I will be killed instead. With this treat in my mind, and against my will, I killed the soldier.

Whenever we are going on the rampage, we were heavily drugged so that we will not be conscious of what we are doing. Sometimes, they make us rape women in the presence of our commandos. We killed and looted at any time. I was with them until we entered the capital Freetown.

When the rebels entered Freetown, I escaped and went to look for my family in Mattru Jong but by then the town was under the control of the civil militia men, the Kamajors who had organized themselves to secure their town from the attack of the rebels. It was here that I was captured, but fortunately for me, my uncle was the one of the leaders of the Kamajors who pleaded for me and having heard my story, I was allowed to join their team. When I learnt that my families were in the refugee camp in Freetown, I was very glad, but the trauma of those families that we have killed still remains in my memory.

I am now a born-again Christian, going through a gara tie-dye training programme in Pendembu, Kailahun District, [in the] eastern part of the country. I hope to return to my home when I finish my training and have money to help my other brothers and sisters. I am now twenty years old.”