By: Thaimu Bai Sesay (FBC Intern) & Saidu Ibrahim Kamara
The inimical effect of the eleven years brutal rebel war in Sierra Leone left many Sierra Leoneans amputated, some single and others double. Adikalie, who had both lower arms amputated, expressed his ordeal that when his arms were amputated, he was given a letter by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) to deliver to then President of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. The content of the letter was to inform the president that they would take over Freetown by January 6.
He explained to us that when he arrived he was immediately taken to Kambia hospital to receive treatment. One of the brutal strategies by members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) to terrify people to support them was cutting off people’s limbs- in most cases their hands.
Over 20, 000 people were estimated to have had at least one of their limbs, hands or legs amputated or injured or some other ways in the eleven years long war.
In 2004 when the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) was set up to try to deliver accountability for human rights abuses, issued a report recommending that amputees, war widows, children, victims of sexual violence and seriously war wounded should receive reparations in the form free education for children, free healthcare and skills training to be managed by the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA).
According to Alusine Mansaray, Chairman for Cotton Tree Disables, NaCSA in its little way has been supportive to them. He said although NaSCA does not provide other things but it does assist them with physical cash. “NaCSA gives 1,109, 000 old Leones ever year to individual amputees and disables,” he said.
With regards to their medical needs, Alusine intimated that they do not have any free medical treatment when they go to government hospitals to receive treatments. He said they have recently recorded three deaths from the Cotton Tree disables due to poor medical care and unwillingness to treat disabilities.
The Government of Sierra Leone between 2000 and 2008, with the help of international donors, established the shelter programs for amputees and war wounded. The government of Sierra Leone collaborated with the NGO, Norwegian Friends of Sierra Leone and a total of five hundred houses were reportedly constructed for the victims of the nationwide. About 3,000 persons who were residing in I D P camps in Freetown, also benefited from the NRC Housing and Reintegration Program during 2000- 2003.
In the initial phase of the program, it took care of basic needs like clothing, food, health care, skills training, education for the children of the amputees and psycho-social counseling. The amputees were living a pleasant life during the early days of the program. However, things changed when the Norwegian NGO exited the program and handed it over to the government of Sierra Leone.
Many of the amputees were left to fend for themselves and some are now living a miserable life as they take to the street to beg for living.
Adikalie Bangura along with other disables beg around Kissy Road, near Mountain Cut. He said that he was among the fortunate to have a house constructed for him in Makeni Highway. He said that he left his house because he had to take care of his family, more especially his children.
“I cannot obviously do any lucrative job,” he said. “The support and other assistance that used to come have stopped,” he said.
Adikalie Bangura explained to us that he is secretly going through a lot of constraints and that he has a disturbing ‘ania’ which he cannot cure due to the money demanded for the operation. He further explained that he had several times gone to government hospitals for him to be treated but had to be turned down many times because he could not afford to pay the hospital bills.
Alhaji M Konneh, Social Service Officer for the Ministry of Social Welfare said that the Ministry of Social Welfare has been providing socio-economic empowerment for persons living with disability by providing training skills for them.
“We have explained to the disables that if any of them have any medical issues, and government hospitals do not attend to any of them, they should report to the National Commission for Persons living with Disability,” he said.
“The commission recommends that all amputees be provided with free physical health care for the duration’s of their lives,” TRC report Vol 2 Chapter 4 no 109 P. 252.
The TRC report also made recommendations that the wives and children under the age of 18 of the amputees should also be eligible to receive free physical health care.
Despite all the efforts government and its partners have been making, it still remains a big problem for government and its partners to solve the problems of persons living with disability and to adhere to the recommendations made by the TRC with regards to amputees, elderly women, victims of sexual abuse and provision of education for their children.
This article is produced with support from media reform coordinating group (MRCG) through African Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF) on “engaging the media to change the narrative on transitional justice issues in Sierra Leone.”