Mohamed Lappia

Name: Mohamed Lappia                                     

Date of Birthday: 5 November 1984

Age: 30

Address: 16 Aberdeen ferry road Freetown

Marietta Status Single with one Child

Playing position: Attacker

THE TRUE STORY OF MY LIFE DURING THE WAR

I was born in Blama, small Bo Chiefdom in Kenema District. I started going to school in Blama at the age of 3years. I went to Nursery School at the age of 5years. I was in school from class to 1 to class six . I took my National Primary School Examination in 1998, at the age of 12 years.

Just after my N.P.S.E Exams, I went to Blama to see my relatives when the Rebels attacked the entire township. We ran away from the town and went to the bush for safety because they shot and killed many people. The Rebels also captured my younger sister and raped her to death. After an hour the government troops came to fight and removed the Rebels from the town, but it was not easy for the government troops because the Rebels were fully armed with some heavy guns, so they killed lots of government troops and civilians. After killing some of the Rebels (and some ran away) the government troops made an announcement in the town that all people that were hiding in the bush should come out because the town is now safe and peaceful. Some people started to come out from the bush to the town. But for me and my family we remained in the bush, hidden.

On the 15th of October, I told my Mother and Father that I am tired of staying in the bush so I need to go to town. My mother told me “Mohamed let us wait please! We need to watch first before going to town.” I said “OK Mother if you say so I am OK, but we need to go to town”. We remained in the bush with no good food for us to eat for almost three months. Finally my Mother and my Father came and said to us children “today we need to move out of the bush and go to town.” We children were very happy and I took my bag and other items. My brother and my only sister left with us and took their own bags too.

I led on the road to town and my father was close to me. My Mother, sister and brother they were behind us. It was on this road to town that I stepped on a land mine. The explosion cut off my right leg below knee and a shrapnel fragment killed my dad straight away. The government soldiers came to the place where the land mine exploded. They were thinking that they got an animal but when they saw me they said to themselves “ooh it is a rebel!!” But my Mother said “no my son is not a rebel, he is a civilian, don’t kill him please. Look at his Father lying dead, he was killed by the fragments from the land mines.” The government troops started to say they were so sorry for that, so the government troops took me from the bush to the town for medical treatment. But there were no medical treatment in Blama so what the soldiers did was they went with me to Kenema government hospital for medical treatment. I was in Kenema government hospital in Kenema for more than one year without any proper medical treatment.

The Rebels also attacked Kenema. They went straight to the government hospital to collect drugs. They went to the drugs store and broke the door to the store and collected all the drugs and went with them to the bush so they could treat themselves in the bush. So my foot started rotting and maggots started coming out of it. I was in the hospital in Kenema when the International Community of the Red Cross entered the hospital to check for serious cases so they can bring them to Freetown for proper medical treatment. I was among the patients that they chose to bring to Freetown for medical treatment at Netland private hospital located at Congo cross Freetown.

When we entered the hospital my case was so serious that they took me straight to the theater for emergency operation. So they attended to me first and after the operation they took me to the ward and put me on a hospital bed for the first time. I would go to theater for operation three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It was really not easy for me: my case was so serious and I had totally given up on my life because of the pain I was going through.

I was also in the Netland hospital in Freetown when the Rebels entered Freetown on January 6 1999 killing and wounding many people, and the hospital was so full with patient.

I went to the operating theater more than ten times. Finally the Doctor removed all my Leg because cancer wanted to enter my life, so he decided to remove everything. So now I don’t have any leg I only have waiste.