TORTURE: ASIAN AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | OCTOBER 2013
and so entered the forest in order to distant ourselves from where people were being shot and killed. It was now getting dark and there was no flashlight, or no one earlier planned to bring one along. The closer we heard the gun sounds, the less safer we felt and so the deeper we continued to enter into the forest. Because the mattress was not tied on my head, I had to constantly apply effort in folding it to certain sizes that would enable me to pass through some narrow outlets. And, at other times, I had to pull it out if it got entangled in ropes. As it got darker, we started walking by feelings. For instance, we automatically knew that we were in a swamp after we started feeling cold and water under our feet. At one point in time we got on a footpath but it was now completely dark to the extent that no one could see anything – even if it was hanging right before our eyes. The group then decided that we have a rest but caution that we leave the foot path and enter into the bush a bit since, roads usually leads to somewhere and, it is possible for soldiers to patrol on the very foot path. Musu and myself then left the foot path and groped in the dark to a distance that we thought was suitable to sit and have some rest. I placed our mattress underneath one big tree and, both of us sat on it. While sitting, we could hear people’s voices as far as 40-50 yards away under the forest. Babies crying sounds were also heard in the darkness. And for every time a baby cries, we heard another adult nearby, complaining and warning the mother to control the child by either petting him/her or, by placing breast in his/her mouth.
VOLUME 02 NUMBER 04
At about 11 p.m., the shooting subsided and some cars were set ablaze. From where we were, we could see the sky light up with the blazing fire. We spent the rest of the night sitting on our mattress and having little or no sleep at all. Early the next morning, every one us came out of our hiding places and I discovered that we ran for safety and spent the night with over thousands of human beings under the same bush. Among the people, we never saw any familiar person or relative. Generally, there were two different intentions expressed and identified among all of us. This made us get divided into two groups. The first group had people who were not comfortable going further unless they got back to Klay in order to search for their missing children / other family members and properties. The second group, which I was part of, was made up of people who had to some extent, accepted the loss(es) sustained so far in Klay and were not willing to go back but, to forge ahead. And so, while the first group was leaving for Klay, our group members started the search for an easy route that would land us on the road leading to Cape Mount – and to Sierra Leone. After minutes of discussions by those who knew the entire terrain better, we finally got on the journey and landed on the road leading to Cape Mount. Musu was not comfortable leaving the country without her mother’s consent and so, decided to go to Monrovia in order to express her intention and if approved, would then follow me. I tried to encourage her but she insisted. Therefore, we got separated and she followed a group that was going to Monrovia.
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