“Aa wan
see you!” would be the sound of a lucky miner who just found a small glass like
diamond in fields and wants you to see it. Not knowing what you are buying, it would
be a big, big problem for you. I was born and raised in the small town of
Kenema nestled near the big Gola forest of Sierra Leone, buying diamonds and
selling them was the trade everyone wanted to do, but no one actually knew what
harm and danger it would bring to the country and people.
As diamonds
were literally readily available, the race for it got crazy! This would be
later called as blood diamonds as the most outrageous war happened. In 1997, the
local government headed by Teejan Kabha was overthrown by the rebels
and seized control of the country. It was now bloodshed and fear
everywhere.
In such a
terrible event, we were left we no choice but to abandon the country I grew up
and spent my childhood in. We crossed the border to Liberia and took the first
flight to Mumbai via Delhi. After the 16 hours flight ordeal we reached Mumbai and
my crazy sister and I to were ill for the next two weeks.
After a
cray month or two, I joined a school in Mulund where my two cousin brothers studied.
Little did I know that I was in for hell, and that the next couple of years
would change my thoughts about India and her people. I didn’t know what Mumbai had in store for us;
it turned out to be a pretty crazy place!
As it was
monsoon season, knowing nothing about the weather was not one’s mojo, as it rained
like cats and dogs, the streets and roads would be filled with water, causing
mayhem all over the city!
This is
where my journey begins in the water logged roads of Bombay and
it continued for five years.
More to
come about my time in Mumbai as a kid.
