War Zone!!!!

I guess there is nothing more scarier than being in a war torn country other than staring death in your face or maybe staring at  your angry wife!!

SIerra Leone

Cotton Tree!!

But let’s be serious, born and raised in a country where the per day income of an average working person is less than a dollar doesn't define what that country is but only gives you an overview of how unfortunate it is especially when the country is rich in minerals. What can I say, greed is your biggest enemy, I suppose.

Beauty of the country

                                       Waking up in the mornings with the sounds of gun shots or your father sending a car to pick you up from school because the city has been attacked by the rebels, is one of the worst experience you could have in your life. The fear of not knowing if you are going to be able to see your parents and your loved ones again makes everything all the more worse. While growing up in Sierra Leone, I somewhat had a normal childhood, but not the one an average kid usually had while growing up. For instance, going to the park and playing with your friends or watching cable tv or going to restaurant on a Sunday with the family or even getting a take out from your fast food joint so you could give mommy a day off from the kitchen.  My childhood was full of surprises & craziness, not realizing a bullet was aimed and fired at your mom or while travelling to another city you wouldn’t know if you are gone make it or you might get ambushed and probably get killed or all you could see & hear is gunshots and people running for safety and wondering what would happen next.

RUF(Rebels)

                                           I am here to write about the county that was torn apart because of the glitter and the fancy diamonds it had. Many people would think why a country would be so poor & underdeveloped even though it had all the glitter & gold from the minerals. The only thing I got to say its cause the developed countries aren't gaining anything from it so why bother and interfere....

 Merciless Killing

The war in the 90s, but shit hit the fan on 25th May 1997; three days after my birthday, when the government run by Teejan Kaabah was overthrown by prisoners who had broken out of the country's biggest prison and were led by one of their inmates. The war had now actually started between the rebels, the army who were supposed to protect, and the Kamajors who were also supposed to help in protecting the nation. But it had become an entirely different ball game when the coup happened! The capital was controlled by 2 parties, one was the ECOMOG, these were the armies from neighbouring countries, and the other party consisted of the rebels. When the coup happened, we had to leave the country and the only way to travel was by car and cross the border into the neighbouring country, Liberia, from where we could go to India. The main culprit of the war was the president at the time, Charles Taylor, and with the aid of the western world all this happened to be possible. I left my father and my life as a kid, and embarked on a journey which would change my whole life and what I am today. The funniest part of all this is that 90% of the population had never seen a diamond in their entire life at that time of their life!

Chopped off limbs!!!

                                                    Coming back to the war, things got worse day by day and it went on for 5 years. The atrocity the people suffered was cruel and I hope no one suffers as much as the people of Sierra Leone did. Chopping off limbs and legs of innocent people was one of their ways to cause and spread terror. Their motive was, "If you are going to vote against us, you won't be able to because we will chop your hands off!" Their way of asking was do you want short sleeves or long sleeves!!!

                                       The atrocity they carried out was beyond anyone's imagination. Diamonds there were found in numbers and one's luck would change in a matter of seconds if they found the perfect rock! But the diamond wasn't the only thing Sierra Leone had; it had rich culture and food. I still remember, every Sunday we would have pepper soup or cassava leaves or potato leaves. It was the local’s favourite meal and it was good, really good! I miss the place and it will always hold a special place in my heart, because I was born and raised there. And it taught me a lot.

Another beautiful beach!!!

                                    I have been planning a trip to see my parents but something or the other keeps coming up and I haven't been able to visit my birth place. It's been three years! There is nothing much to do there, but if you were to go there, I can promise you that it is something very different and something you probably haven't seen in your life!!! All you get is peace & tranquillity & i am in desperate need of both.

                                     That's it for now; I hope you liked this life changing post of mine. I will share a link where you can see the actual war that was captured by the brave journalist called Sorious Samura. Not bothering about his life, he wanted to show the world what his country & the people were suffering and what help the western world provided!!!

 The link: - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WHl2UmJXYU