Amputee Camps in Sierra Leone

Ernest: The current regime was given ninety days to abdicate, otherwise they would march through the country to the capital and seize power. The government by then, as did many Sierra Leoneans, didn’t pay attention to what was said. We thought it was a hoax or something, or even if it is something of reality, it could be contained.

Interviewee: And if we don’t understand the kind of situation we find ourselves now in this country, we will not be able to solve these problems.

Ernest: I have always been concerned about my country. For one, the nature of the war, the extent, the dimension it took, is something I am still trying to make sense of. And I said to myself, had I not witnessed the atrocities myself, I would never have believed that Sierra Leoneans or human beings in fact, do have the capacity to sink to the depth of bestiality, as I call it, to the level which we so played out in my country. How do we come together as a community to look at the past, engage with that past, and try to make sense of what the future holds for us? It is not going to be easy. It is 00:02:00not something we could wish away. It is not something we can gloss over. Certainly, it is not something we can sweep under the carpet.

Interviewee: We all as Sierra Leoneans must be able to see the need for a concerted effort towards sanitizing this society. It should be an attitude of we all contribute to the betterment of the nation or we all die.

Ernest: How can we as a people allow these people to die from blood poisoning and gangrene when they have gone through so much? Some of them have no clue what diamonds or the politics of diamonds is all about. Some of them have never even seen a diamond. How do I go about helping them? I do not know. I think these people are desperate. They are hungry. They need food. They need clothing. They need medicine. I would hope if there are ways where by we can help these amputees, provide some medical assistance, I would be eternally grateful.