By: Alusine Rehme Wilson
In the north-eastern city of Makeni, the scars of the brutal civil war can still be seen. One of the most striking things is the lack of respect for human dignity, which continues to affect both those who were directly affected by the war and those who were not.
Women, particularly the elderly and teenage girls, often face cruel treatment within their own homes. One heart-breaking example is a five-year-old girl who suffered at the hands of her stepmother, enduring mockery, pain, and the judgment of the community.
This girl in question was said to have been born in the iron-ore rich district of Tonkolili to her troubled mother, Aminata Sesay, who had been estranged from her family for seven years before returning home in November 2023, gravely ill, with a four-year-old daughter, who had lost sight in one eye.
Tragically, Aminata passed away just 24 hours later, after a brief conversation with her mother. She was only 35 years old.
Her grieving mother, now caring for Aminata's five-year-old daughter, spoke of the deep sadness that has gripped their family.
In an interview with AWE-Media Sierra Leone, the grandmother revealed that Aminata had come back to them after years of suffering in her marital home. Following the death of her husband in March 2023, she had endured emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of her partner. Before she died, Aminata confided in her mother about the torment she had faced, leading her to finally seek refuge with her family.
"My late daughter told me, 'Mama! I’ve faced numerous hardships, please forgive me and care for my child after my imminent demise. My mate's cruelty has also befallen my daughter, whom I named after you, resulting in her partial blindness in her left eye. This was caused by a vile act of pouring caustic soda on her eye while, I entrusted her care briefly with my mate long ago.
She was even planning to inflict the same harm on my baby's right eye, but was caught in the act by vigilant neighbours who alerted the authorities. Unfortunately, she was released without any consequences," the deceased 61-year-old mother narrated.
She continued, revealing that her granddaughter has been subjected to immense suffering, seeming disability, and mockery due to the incident leading to community stigmatization, causing her granddaughter to drop out of school because of incessant taunting by her peers.
“My granddaughter refuses to attend school anymore because of the hurtful nicknames like 'one-eye-girl' given to her by classmates. Even at home, some children shun her due to her partial blindness. Thankfully, the community headman has enforced regulations to shield her from further ridicule in our neighbourhood,” she added.
When asked about seeking medical help for her granddaughter's left eye, the elderly woman who sells groundnuts for a living to support her family, including her ailing retired teacher husband, replied, 'Yes, I have made multiple attempts to seek treatment for her.
“But, the medical facilities I visited, such as Branda Medical Center and the Makeni Regional Government Hospital, have advised that a specialized eye clinic in Lunsar or Freetown is the only hope for her through surgical intervention.
“The estimated cost for the surgery is NLe 3,500 (Three Thousand, Five Hundred Leones), excluding additional expenses for transportation and food. Unfortunately, my family cannot afford such a significant sum,' she lamented."
Even so, she is requesting from the public for financial or medical help in order to support her granddaughter's injured left eye, as advised by healthcare professionals for a necessary surgery.
Meanwhile, AWE-Media Sierra Leone has discovered that the young girl now shields her eye with her hand while playing with her friends and often experiences discomfort when the sun shines brightly on her left eye, which she says has become partially blind.
Undoubtedly, the five year old orphan’s situation is a stark reminder of paragraph 50 from the 2004 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report of Sierra Leone, which emphasizes that: "Human life loses its essence without dignity. And “Treating others with respect means not degrading them or subjecting them to inhumane treatment, but “True respect for human dignity is shown by valuing the lives of all individuals equally."
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