Mali conflict: We are terrified by gunshots and sight of dead bodies

By Hamidou*

A teenage boy living in Mopti ( reported by Plan International)

 

Displaced teenager in Mali.Cr: Plan International

Today, I caught my brother crying again.

He usually does that when he thinks he is alone in a room. Mamadou is 6 years old and he does not like anyone to see him crying lest he be teased and be called a girl. But he can’t help it. He often cries because of the fighting and what he has seen.

 A couple of days ago, we went shopping with my dad. On our way back home, as we were driving in front of the military barracks daddy shouted to us “look away now”. I immediately did but Mamadou didn’t. He looked up to see what was happening in the barracks and he has not stopped crying since.

 He told me he saw people lying on the ground beside the wall of the barracks and there was blood everywhere. My dad later said the people were shot dead. My brother is really shaken and it makes me sad. I am worried about him. I have been trying to cheer him up but it does not work.

 When I am at home, I often hear gunshots. This happens at any time of the day. Every time I hear gunfire I would rush to check on my little brother. I try to divert his attention with silly games.

Mali: I am bracing for the worst ....

By Mamadou Samba Bocoum,  Programme Unit Manager in Plan International (Ségou, Mali)

I called my brother today and it was hard.

I have seven brothers and sisters and Gorou, 60, is the eldest. He lives in Sévaré in Mopti Region which is close to the area where military action is taking place.

Today when I called his voice was different. He was very emotional. I have never heard him like this.  He told me he was concerned about his children and his home. They had been hearing gunshots and heavy military vehicles were just 9 km away. They’re scared but he is determined to stay at home no matter what.

I know what this ‘no matter what’ means and I am anxious. I know he will stay put and defend his house to his last breath. This is hard but I understand and respect his choice.

Mali Conflict: I am tearful for Ségou

By Edwige Depagne-Sorgho, Emergency Communications Officer in Plan International

Bamako, the Malian capital, is swarming with news reporters from all over the world, each wanting desperately to get to Mopti or Ségou nearer to where the action is taking place.

I was fortunate to get security clearance to go to Ségou and spend a few days seeing how the conflict is impacting the lives of women and children and to learn how Plan International is helping them. Particularly to see how Plan is helping get them back to school in a safe environment so they can catch-up on missed classes and get emotional support as their lives have been so disrupted.

As soon as we started to work, taking pictures, visiting the wounded in hospital and schools filled with displaced children, my security officer, who is constantly glued to his communications set, said “we have go ... pack up ... max 30 minutes”.

I am tearful. I feel angry and frustrated. I only arrived last night after a six-hour long drive on a bumpy road  which felt like hours of turbulence on a plane. I had high hopes of documenting the humanitarian impact of this war on women and children and sharing it with the world. But now I am running for my life.

I am bitterly disappointed.

I feel I have broken a promise to myself but worst of all to these children, women and men I met in or around Ségou.

My consolation is that the time I spent in Ségou, I met so many people with compelling stories, such as 25-year old Aminata who fled Konnan a few days ago with her three children. She became separated from her husband and is spending sleepless nights, worried and fearing that he has been killed.

Break time at Ecole Mission in Ségou. Credit: Plan International

Fourteen-year old Issa from Timbuktu remains in a state of shock. He just stares. He struggles to speak.

I am fortunate because I can leave Ségou which has just been designated as a “red zone” by the military and flee to safety. But these people have nowhere to go. I am leaving them all behind.
It’s déjà vu all over for me – just a different country.

The anxiety I feel now is the same that I felt for my loved ones when the big earthquake hit Haiti three years so. For days I didn’t know what happen to them. I scanned the internet looking for clues that will give me hope. I rationally thought about the situation and concluded that it was bad news for some, if not all, the four members of my family in Port-au-Prince. But then the good news came. They all escaped the earthquake unharmed and were quickly transferred to safety in Paris.
I am hoping for the same miracle for those I am leaving behind in Ségou. I am praying they will be fine until I return.