大象传媒

Josephine Onike Hazeley - English for Africa

Where did you travel for your programmes?
Sierra Leone, Malawi and Uganda.

How long were you away for in total?
Five weeks

Are you going back for this project?
Unfortunately not.

Were you moved or upset at any point on your recent trip?
Yes.

What caused you to feel like this?
I was alarmed at the number of women systematically raped and ganged-raped by rebels in Sierra Leone. One estimate put it at 60 percent of the female population. The rebels used rape as a weapon of war. Coming face to-face with the victims sometimes left me tongue-tied. The plight of the women had never been highlighted. We've seen, read and heard of the other victims of the brutal war... the amputees. But somehow the women were left to suffer in silence.

Was there anything that gave you hope?
Yes

What was it?
Rape was a taboo subject in Sierra Leone, but women talk about this openly now as a way of coming to terms with it. And in Uganda, the acceptance by the authorities that prisoners have rights as human beings was a hopeful sign. In both countries it was good to see the rise in the number of local Human Rights groups, a hopeful sign in raising awareness of human rights issues among the population.

Describe one of the people you interviewed and what they said.
I interviewd a 20 year old girl, Fatti (real name witheld). She was abducted by the rebels in Makeni, a town in the north of Sierra Leone. She was 18 at the time. Fatti told me was gang raped: "obvioulsy you come to expect to be raped. It was a fact of life with the rebels". As a result of the rape she now has a child whom she could not accept at first. After much counselling she had grown to love her son, James, now 2.

At the training centre where she is enrolled on a catering course, Fatti told me she would like to see her abusers brought to justice. She added: "I would not like them killed but would like them to come face to face with their victims and see at first and the suffering they have cause. That would live with them for the rest of their lives".

Has your trip made you think any differently about human rights?
No

漏 大象传媒 World Service, Bush House, Strand, London WC2B 4PH, UK.