Sierra Leone war victim relives trauma of being a child soldier

Dubai - Growing up in Sierra Leone during the civil war, he was robbed of an education, orphaned and left homeless all before the age of 10.

Even in 2018, thousands of children are serving as soldiers in deadly conflicts across the world. With some as young as eight years old and many fighting on the frontline, they are forced to commit unthinkable acts. Mohamed Sidibay was one of them.
Growing up in Sierra Leone during the civil war, he was robbed of an education, orphaned and left homeless all before the age of 10. At age five, he witnessed the brutal murder of his entire family and was forced to become a child soldier.
Speaking to Khaleej Times at the 'Empowerment Through Education' event by Dubai Cares on Monday, 25-year-old Sidibay relived some of that past before talking about how his second chance at life came about.  "I was living in a village in Sierra Leone. I was five years old when the rebels came in and murdered my whole family. Then they gave me a gun and forced me to follow them."
Against his will, Sidibay remained as child soldier for four years.
"At that time, there was a war all over the country. Sierra Leone was in a very unique situation. The rebels arrived, they pillaged the villages, raped and murdered innocent people, then took their kids."  
Not long after his ninth birthday, the war eventually ended, and that was when Sidibay escaped his duties as a child soldier.
"I was homeless for four years. All I remember is that I survived. I survived by staying alive, I survived by eventually going to school and I got lucky. I would say I got lucky."
Following an intervention by the United Nations, Sidibay was eventually rescued by an Italian priest, which is when he got into schooling through the help of Unicef.
"It wasn't easy, but it's what has gotten me here today. Education has given me the chance to manage the traumas of my past. The older I've gotten, my memory of life before the war has faded. The strongest memories I have is about my life after 5-years-old. That is unfortunate," he said.
Sidibay's journey of rehabilitation lasted until he was 14, which is when the opportunity to move to the US came about. Since then, he has been campaigning as an education activist advocating for children's right to quality education.
"To bring an end to issues like child soldiering, education is the answer. I think no country is ever developed socially, culturally or economically without an educated population. If we can educate a great and large population of people, it is very unlikely that there will be conflict. And I think education and stability are two sides of the same coin."
Sidibay added: "If most organisations and governments approached crises in the way Dubai Cares does, we would definitely be over this educational crisis within a matter of years."
If you give people something to aspire to, Sidibay said, it gives people an opportunity to manage.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai