OSB – Interview with Rebecca Mujinga
 
Video-Interview

Age: 12,
Place of residence: Cavango
Country: Angola
Occupation: schoolgirl
Injury: loss of right foot
Date of interview: 29 November 2001
Interview location: Luena



"I stepped on a land mine in Kasongo. That's on the other side of the river. There were five of us. My friends and me. We went there to gather fruit. We didn't know that there were mines there.

Actually I was supposed to go to the river to fetch water. But then Tina came to our home. Tina is my best friend. She persuaded me just before I was going to leave. She said: "Come with us, we can gather some fruit.'

I said: 'No, I mustn't leave. My mother told me to look after the baby. I can't go with you.' But Tina kept on pestering and in the end she persuaded me. She pushed me. And then I went with her.

Then we walked and walked and walked. My friends went ahead. Everyone except Tina. We walked through the bushes looking for fruit. After a while I wanted to go back. I wanted to go home and look after the baby. I took the same path back. But my friends insisted that I go along with them. Tina grabbed my hand and pulled me back to them. At some point I gave up and we carried on walking. We walked on and on and on. Then we found the first tree with lots of fruit ... We gathered the fruit lying on the ground. Then we walked further ... on and on ... My friends were ahead of me ... Everything seemed safe. We came to the next tree. Here there was also lots of fruit which we picked up. We had gathered a lot of fruit.

My friends were already heading back again. I was a little way behind them. That's why I wanted to take a short cut ... I can't remember exactly where. Somewhere between the bushes, next to the path, I trod with my next step on a mine.

I felt a big explosion ... ho ... I fell down ... I had stepped on a mine. When I stepped on the mine, all my friends ran away with fear. They ran down the path to the next road. My right foot was bleeding. I crawled back along the path we had come on until I came to the road.

My Uncle Jamie found me as he was passing on his bicycle. He had been gathered fire wood. He put me in front of him on the bicycle and drove me home. Our house was very close. My uncle laid me in the shade in front of the house.

Many people came by. Later a car came. It stopped and they put me inside and drove me to the hospital. That is the car that transported me. I am inside here. I came into a room that I can't describe anymore. And they started to cut off the hanging flesh. I lost consciousness. When I woke up I was in a different room, lying in bed. The room had two doors. I was wearing a skirt. This is my leg. The other one here."
 

  1 | 2 | 3 | 4