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Nicholas S.Davis - My Blog
Nicholas S.Davis - My Blog
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My first battle
Related to country: Liberia

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Year 1990, Margibi County. After my training I was given an AK-47 rifle to shoot the target. I thought it was a toy gun, because during Christmas daddy used to buy us toy-guns to play with. But this time around when I advanced it and pressed the trigger, it waved me left and right. There I knew it was no longer a toy-gun. During my training I was told that commandoes: two by two, so I always used to move with Thomas, my friend in the Small Boys Unit (SBU). He was about 13 years old and he was like a brother to me. My first battle was with the SBU. We were taken to the front by the Special Forces and information hit our base that some soldiers of the armed forces of Liberia were camping in a village nearby that night. So we got to that village early in the morning and surrounded it. We never knew we were already in the ambush. Before I realized what was happening the rocket-prepared grenade was launched by the Armed Force of Liberia. I was flat on my stomach with my AK-47 firmly in my hand. I heard that signs of most of my friends crying. I could hear Thomas’ voice pleading me for help, but I couldn’t move because bullets were flying here and there. I tried moving behind the tree and when I looked I could not believe my eyes what I saw. Thomas was lying there with two legs cut off. He has clutched his fists with the bushes nearby and was chewing his tongue. With all the marijuana I took that morning, I was afraid when I saw my friend lying there. Cold chill ran through my body and my body became numb. I was lying there for about 45 minutes. After the firing ceased I heard our commander calling. When I looked our men were mapping up the area. I woke up and sat before Thomas crying. The deputy commander came and held me, wiped my tears and asked me to come and see three of the soldiers who killed Thomas and the other boys. When I came, I saw three men sitting in military uniform with their hands tied behind their backs…

December 28, 2008 | 2:12 PM Comments  0 comments



World Disabled Day
Related to country: Ghana

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Doing the World Disabled Day, the Liberia disabled team, the Lone Star, came to Ghana to play with the national disabled team. The game was played at camp Buduburam, the refugees’ camp, 90% of the players are former child soldiers and the rest war affected youths. The game was one of the most excited games I ever watched. The game ended 3-0 in favor of the Lone Star. The first goal made me share tears, when the scorer was celebrating, he laid on his back and started spanning. I shared tears of sorrow and that of joy. I was happy for the goal and at the same time sorry for his situation. The pitch was over crowed with Liberians and Ghanaians. There was a victory song the Liberians girls were singing: “Liberia… sweet land of liberty, we prophecy to you, you will rise, you shine, you prosperous, in Africa… yield the World. Liberia…you are lifted amen, halliujah amen. After the game, I did talk with the co-chairman, according to him. when they started the team, the nation was looking down on the disabled players, but today they are the nation’s pride, They are qualified for the world disabled championship. In my next update, I will love to share with my many viewers, my first attack as a child soldier.

December 22, 2008 | 5:08 PM Comments  0 comments



Mad men executed
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

While driving with a friend in Accra, a mad man emerged from the corner of the street and came on the road, this scene give me a flashback, which I will love to share with my many viewers. During the civil war in my country Liberia, the rebels came up with a military strategy by sending men as spies, and those men were acting on the street as if they were mad people, until when the areas were captured. Then you would suddenly see them in arms with the rebels. Based on that, the military started executing all mad people in their control area. Many mad people who were with us years before the war did lose their lives due to this.


December 22, 2008 | 5:03 PM Comments  1 comments

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Devil Forest cont.
Related to country: Ghana

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

The Devil forest was attacked yesterday by the local villagers who are the owners of the land. According to them the attitudes of the guys in the forest have caused their gods to be angry, and their gods killed four of their brothers in the village. Because of that, they armed themselves with cutlasses and attacked the forest. Presently the devil forest is deserted and guarded by the villagers.


December 22, 2008 | 4:52 PM Comments  0 comments



Devil forest
Related to country: Ghana

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Camp is divided into 12 zones, and there are three ghettoes within those zones were most of the former child soldiers do spend their time not wanting any problem from the community. The first ghetto is called ‘the gap’, the second in called Barkla yard, and the last one in called the Devil Forest and it is located at the far end of zone 11, within the forest.

I was at the Devil forest this morning on my normal routine to identify former child soldiers and help reintegrate them in our programs and projects. I came across a friend from the same unit when we were fighting in 1990. I couldn’t recognize this guy anymore because we were kids at that time, but he could still recognize me. He was cutting his Indian herb to be parcel for sale when I greeted him, trying to tell him about myself and that of my mission to the forest, he astonished me by calling me by my nick name when we were in the bush fighting. That, actually, put me on my heels, there he was recollecting my past… we did have a lengthy discussion, but I was not able to convince him to leave the forest, cause his mind was made up not to have anything to do with the community, but just to be in the forest to find for his living.

In the Devil forest, there are five joints, when I got to the second joint which is called the ‘crab hole’, I did call for one shot of herb tea, while drinking, I met a former child soldier from the Ivory Coast who was really stressed out concerning his condition since 2003, when he came to Ghana. Presently he survives by selling cassava leafs in the market. He told me he has to walk about an hour and half to purchase the leafs from the Ghanaians in the villages, before getting it to the market. He has a great aspiration about his business, he believes that one day, he will be able to travel abroad, come back and start packaging cassava leafs for export. Presently he is undergoing counseling with our counselors. He doesn’t actually have any fear, because Ivorians aren’t many.


Today, we have about 125 former child soldiers identified and about 10% of them still have fragments or bullets in them. One of those with fragment in his body lives with me in the same block. Presently he is living on one kidney, due to surgery from bullets some years ago; he also has one fragment in his right knee. Talking with him this morning about his plans, he told me as for him, he is not in the position to go back to Liberia. He is hoping that on day the UN will come and help him go to a third country for asylum. Concerning his health, we have been making some efforts, but he is yet to undergo the surgery. It is one of our most difficult tasks for now. He spends most of his hours during the day laying in his room listening to the music.

The most vulnerable former child soldiers are the FCS which means the female child soldier. Most of them are teen-age mothers, some are caring for two children without a father on the camp. How do they manage with their day to day life? Talking with one them who was a beneficiary on one of our scholarship program, she said due to the hardship in caring for her children’s needs and at the same time going to school was a very difficult task for her.Presentlying she leaves the kids with her landlady and go fetching for money any possible ways she can at night to enable her sustain her kids. She told me that she is already done with her process with the UNHCR for her to go back home. There are many others in such a position.

December 17, 2008 | 4:49 PM Comments  0 comments



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