By Mabinty M. Kamara
One of the victims of the August 25th disaster in Portee, which left over 60 people homeless, have died of hypertension at the Rokupa Government Hospital in Freetown.
The disaster happened in the aftermath of a heavy down pour in the capital city, which experts said expanded an old crack that had been identified on the ground by the Office of the National Security (ONS), leading to the destruction of five houses within the affected area.
The affected area, which falls within Ward 409 of Constituency 116 was in 2019 declared by the ONS as one of the disaster prone areas in Freetown, yet the residents were not evacuated.
After the August 25th disaster, the Freetown City Council identified the Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood Primary School on Warf Road, a government assisted school in the community, to temporarily house the victims who could not have place to stay for the time being.
Mariatu Bangura, 47, was residing in one of the classrooms in the school when she got fell ill at night, for which a neighbor nurse was called to check her up. Family sources said they later realized that her pressure had gone up, but she was stabilized later through the help of the nurse.
Isha Kamara, daughter of the deceased, told Politico that the following night, she was called from her own room and informed that her mother had gotten another attack, which led to her death upon arrival at the hospital.
“Since we were relocated to that school, she has been crying day in and day out despite encouragement from us, her children and neighbors. But she promised that she wasn’t going to put the incident in her mind. She later told me she was feeling pain. So I called for a nurse who discovered that her pressure was up. The nurse also advised her against thinking about the incident, but she didn’t, now she has left us on the street,” Isha explained, in tears.
Isha and her siblings, some of whom are school going children, spend the day at a neighbor’s next to their previous home, and go to bed at the school at night.
“We don’t have anywhere to stay. We are just here because it is where people can locate us easily to sympathize with us,” she said.
And to make matters worse, as schools are preparing to reopen, the family said they have been asked to vacate the school premises.
Fatmata Cecelia Williams, Councilor for Ward 409, told Politico that since the incident happened, many people, including government officials, have extended support to the victims, but she noted that she had always been worried about the issue of accommodations for them.
“The chief said that we should tell the people to leave the school immediately, but I have my reservations to that. Let’s remember since that incident happened they have been in that school with all the mosquitos. If you go to the school you will see how they tried to put nets on the windows to stop the mosquitos from coming in. If they have somewhere to go, I believe they would have long gone,” she said.
“But they don’t. And all the 13 households in the compound are families. And they have school going children among them. So what I am calling for is for the government to support them get accommodation so that they can restart their life, because accommodation is very important for human beings. You will eat the whole day but by evening you will start thinking of where to sleep,” she said.
One among those affected by the disaster is reported to have given birth, and, according to Councilor Williams, she has been moved from the school to a safer place.
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