Mariatu Kamara

Last updated
Mariatu Kamara
Born (1986-05-25) 25 May 1986 (age 38)
Occupation(s)Public speaker, author

Mariatu Kamara (born 25 May 1986 in Yonkro, Sierra Leone) is an author, public speaker, and UNICEF Canada's Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict. She is chiefly known for her book, The Bite of the Mango, which details her experience surviving the civil war in Sierra Leone.

Contents

Early life

Mariautu Kamara was born in Yonkro, Sierra Leone. Her mother, Aminatu, was the second wife of her father, the first being Sampa; she was thus raised in a polygamous household. [1] At a very young age, Kamara was sent to live with her father's sister, Marie, and her husband, Alie. [1] Her Aunt Marie raised her in Magborou, Sierra Leone, a small village of eight clay houses. [2] She spent her days harvesting rice, vegetables, and fruit on the family farm during the day and seeing her friends at night. [3]

Experiences during the war

As a 12-year-old child during the civil war in Sierra Leone, Kamara was raped by a male family-friend named Salieu. Salieu, whom she was under pressure to marry when she reached the age of 16, was a trusted friend of her Aunt Marie. [4] Shortly after this, the village was invaded by Revolutionary United Front rebels, who cut off both of her hands. [4] During the attacks, she witnessed the murder of many members of her own family and friends, as well as that of Salieu. [4] Right after the massacre, someone offered her a mango, which she was determined to eat herself. This moment inspired the title of her memoir, The Bite of the Mango. [3] Kamara managed to escape and make her way to the Connaught Hospital in Freetown with the help of several strangers. [5] There, surgery was performed on her arms to prevent infection. While at the hospital, she discovered that she had become pregnant from the rape. [3]

After getting discharged from the hospital, Mariatu spent three years begging for money while living at the Aberdeen Road amputee camp. Because of the lack of nutrition available at the camp, her son Abdul died at 10 months old. [2] [6] [7] She also joined a theater troupe at the camp that performed dances, songs, and plays about surviving and healing after the war, as well as about other current events like HIV/AIDS. [3] [7]

Life after the war

In 2002, a family in Canada read about Kamara's story in a newspaper and sponsored her move to Toronto as a refugee at the age of 15. [3] She was also given the chance to get prosthetics in London [ citation needed ]. Continuing her education, she completed an ESL program as well as her secondary education. [6] In 2008, Kamara enrolled in the George Brown College's Assaulted Women and Children's Counselor and Advocate Program so that she could become a social worker. [6] [4]

Beyond her personal education, Kamara has given speeches at schools about her experience in Sierra Leone during the war as a child, and has toured with international NGOs such as Free the Children and UNICEF. [6] She is currently UNICEF Canada's Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict, giving speeches in the U.S., Canada, and internationally about the impact of war on children, as well as the importance of education and equality for women. [6] In May, 2009, Kamara received a Voices of Courage Award from the Women's Refugee Commission for her advocacy on behalf of disabled and displaced people. [3] [6] She also founded the Mariatu Foundation, which seeks to support abused women and children refugees in Sierra Leone through the building of shelters. [3] [8]

The Bite of the Mango

In 2008, Kamara wrote a memoir in collaboration with Canadian journalist, Susan McClelland entitled The Bite of the Mango. [9] The book details Kamara's experience during the RUF attacks, her escape to the hospital, her time in the amputee camp, and her first few years living in Canada. It was published by Annick Press in Canada and is Kamara's only book. [8] The Bite of the Mango has received positive reception in both academic and younger-adult settings and has been a part of school curriculum at some secondary schools in Canada. [10] [11] In 2009, the book won the 2009 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction. [12]

Cited works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Leone</span> Country on the southwest coast of West Africa

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It shares its southeastern border with Liberia and is bordered by Guinea to the north. With a land area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi), Sierra Leone has a tropical climate and with a variety of environments ranging from savannas to rainforests. According to the 2015 census, Sierra Leone has a population of 7,092,113, with Freetown serving as both the capital and largest city. The country is divided into five administrative regions, which are further subdivided into 16 districts.

Joy Nozomi Kogawa is a Canadian poet and novelist of Japanese descent.

Susan Hughes is a Canadian author of children's books. She is a freelance editor and writer. She provides manuscript evaluation and coaching services for writers.

The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002), or the Sierra Leonean Civil War, was a civil war in Sierra Leone that began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Liberian dictator Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government. The resulting civil war lasted almost 11 years, and had over 50,000, up to 70,000, casualties in total; an estimated 2.5 million people were displaced during the conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Court for Sierra Leone</span> Judicial body

The Special Court for Sierra Leone, or the "Special Court" (SCSL), also called the Sierra Leone Tribunal, was a judicial body set up by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations to "prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law" committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996 and during the Sierra Leone Civil War. The court's working language was English. The court listed offices in Freetown, The Hague, and New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isha Sesay</span> Journalist and TV presenter

Isha Isatu Sesay is a British journalist of Sierra Leonean descent. From 2005 to 2018, she worked as an anchor and correspondent for CNN International. Originally based at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. and now based in Los Angeles, California, where she hosted the news programs CNN Newsroom Live from Los Angeles. In addition, she was the presenter of the 360 Bulletin on Anderson Cooper 360°. In 2012, Sesay also joined HLN as a co-anchor for Evening Express. She left CNN in 2018 to support a girl's education project called W.E. Can Lead for African girls, write a book and follow various other personal projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Ellis</span> Canadian fiction writer and activist

Deborah Ellis is a Canadian fiction writer and activist. Her themes are often concerned with the sufferings of persecuted children in the Third World.

<i>Sierra Leones Refugee All Stars</i> (film) 2005 American film

Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars is a documentary film about the musical band of the same name composed entirely of refugees from Freetown displaced to Guinea during the 1991-2002 civil war in Sierra Leone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars</span> Musical artist

Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars is a band from Sierra Leone which was formed by a group of refugees displaced to Guinea during the Sierra Leone Civil War. Since their return to Freetown in 2004, the band has toured extensively to raise awareness for humanitarian causes. Their story is documented in the 2005 documentary film Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars.

Dr. Christiana Ayoka Mary Thorpe is a former two-term Chief Electoral Commissioner and Chairperson of the National Electoral Commission, an independent agency created by the Sierra Leone government to organise and supervise national, regional and local elections. She is the first woman Chief Electoral Commissioner in the country's history. She was also a Deputy Minister of Education in the 1990s. In March 2016, she was appointed a Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Technology, though one source states that Parliamentary approval was still pending.

<i>A Long Way Gone</i> 2007 memoir by Ishmael Beah

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier is a 2007 memoir written by Ishmael Beah, an author from Sierra Leone. The book is a firsthand account of Beah's time as a child soldier during the Sierra Leone Civil War in the 1990s. The book describes the change from Beah being an innocent child to being corrupted by war and its effects. The book received positive reception and won several awards. However, some news outlets and historians have claimed parts of the novel do not correlate with historical events and could be inaccurate.

Sierra Leoneans in the United Kingdom are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom who are of Sierra Leonean descent. In 2001, there were 17,048 Sierra Leonean-born residents of the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wellbody Alliance</span>

Wellbody Alliance is a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit organization working to provide healthcare as a human right in Kono District, Sierra Leone. In addition to running a primary care facility, Wellbody operates a women's center and will open a birth center in 2015. They also focus on the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis and provide medical services to amputee victims from the 11-year Sierra Leone Civil War. Their response effort during the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa has received widespread media attention. These efforts include supporting four treatment facilities in rural Kono, house-to-house contract tracing and surveillance, the large-scale distribution of protective gear throughout Sierra Leone and an emphasis on sensitive community engagement to help stop the spread of the virus.

The Small Boys Unit (SBU) was a group of children who were forcibly recruited by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) as militants during the Sierra Leone Civil War. The war began in 1991, when the RUF desired to overthrow the government and gain control of the diamond mines, a major source of revenue for the country. In 1998, 25% of the soldiers fighting in the war were under 18, and of those, 50% were abducted and 28% were under the age of 12. The war ended with a ceasefire on 18 January 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Sierra Leone</span>

Human rights in Sierra Leone are in a rather deplorable state, but have improved gradually since the end of its civil war in 2002. Among the major human-rights problems in Sierra Leone today, according to a 2011 U.S. State Department report, are "security force abuse and use of excessive force with detainees, including juveniles; harsh conditions in prisons and jails; official impunity; arbitrary arrest and detention; prolonged detention, excessive bail, and insufficient legal representation; interference with freedom of speech and press; forcible dispersion of demonstrators; widespread official corruption; societal discrimination and violence against women, discrimination based on sexual orientation; female genital mutilation (FGM); child abuse; trafficking in persons, including children; and forced child labor".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Sierra Leone</span> Overview of the status of women in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a Constitutional Republic in West Africa. Since it was founded in 1792, the women in Sierra Leone have been a major influence in the political and economic development of the nation.

During the Sierra Leone Civil War gender specific violence was widespread. Rape, sexual slavery and forced marriages were commonplace during the conflict. It has been estimated by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) that up to 257,000 women were victims of gender related violence during the war. The majority of assaults were carried out by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), The Civil Defence Forces (CDF), and the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) have also been implicated in sexual violence.

Lisa Schultz is an American new media and arts entrepreneur and founder of the non-profit organization, The Peace Project, as well as TheWhole9.com, an international social networking site for artists and other creatives, and The Whole 9 Gallery, an art gallery located in Culver City, California.

Salamatu Kamara is a Sierra Leonean educator, politician and women's rights activist. She is the co-ordinator at the Tamarameh Gender Development Group.

UNICEF's Early Marriage: A Harmful Traditional Practice report characterizes child marriage as a harmful institution that often exposes young women in developing nations to damaging domestic, health, and sexual conditions. The report also highlights the practice as a human rights violation. In World Vision's "Before She's Ready: 15 Places Girls Marry by 15", the organization highlights the socioeconomic consequences of child marriage on girls, noting that many girls are forced to stop their schooling as a result of their marriages. With the denial of education, girl brides are often not able to make income as adults or become politically active citizens.

References

  1. 1 2 Kamara & McClelland 2008, p. 17.
  2. 1 2 "Mariatu Kamara". The Canadian Encyclopedia . 2 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kamara, Mariatu (May 7, 2009). "Remarks by Mariatu Kamara at the Voices of Courage Awards". Women's Refugee Commission (Speech). New York, NY. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Mariatu Kamara". The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  5. Kamara & McClelland 2008, p. 57.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Griffiths, Sian (May 31, 2013). "War survivor Mariatu Kamara speaks for children at risk in conflict". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN   0882-7729 . Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  7. 1 2 O'Connor, Elaine (January 2009). "We Have Our Eye on Mariatu Kamara". Chatelaine (Magazine). Vol. 82, no. 1. Toronto: Rogers Publishing Limited. p. 96.[ dead link ]
  8. 1 2 "The Bite of the Mango". Annick Press. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  9. Turnbull, Barbara (19 November 2008). "Child war victim shows courage to go on". Worldpress.org. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  10. Perren, Susan (2009). "Kamara, Mariatu: The Bite of the Mango". Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly (Review of Kamara, Mariatu: The Bite of the Mango). 32 (2). University of Hawaii Press: 415. ISSN   0162-4962 via JSTOR.
  11. McGorray, Kelly (Nov 2008). "Kamara, Mariatu, with Susan McClelland. The Bite of the Mango". School Library Journal (Book review). 54 (11) via Gale In Context.
  12. "Winner of the 2009 Norma Fleck award for Canadian children's non-fiction". Best Books for Kids & Teens. Canadian Children's Book Centre: VI. 2010. ISSN   1919-8426 via Gale Literature Resource Center.