HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
By Brenda Clemmons
2005.04
In its album liner notes, U2 routinely lists the names of individuals whose unjust, politically motivated imprisonments have caught the attention of Amnesty International. In a series of articles, Interference.com will tell the stories of these Prisoners of Conscience and provide updates. In part three we take a look at the person listed in 2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind," Mabinti.
Remember 16-year-old Mabinti (name changed to protect identity), abducted, mutilated and raped by rebel forces, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is a country with a long history of internal strife. It is not uncommon for rebel forces to enter a village and plumage it. Civilians are often tortured, mutilated, raped, abducted and even murdered. Even government-allied forces have committed these atrocities and not much has been done by the government to curtail such behavior.
Mabinti was in her early teens when rebel forces entered her village. They murdered both of her parents before abducting her. She was repeatedly gang raped and denied food and water if she resisted. Soon she became pregnant and was abandoned by the rebels.
Thankfully, she was able to make it back to her village where she lived with her grandmother for some time.
In May of 2000, her village was once again terrorized by rebels. Mabinti and her grandmother were able to escape and walked 40 kilometers to reach a displaced people’s camp. Since that time, there have been no updates on Mabinti's story.
Fighting and human rights abuses continue in Sierra Leone to this day and have escalated to the point of being labeled a holocaust.
For more information on Prisoners of Conscience like Mabinti, and what you can do to help their causes, visit Amnesty International.
2005.04
In its album liner notes, U2 routinely lists the names of individuals whose unjust, politically motivated imprisonments have caught the attention of Amnesty International. In a series of articles, Interference.com will tell the stories of these Prisoners of Conscience and provide updates. In part three we take a look at the person listed in 2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind," Mabinti.
Remember 16-year-old Mabinti (name changed to protect identity), abducted, mutilated and raped by rebel forces, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is a country with a long history of internal strife. It is not uncommon for rebel forces to enter a village and plumage it. Civilians are often tortured, mutilated, raped, abducted and even murdered. Even government-allied forces have committed these atrocities and not much has been done by the government to curtail such behavior.
Mabinti was in her early teens when rebel forces entered her village. They murdered both of her parents before abducting her. She was repeatedly gang raped and denied food and water if she resisted. Soon she became pregnant and was abandoned by the rebels.
Thankfully, she was able to make it back to her village where she lived with her grandmother for some time.
In May of 2000, her village was once again terrorized by rebels. Mabinti and her grandmother were able to escape and walked 40 kilometers to reach a displaced people’s camp. Since that time, there have been no updates on Mabinti's story.
Fighting and human rights abuses continue in Sierra Leone to this day and have escalated to the point of being labeled a holocaust.
For more information on Prisoners of Conscience like Mabinti, and what you can do to help their causes, visit Amnesty International.
