Ishmael: Can you tell us how was your life before the war, ok before that I want you to introduce yourself and tell us where you from.

Momie: I am Momie and I'm from a small country on the west coast of Africa, called Sierra Leone.

Ishmael: Ok now we want you to tell us about your life before the war.

Momie: Well I was from a family that was neither rich nor poor and life was just, what should I say? life was great because I went to a great school along with my brother and sister, my parents had a good job, we lived in a beautiful house and then I would say I didn't scratch my head for anything because everything was available. My parents made sure that everything was there when we wanted it, at the right time, the place and so on. There were so many things that went through after but before it was like we had people who took care of us, did the laundry, told us to come to the table when it was time for breakfast, lunch or dinner, we had people who wake us up in the morning, we had teachers who come to us at the house like tutors to help us with our school work, a driver to take us where ever we want to go. It was like, life was like it is great ,it was wonderful, we had no problem at all[smiling].

Ishmael: Ok as you was saying life was great you said that you go through some stuff, can you like explain some of the things you go through?

Momie: Sure why not?[smiling] Actually my country have been on through civil war for the past ten to eleven years. The war broke out on the 31st of March in 1991but it started at the boundary between Guinea and Liberia and we never thought about it as something that was gonna be serious. You know we were concerned about it, when people were coming back like from the villages those that were affected by the war and everything, we felt sorry, we sympathized with them but again we were like oh whatever, that's life until sometime in 1997, I think it was in June when the war actually reached the city. We were at home at around six in the evening then we heard like gun shots and bombardments and we were like what's happening? What's going on? until we heard from the news that the rebels had taken over the city and we all knew what the rebels had done to people, and the atrocities they have caused and we were all like oh my God and my mom was like coz my dad he's been here for the past twenty five years and my mom got scared and my step-dad and we were like we had to get out of here , we gotta do something because the situation was like getting out of hands. And so after awhile, but even that period we started going through hell because you know there were no markets and nothing and so the little food we had in the house we used up everything and so there was only a bag of rice left and we had to manage because if we got out of food then what were we gonna do and so and during that period my parents made up their mind that we have to move over because the situation was getting worse and we came to Guinea and by then when we got to Guinea all the pleasant moments that I had and everything ended that day because when we got to Guinea I had to do everything by myself, I had to learn how to cook, I thought it was bad but it wasn't bad it was good for me because before I didn't know I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world, I had everything but when I went to Guinea I learned how to do my laundry, learned how to go to the market and things like that. So in a way at that moment I thought it was bad and I was so unfortunate, God didn't like me but after I think he had a reason and during that period I learned so many other things. I learned how to manage my life and so on, things that I didn't know about before I learned about them.

Ishmael: Like you were talking about Guinea. I was in Guinea and I undergo some stuff like discrimination, they took us to the prison, they loot our houses and took our stuff and money. Did you and your family go through all this kind of stuff?

Momie: Well among the hundreds of Sierra Leoneans that were there we were lucky, kind of lucky because we lived in an environment where the people were nice, they sympathized with us but once in a while, like the other day we were going to the market and I was disguised. I wore may lappa, you know what it is[question to the interviewer], I tried to dress like a Guinean but I don't know it was so unbelievable but this guy was like no matter how you try to dress I know you are a Sierra Leonean. And I think I had some money but I won't remember exactly how much it was that I tied in my lappa and he was like I have to give it to him if not he was going to call the police. And the police stations in that country, oh my God are very, very dirty and everything and I didn't want to go because I was also thinking about my parents coz they would be wondering where I was. S o I had no choice I took the money and gave it to them and they were like next I should go around with a Guinean identity card but I told them that I am not a Guinean, I'm a Sierra Leonean and they said they didn't care because we are rebels, they called us rebels, we want to bring war into their country, and they hated us for who we are, we are not nice, we are refugees but like we look so good and everything, how can that happen? and its their country they don't even live like us, you know things like that. That was one of the reasons why they hated us. They thought because we lived more than the way they lived that because we were refugees we were supposed to live like refugees in the camps not in the city. We actually looked good, our people who stayed over here they cared and sent us money and they got jealous. They were like it's just not right. So if that's the case maybe all of us should go to our country and sometimes they will do such stuffs to you like rob you and try to get money from you and so on.

Ishmael: Ok I understand like you were saying that they get jealous like when I was back there they sad oh these people are not refugees, in the morning we see them go to market, they prepare food, they cook, they have nice music, they have dollars, they are not refugees, refugees are not living this kind of life, refugees are poor people, we are not supposed to have rights as human beings. But the human right has been dedicated to all of us even though we are refugees. I really want you like to tell us how you feel after you left Sierra Leone and then go back to Guinea and you had to like start life all over, before you said you was like a princess, they did everything for you now in Guinea you have to go to the market, wash your clothes for yourself, cook your food and stuff like that so how you was feeling at that moment?

Momie: At that moment I felt terrible like I said before. I was like I don't see any reason why I should live, life is so unfair, why do I have to live like that, I have never tasted anything like such bitterness in my life, why do I go through all of this, all this pain and so on but it was good, I would say it was a nice experience and by then we get to know people, we get to know who they really are, by then our eyes were opened, before we didn't know, we went through in a happy good luck fashion, we didn't care and everything, but when this happened we got to know the worth of life, how important it is for you to live, it is not just that you have to go through life happily all the time. There are times in once life that you have to go through problems in order for you to know what and what not to do, people you need to be around with and those not and even if you are living a comfortable life you mustn't show off or anything like that because you never know. You know today but you never know tomorrow. So I learned a lot of things and I think it was good for me with all the experiences that I went through and now that I am here, I haven't forgotten. I so think about them and so it helps me to shape my life in the way I should shape it.

Ishmael: So now as you say you are here and it helps you to shape your life. We want you to tell like how is life for you here in New York City coz we hear from a lot of stories, some refugees say it is weird here, it's terrible, it's dirty but we want to hear about your own perspective about life in N.Y.C

Momie: I think it's great being here, like I said if I was back home I wasn't thinking of going to work or finding a job because I had everything, everything was provided by my parents but coming here has helped me to grow up, because now I have to work, and now I have some responsibilities on my own and I think it is important when growing up that you have to know about certain things when growing up and how to go about doing them because this stage in once life is very important because sometimes people go of the hook, do things that they are not supposed to do and in a country like the United States as a whole is a country where you have so many temptations but despite the fact that that's the way it is here but again as a result of what I have been through I don't see any of those stuffs. I am not saying I am perfect in a way but I know what to do and I know the reason why I am here, I know what I have been through, I know the ordeals that I've gone through. I know that I am here for a purpose and I appreciate that very much. America for me is a great place because there are so many opportunities, you only have to make use of them, that's the only thing.

Ishmael: Like you were saying in the United States there are so many temptations here. Can you like name some of these temptations for us?

Momie: Yeah like kids in your age, we know the percentage that are in drugs, let me say sexuality, things like that, very bad things like that. Let me say if you are not in your right mind, with your right senses, it is very easy for you to get into one of those things. To be a part and parcel of people who find themselves in such a situation and by the time you know it it's too late. So I guess many of us that are refugees who are here have our wits about us, not that temptations won't come our way but I think we will fight hard to avoid it from what we see on TV or even in reality.

Ishmael: since you've been here in the United States, NY, have you ever feel that your rights have been taken away from you? Like in Sierra Leone my rights were taken away from me, my childhood, my education, a lot of rights have been taken away from me back home. Did you ever feel that way in U S or NY that your rights have been fulfilled or taken away from you?

Momie: For now I don't think my rights have been taken away from me in any way.

Ishmael: So in your school or work no one have ever discriminated you because of your skin color or culture and stuff like that?

Momie: No I have never been through in such situations.

Ishmael: So what are your biggest concerns in N Y?

Momie: What I am concerned about most is get to your university, be a full fledged bilingual secretary.

Ishmael: Ok now the last question. Can you share with us your plans for the future?

Momie: Yeah like I said I will live the future to take care of itself. I don't want to like I don't know what the future holds for me but I live everything in the hands of God because he knows everything. T he only thing is that I am hoping for the best, long life, good health, success and everything and hope that my dreams will come true by the grace of God.[ends with a smile]

Ishmael: Aida do you have any question?

Aida-S: Yeah. Do you feel safe here Momie?

Aida-S: So right now can you tell us what you think about the war that's going on?

Momie: where?

Aida-S: No just about war because you've been through it. War in the world - Africa, Europe all over.

Momie: I think as you can all agree with me war is a terrible thing, and I think we've all tasted the bitterness war in one way or the other so as I said I'm going through life in a way that I don't even want to think about tomorrow. Let tomorrow come and take care of itself because wherever you go it's the same problem and everything, no one knows so every new day I appreciate it, I just like thank God for it and so on.

Ishmael: So do you think because everybody is saying oh U.S is a safe, we better go there for peace and better life. Do you think that Sierra Leone and the United States is the same because you said everywhere is the same?

Momie: Yeah you are absolutely right. Here and Sierra Leone is the same and also everywhere. Maybe its just the climate and so on but its just the same.

Ishmael: Like in terms of war what do you think United States, especially New York and S/Leone are the same? Can you like say some of the things that are the same?

Momie: People are involved in the fighting so in that sense it is the same thing. People are involved.

Aida-S: You said there is no difference, well there are differences, America and Sierra Leone are the same for you. Also you said that you like living here more than in Sierra Leone, did you like to stay here?

Momie: No I'm not saying that I like here more than Sierra Leone but I think I owe a lot to the United States because they helped me out when I was in need and because I think if I turn out to be anybody today, it's because of the United States, it's because I came here. Also it's not that I don't like my country, that I wouldn't want to go back 'cause definitely someday I'll love to go back. You go East, West, North and South. Home is the best. For the moment I appreciate what the U.S has done for me, my family.

Ishmael: So now you can ask any question that you have. We are ready to answer.

Momie: So how long do you have to do this project?

Ishmael: Well actually the project is just for the Summer.

Momie: So do you think you would have finish the book or whatever before school reopens?

Ishmael: Well we are trying our best to finish up before school begins.

Momie: And how do you find the job Aida, is it interesting, boring or whatever?

Aida-S: It is very interesting. It is not boring at all because I am a refugee and I like to know what other refugees have been through, I like to hear their stories, their bright stories and also the way they feel about America. So I think it is interesting and I'm glad to have this opportunity to do this work.

Momie: And do you have anything that you would like to add to the writing of this book?

Momie: Like anything else that you would like to do besides writing this book.

AIDA: I would also like to make a short movie about the process, like a backup.

Momie: After writing the book, what do you actually want to do with the book?

AIDA: I would like as many people as possible reads the book, that's the first thing that I would like because then they would have the opportunity to educate themselves about refugees, about war if they don't know what it's like. And also I would like important people in the government to read it because maybe they will try and stop the wars that are going on.

Momie: Ok thank you. That's all.

Ishmael: Thank you so much.

Momie: Well I think it was that fateful day in May 97 and I was in the car with my mom and dad trying to go and get some food and we met the rebels and they were like we had to come down from the car and we were at gunpoint. They asked for some money and also the car because they needed it to go and fight for our freedom, that was what they said and blah, blah and at that moment I started crying and this boy was like with his gun and everything saying why are you crying. I thought he was going to blow my head off. So I was always think about that moment, it is stuck in my head. I had never felt that way before you know they had red eyes and everything. That's one thing that always plays in my mind.

Ishmael: Did they take the car from you?

Momie: Oh yeah, yes they did took the car away from us and left us standing there - so we had to walk home.

LOULOU: I want to know your reaction about war, the three letter word. What comes into your mind when you hear the word.

Momie: Fighting, killing, sadness are the feelings or words that come to mind whenever I hear about war.

LOULOU: Say if you were in the position to give an advice to someone who is in authority about war. What will you say to that person? Say for example what's going on in the United States, what advice can you give to the person that is in charge of making the decisions. What can you say to that persons in regards to your experience in order to convince that person about war?

Momie: First of all, I'll use the five letter words like unity and peace that is very important in a society. In the sense that we have to come together as one and that we should live in peace and harmony because it is important and that it is only when we live in peace and harmony that we can enjoy the worth of life. The way we should.

Raeshma: One thing Momie is refugees in the U.S, is there anything that you personally, or your family need more of?

Momie: I think it is togetherness. Togetherness in the sense back home we had more time to spend together, to go out, sit down as a family, discuss certain things. But here we have no time. We come in and say hi, hi. Sometimes we don't even see our father like for four, five days. I think- well for me I understand now but when I first came it was very painful. That's the way how life is like here and you have to accept it that way. That's the only thing I'm missing, yeah being together as a family every second, minute and hour. It's the same here, that closeness has been taken away from us[smiling].

Aida-S: Is there anything you want to add or say?

Momie: To you guys or everybody as a message? Umh I can't think of anything.

Raeshma: Momie I know your mom is not here now and you as an older sister play a role in the family- an important role. Can you talk a little about that? That's a new thing for you and adapting into that role here in the United States in terms of working. You said a little about going to Guinea and having to do things that were hard to do. Can you say a little more about that? What that process has felt for you in terms of changes.

Momie: I feel great and mature but it is such a huge responsibility. I never thought of it that way because I have been used to asking. Now it's my turn . Loulou comes up to me, I want this, I want that[laughing] and I'm like oh my God I never knew my parents were going through such a tough situation. And I want the best for her, she is my younger sister so instead of seeing her work, I prefer doing it because I don't want her to get into temptations or anything like that. But I know she is not that type of person. So whatever I do I always think about her and my brother because I'm the eldest. I think I should set the example and if I work like the right way, they will follow me. I don't want someday, say the nearby future and think back that I made this mistake or that mistake. So I am very careful about what I do, the friends I have and so on especially the friends you go out with coz that's a very important matter because they sometimes lead you into something that you don't want to do. They know that I don't have friends and most times they tell me that I am so boring, I'm always alone and everything. They tell me that I need to grow up. They think going out and having friends is growing up- that's what they see on TV but I don't know where they get those ideas from. They think that if you are an older person that's what you are supposed to do. When my friends call me because some of them are married, they are like what are you doing? You need to find someone too. I don't know where they get that idea from. But I know they don't understand. They are thinking like, not kids but in that fashion. But for me I'm ok and I always think that I have younger ones and whatever I do I have to think twice, I should do the right thing, I should walk in the right path because if they do something wrong I want to shout at them with all my might because I know I haven't made any mistakes. So I think it is a nice experience and when they need anything they ask me and I always make sure they have it. Even though they stress me at my job but I have to keep it because I don't want her to come up to me and ask for something and I don't have it. I don't want to see her say it's because mom is not here, or this and that or if dad can't give it to me then my sister will. So I like it, I feel great.

AIDA-M: Was it hard for you to get used to it because before it was you who had to ask but now you are being asked? Was it hard in the beginning? Well now you are used to it.

Momie: I was also surprised at myself. Even when I like talk to my mom on the phone, she is like you are working, Oh my God you are so lazy and even when my friends call me they are like excuse me, did you say she went to work? And they are like oh my God America is really a nice place. They are so surprised. They don't seem to believe when I tell them that I' m working. They think I am only joking or something. They don't take it serious. But for me I was determined, I made up my mind that it was my responsibility. I have to do it and that there were so many things that I had to learn and know especially when you meet with people like you interact with them. There are so many things you have to know and so many things you get to know. I am also surprised at myself. I go to work and before I go to school, so I leave home like seven in the morning, I get off school at four and then I go to work and don't get home till at twelve midnight because I leave my work place at ten-thirty. So I am like am I doing this? It is unbelievable. I spend almost the whole day out and then I come in at night and when I tell the rest of the family about things like that, they are like let's forget about that and talk about something else. They don't seem to believe me and I don't seem to believe it too. I'm like me Momie doing this. It's unbelievable. But it's good though.

Raeshma: Can you tell us a little about your relationship with your mom? You said you speak to her on the phone sometimes. So just what's it's like to communicate with somebody that you are so close to at such a far distance. What is tit like?

Momie: Umh, my mom she is very caring, like all other mothers I supposed and even when she is like miles and miles away from us, when she calls, she is like what are you doing and if I was like sleeping, she will be like what's wrong with you? Are you sick? Make sure you see your doctor and I will be like but mom what are you thinking about and things like have you eaten? What did you eat for breakfast, lunch or whatever today? So what are you going to do next? What do you want to do now? What are your plans? Be careful of the friends you make? How is school? And things like that. So because of that whatever I do I have to be careful. She says take care of your brother and sister, I'm not there you have to take care of them. If anything happens to them I'm gonna hold you responsible. So after putting down the phone, those words keep ringing in my head, so it is always playing in my mind and whenever I look back at them I am like mom is not here and she has given me the responsibility. I have promised to do my best and she trusts me. So I have to work hard towards that.

Raeshma: Does it ever feels like too much pressure for you Momie?

Momie: No Loulou is sweet and my brother too easily understands. If they do something that I don't like I tell them and they won't do it again. They will be like ok we understand. They won't do it. And if they are doing something and maybe they don't realize it is wrong, but I tell them what I think and they understand. They are like ok we won't do it again. They take me just like my mom because if I say this they do it and if I say don't do that, they don't. Or maybe sometimes I don't have much idea and I'll ask them for their thoughts. Even though she is younger but she might have better ideas than I do. So I am like what do you guys think? Or should I do this or that? And if we all come to one, then I will go ahead and do it. I f they can't come up with anything I can call Raeshma or Annie and ask them. So I think they give me that respect as an elder sister and I feel great as having them as my brother and sister. We all know so kids when they get over here they start doing something else but we didn't go through that and I hope they will keep it up.

Raeshma: So Momie you said you do want to go back at some point- actually you stay here, study, go to college. So that day of sort of going back is just somewhere in the future. You don't actually know when and you also said about taking things one at a time. So I kind of interpret that you are not in a hurry to necessarily go back home and you don't have an exact date or time in your life that you think it's going to happen?

Momie: No I'm just hoping someday that I'll definitely go back home but not now.

Aida-S: You want to go back home as a visitor or to stay there?

Momie: Well I don't know yet. Maybe as I advance in years I'll like to go back home and well I don't know what my future is going to be like. So it depends, I don't want to predict or something but I'll definitely love to go back home. I miss home though.

Aida-S: It all depends when you go back there and you see how things change. So the way you will feel that moment you are there will help you to choose whether to stay or return where you are from.

Momie: Yes exactly.

Aida-S: So Momie can you tell us a little about that moment when the war started? What happened and what did you do? How was thing going on in Sierra Leone?

Momie: The situation was very critical because when the rebels entered the city, they were going around looking for girls as well as men- young boys to join them. Some of the young girls they took as their wives, the women to cook for them. I was a girl and there was a time when one of the rebels, I don't know where he was going but he met me while I was going out to buy washing soap. We have these little stores around the area. He was like, he greeted me-he sounded nice and that he liked me. But he knew that- he saw the fear in my face and said why was I acting that way. If it was because he was a rebel. I said no because in situations like that as soon as they see you acting that way, they are going to kill you. They tell you if you think they are animals. And I directed him anyway. So when the other rebels entered I thought he was going to come someday, like to take me along and so on. But there was this night and I will never forget that night when the rebels- I don't know if he was among them but a group of them went to our house and they jumped over into the compound and they were like they want to see us. They were asking for us. But luckily the neighbors all came out and asked what was it they wanted? So they were like they need to see us. If a rebel comes over to your house and ask to see you, the only thing that comes to mind is that they are going to kill you. The thought that they are definitely going to do something bad to you. So our neighbors stood up for us. They were like no they won't do anything to us and even if they try to, then they end up killing all of us. We were indoors, we heard all the conversations. But the other neighbors, they got to their houses and took some of their possessions and went away with them. But for us, I think it was because our neighbors stood up for us they were not able to do any harm to us. And I also have a friend who was at a boarding school and she was raped by the rebels, taken away and after six months she came back with a baby and her father was a very respectable man in society. And so I think that was it. And there came a time because I wasn't fortunate to see like dead people in the streets but there were dead people and people could smell it because it was in the atmosphere and it was very bad for ones health. The hospitals were full with people who were wounded, injured by the war from stray bullets, and there was no medication. I went to one of the hospitals because there was a time I wasn't feeling good and so my mother accompanied me to the hospital. I was able to see some of the people, but not the dead bodies in the streets. No I did not witness that sight.

Aida-S: What I was afraid of most during the war was when the airplanes would go around dropping bombs. Did that happen to you?

Momie: Yes and there were also as you were saying you are helping me to recollect. Yeah there were airplanes going around the place dropping bombs. There was this house I think it was about few yards away from my house and we were living just near the military defense headquarters when a bomb was dropped and there was vibration the ground shook I was lying just beside the wall and I felt the vibration. Those were the terrible experiences that I had. I was really lucky because some people saw things that were more than that. When the airplanes flew over and dropped bombs, we were scared because you don't know exactly where they were going to drop the bombs. They dropped them anywhere, anywhere they felt like dropping the bombs. Sometimes they missed targets and so you never know. Maybe sometimes you are out to go get something, to look for something and then you will hear the planes coming and gun shots. Because while the planes are dropping the bombs, the soldiers on the ground were trying to fire back at them and so those stray bullets gets into houses and they kill people the most. The stray bullets they kill people the most so you never know. Those that had basements went to their basements and those that didn't have nothing will hide under their beds, you know take cover and so on.

Ishmael: So Momie the only thing that happened to you and your family was when the rebels came to your house, they said they want you. That was the only experience that you guys have.

Momie: And also we ran out of food. There was time when we ran out of food and water and also when going to Guinea. We met a group of rebels. They were like why did we have to run away. They don't see any sense in us running away, that we should go back home, stray there because they are fighting for us. But there was this Nigerian guy , he was also a soldier and he said they should leave us to pass but we had to give them some money. But even at that because we thought maybe , because sometimes they tell you , ok go ahead and as soon as you move the car, they will shoot at the car- the wheels.

Ishmael: So you guys traveled with a car to Guinea?

Momie: Yes

Ishmael: So nobody in your family was killed?

Momie: No I had uncles, aunts, friends that were killed during the fighting, in their houses. My uncle was also executed, he was general in the Army. He was executed.

Ishmael: Can you like tell us some things about your way to Guinea because when I was traveling to Guinea I undergo a lot of things. Can you like tell us what happened on your way to Guinea?

Momie: Just that we were frightened. We were not able to eat until we got to Guinea and even when we went to Guinea, after all we went through, when we got to the boundary, for the Guineans to allow us into Conakry, it was very difficult. They took all the money away from us, that we had and by then we didn't have enough money on us. We were not able to go to the banks because they were closed. So the little money we us when we went to Guinea, they made sure that we were searched. Our bags everything and they said that if we don't give them our money they were going to send us back. And nobody wanted to go back by then because we knew that the situation was very bad and so by the time we got into Conakry we had nothing. When we got there we had to like borrow money from Sierra Leoneans that were there in order to call our father that was here in order for him to send us some money.

Ishmael: So how long does it take you guys to enter into Guinea?

Momie: Guinea I think at least two days.

Ishmael: The car that you guys traveled with, was it your car or just transportation? Like a bus or something.

Momie: By then we had no car because the car had been taken away from us by the rebels. So we had a car- well we did not go out to get the car but a friend actually helped us out. He went to make the necessary arrangements with the driver and we met at a point in Freetown and we drove off to Guinea.

Aida-S: So during the war time how long have you been in Sierra Leone?

Momie: All my life. I only went out of Sierra Leone when I think I was six or seven. Yes because my step father was sent to Germany as a military attaché. So that was why I was there, but since then I have spent all my life in Sierra Leone.

Aida-S: How about in Guinea?

Momie: Guinea, three and a half years.

Umbreen: And during this time what was your status?

Momie: In Guinea I was learning how to speak French. That was all because all the schools that were there were French speaking schools and you have to know French before you go to school. So what we did was like I had a friend, he wanted to learn English and I was like ok we are going to play fifty-fifty. You teach me French and I'll teach you English. So when he comes home from school whatever he has learned, like I help him to do his home work and so on and for me I'll write down words in English and ask him to translate them for me in French. I will study them and the next time we meet we test each other. So by doing that today I'm able to speak French. I can speak French a little.

Raeshma: I think Aida did you mean how long did you stay in Freetown during the war before you left?

Aida-S: Yes.

Raeshma: Ok I think she wasn't clear. I think she meant, yeah once the war I know it came to different parts of the country at different times. Maybe when did it came close to you, that area around where you guys were living before you left.

Momie: I think like two months when it really came close to us. But we were there all the time when it was in the boundary and elsewhere.

Raeshma: You said the war started in 1991 at the border. That's very far away and then what year did it first came to Freetown? Do you remember?

Momie: The only date I can remember is I think on the sixth of June or the second of June in 1997.

Raeshma: Ok and then you left at the end of the summer of 97 for Guinea.

Momie: Because by then my father had filed and he was like we had to go to Guinea. So everything just happened then.

Raeshma: And then what day did you arrive here in the States?

Momie: On the 8th of May 2001.

Raeshma: Can I ask you another question Momie, you said that they were dropping bombs. Whose bombs were those? Where those the government bombs or the rebel's? Did they have air- planes as well?

Momie: No they were the government's bombs. Not the rebels because the rebels had no bombs. They only like guns and the bombs were- the government was fighting against rebels and they had close ties with Nigeria and they had the jets- the jet planes and so they were trying to like bombard the rebels on the ground.

Raeshma: And then did you ever believe that the rebels were fighting for you?

Momie: What can I say . I think- I don't think so. They were just fighting for themselves because everybody wanted to be in power.

Raeshma: Did you think about that at the very beginning?

Momie: I thought about that but some other people they thought it was true- that they were fighting for them. I knew because it has been the same thing all the while. Yeah I don't think they were fighting for us. They were fighting for themselves and up to this very moment it is the same thing. So I believe. I don't know. Anyway I hope everything will be ok.