He explains that his world has been shattered after a Boko Haram bomb killed his five-year-old son and deformed him, his wife and daughter.
Malum Umara, a thirty-year-old man who is an internally displaced person in Gajiram, Borno State, has spoken about his situation.
He tells DOGARA BITRUS that his world has been shattered after a Boko Haram bomb killed his five-year-old son and deformed him, his wife and daughter
What is your call and where do you come from?
My name is Alhaji Malum Umara. I am 30 years old. I come from Gajiram in the Nganzai Local Government Area of Borno State.
What passed off to you?
I sustained injuries from a bomb explosion that affected my residence in Gajiram. My spouse, my daughter, Fatima, and I were all injured on the same day by using the bomb that become dropped in our compound.
Who dropped the bomb for your compound?
It changed into an assault on our community in Gajiram by way of Boko Haram insurgents. The insurgents attacked Gajiram on the night of Thursday, January 14, this 12 months while all people turned into either at domestic or within the community. Except for some individuals who travelled out of metropolis, almost all of the villagers have been around. I understand this because every body within the village is aware of anyone else and we do take a look at on each other always.
How did it truely occur?
That day, I got here back from my petty business and sat with other guys at our majalisa (relaxation place), chatting while we suddenly saw young boys going for walks towards us, shouting ‘Boko Haram!’ We right now dispersed and bumped into our houses. It become already night time and my entire family changed into in the house once I were given in, so I just locked the doorways and we went to bed. Later within the night, round 11pm I heard some thing drop on the roof of my residence after which hearth erupted in the complete compound, resulting within the death of my son, Asheik, at the same time as my spouse, my daughter, Fatima, and I sustained various tiers of damage.
What did you do then?
After the insurgents had left, all people came out and my neighbours saw how badly my compound was burnt. They rushed to check on us and that was when they observed my past due son’s body; he became killed with the aid of the explosion. The neighbours went to bury him after which rushed my wife, daughter and me to the country professional sanatorium here in Maiduguri.
We were given bed areas inside the medical institution and the chairman of our nearby authorities area got here almost right away to check on us. When the chairman become leaving, he gave my wife, my daughter and me N10,000 every, making N30,000. But as soon as he left the hospital, the health personnel on responsibility that day convinced us to present him the money for secure maintaining and we did, only for him to vanish. We have not set eyes on that medical examiner once more. He went away with our N30,000.
Did you bitch to the sanatorium officials approximately it?
Yes, I saved asking of him however they all said they didn’t understand him. But I assume the employees in that medical institution have a addiction of dishonest their patients and robbing them in their money. During the a couple of explosions that rocked Maiduguri final week, the governor got here and sympathised with the survivors; while leaving, he gave us N10,000 each and he additionally gave our caregivers N6,000 each whilst the safety personnel were given N5,000 every.
But after the governor left, the medical experts slashed the N10,000 given to the sufferers to N6,000 and rather than N5,000, the safety personnel had been given N1,000 each. I consider it is their inventory-in-exchange in that health facility.
For how long have been you, your spouse and daughter inside the hospital?
We stayed inside the hospital for 40 days.
Did you pay any bills?
To the dignity of God, we had been dealt with at no cost; the drugs too have been supplied unfastened however we fed ourselves and that become the most important project. I had on me most effective N20,000, which I stored from my petty enterprise. For the forty days that we have been in the hospital no person gave us any form of monetary assistance. Until the governor got here and gave us the N30,000, it turned into just that N20,000 that my wife, daughter and I depended on.
What type of petty buying and selling were you doing earlier than the incident that landed you in the health center?
I changed into promoting clean culmination and vegetables in Gajiram. I additionally engaged in farming to feed my family. But considering this incident, I have now not been able to do any business neither have I been capable of go to farm. That is my biggest undertaking now. I don’t have any method of livelihood now that I am on crutches, my wife is deformed, and my daughter too is on crutches. I will not be able to do some thing with my existence for now. So, how do I feed my own family? And I have other dependants that look up to me – my elderly dad and mom, my late elder brother’s children, six of them are depending on me for his or her every day maintenance. My two surviving sons, Faruq, 14 years vintage, and Bukar, 12 years antique are there too. They are all in Gajiram.
What are your plans to begin existence again after the setback?
You see, I am first of all an IDP from Bakassi village near Gajiram. We have been displaced from Bakassi village by the Boko Haram terrorists, who persistently attacked us till we subsequently fled the place. We came to Gajiram and were dwelling as IDPs ever because. When I turned into in my village, I became into complete-time farming; I turned into into both wet season and dry season farming. But while we were displaced from my village and we were given to the IDP camp in Gajiram, then I started out this petty enterprise seeing that I ought to not actively interact in farming like I used to. But we were handling and surviving, then the bomb explosion.
My brother changed into killed in one of the assaults in Bakassi and that become why his kids are in my care. But this unlucky incident is threatening our lives due to the fact I don’t have each person else to show to for assist. That is my biggest venture. My wife is deformed, and my daughter is improperly injured. This is the time for me to shoulder my obligations and be the man but I am now not additionally in true health condition; this is my biggest task. I am struggling to come back to phrases with the truth that I can't provide for my own family at this point in time.
My daughter, who is simply five years old, is in intense pains. She is in a crucial situation of health, she can't move to school for now, she can not play with other kids neither can she do some thing at all. She is simply there; it is a severe supply of concern for me.
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