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The latest figures point to half a million people in flight and more than two thousand dead at the hands of terrorists who, since 2017, terrorize the province of Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique. The motivation of the terrorists is not clear, but there are indications that the group is made up of local youths who have risen up from the government, however, it is not understood why they attack the local population. The possible correlation with the birth of a major exploration and gas project in the region is also unclear. The truth is that terror is spreading, with beheadings, indiscriminate deaths of civilians and destruction of communities, in a conflict that is increasingly difficult to contain. The call for international aid is urgent, since it is a country and an entire surrounding region that is at risk, especially since terrorists have also launched attacks in Tanzania with the aim of installing an Islamic State in the region. In this story snippet, young Issoc tells his surprising escape story. Some descriptions may surprise the most sensitive people.
When did it happen and where were you when you fled the terrorist attacks?
I lived in the province of Cabo Delgado, in Quissanga, and I studied in public education, in the tenth class. I lived in the upper part of Quissanga and when the criminals entered they started shooting. There, people forget their brother, daughter, mother and start running, the elderly who cannot escape die right there. I almost got caught on May 24, 2019, but I always kept running.
Was it a surprise attack?
Yes, it was suddenly. We did not expect them to enter Quissanga. And when a person begins to flee, he does not even know where he is going to be saved. The person cannot help anyone, he leaves the mother, the father, the elderly who cannot bear to escape and die right there. It was like this, each one tried to save his life.
What did you manage to understand about the situation while running away?
I saw them kill people and take two of my sisters, one of them was pregnant, and even today we do not know her whereabouts. Then when I was running away, I ran into a woman with a nine-month-old. He could not hold the child and then, as I felt sorry for the lady, I began to help them. The lady did not know the whereabouts of her husband, but we started to flee and headed for the forest. We fled a lot and then we tried to sleep in the forest, but we couldn’t and we slept on a scale.
Photo taken by Issoc during his escape. The terrorists burn the transport so that the population does not flee.
“data-title =” Cabo Delgado: «I saw terrorists kill people and take my two sisters» – Cabo Delgado: «I saw terrorists kill people and take my two sisters» – SAPO “>
Did you ever see terrorists and watch them kill people?
Yes. In fact, it made me very pale. I saw them kill a neighbor of mine, cut him to pieces. That left me very overwhelmed. I saw them kill people, destroy our houses, do a lot of harm.
Describe what it’s like to run from terrorists to save your life. What did you feel?
I was very scared. And at that moment I hardly felt sorry for anyone because I wanted to run. Now I even feel very bad for not helping people who needed it, but I have to keep in mind that at that time I was trying to save my life. I was very afraid, very afraid.
Did you see how many terrorists were carrying out the attack?
There were about 25 terrorists.
Terrorists often recruit young people. Did friends or acquaintances join them?
Not my friends, but I know some young people who got together because they offer a sum of money and since the young people do not have a job, some are happy with that amount. I know four young people who got together at that time.
They get together for money, but they have to kill acquaintances, neighbors …
I don’t know, but they have the courage to burn down their own houses where they lived for money. You see a neighbor being killed by an acquaintance you lived with … I felt bad.
They cover themselves so as not to be recognized, but they all had red eyes, it seems that it is some drug they take so as not to feel sorry.
You knew these four young men before they joined the terrorists. Were they normal boys or did they already manifest some malice?
No, they were guys involved in drugs and alcohol. But one of them was gone and I never thought I’d do that.
What they do?
They cut the person piece by piece. Do you see how a person cuts meat? That’s what they do to people. Have no mercy, I don’t know why. I don’t know if they do it willingly or for money.
When you ran away you saw 25 terrorists. Did they look normal or under the influence of some substance?
Their eyes were red, it looked like they had ingested something. They cover themselves so as not to be recognized, but they all had red eyes, it seems that it is some drug that they take to avoid feeling sorry.
When you suddenly ran away, what did you manage to take away? Wallet, cell phone …?
The only thing I managed to wear was the clothes I had. So far where I am I have no documents. Even though I want to go to school, I can’t start. I have no income, I have no way to start my studies. And the only dream I had was to finish my studies, try to get a job and help my family. In my family I do not have any person who works in the state. We all try to survive.
When the terrorists came until you were able to leave your city, how long was it?
They arrived at 4:30 pm on Saturday. And we walked through the forest one day and slept there one day. Imagine walking through the forest with nothing to eat, nothing to drink, and not wanting anything. Feeling shots, bullets, bombarding our houses. When I got here to Pemba city I couldn’t sleep. I left Quissanga on May 24th and arrived here in Pemba on May 26th. I came here to the city through that lady that I helped with her son, because she had no money in her pocket to get here.
Internally displaced camp
credits: LUSA
“data-title =” Cabo Delgado: «It is a humanitarian tragedy. They are children, mothers, young people who see their relatives beheaded »- Cabo Delgado:« I saw terrorists kill people and take my two sisters »- SAPO”>
And do you have contact with that lady?
If I have. I thank that lady for helping me. Malefactors, all they think is to kill you.
How long have you been fleeing through the woods, you, the lady and the boy?
One day we escaped to the forest and came to a town called Namanje, but there was no one in that town and we returned and slept in the forest. We walked about 200 km in the forest.
And what did they eat and drink during that escape?
We did not eat anything, we were not hungry, because when a person tries to take your life they are not hungry, the only intention is to run.
Besides your two sisters, who did they take the most?
They took a lot of people. Young men were also taken away to force them to join them and practice attacks. They took my sisters and so far we don’t know anything about them, not about the birth or anything.
Do you know why they do these atrocities? Do you have any explanation?
I don’t know exactly why they do this. And without wanting to specify, when terrorists enter a village and attack, the security forces do not arrive. Only when the terrorists leave do the security forces arrive. I think that is also suspicious.
What about your remaining family?
We were ten siblings in the family. They took these two sisters, my father is on an island and my mother died of a heart attack two days before the attacks, because there were already threats and she could not bear it. We would flee and then return to Quissanga and my mother could not take this whole route. We buried my mother on a Thursday and on Saturday afternoon they actually went to Quissanga. I escaped completely alone, but here in the city, in Pemba, we are now seven refugees and one brother is in Niassa. I usually talk to my family only on the phone, because it costs a lot of money to visit family. The city of Pemba is very big.
Are you afraid you don’t see an end in sight to this conflict?
I am very afraid, very afraid. We have been in this situation for four years. Life here in the city is very difficult. It has a large population. We have to manage to eat, it is very difficult to get a job or something that generates income.
Can you forget the images you saw or are they always present?
In the first weeks I could not sleep, I had many memories and nightmares about the people I saw dead. Sometimes I dream or remember those moments, sometimes I can sleep. Life moves little by little.
And now in Pemba what are you doing, are you trying to study or work?
I’m trying to do some work, garden, get money, and rent a house. Food is offered to me as support and I am sleeping in a cabin. But life begins to move. There was a project that was looking for displaced young people to receive training to clarify what is happening in Cabo Delgado. I did a two-month training course that encouraged me to want to go home. Now I will play the role of activist, to try to help those brothers who come from other towns that have been the target of these attacks.
And do you plan to return to Quissanga?
I think so, because it is the land that saw me born, grow up. I know all the history there, it cannot be forgotten.
What do you expect now from the future?
The only thing I hope in life is to continue my studies. Only they can help me to give a future. The only thing I like is studying, but here in the city I can’t study. I want to study and try to start a small business to support my family. And I am very hopeful that the war in Cabo Delgado will end. I want to be a teacher to try to help young people, to try to transmit to young people what I have lived, because life is an offer that God gives and takes away. If you do not know how to take care of that gift that God gives you to life, it will not do you good either. I really enjoy studying and I would like to be a teacher.
