Don't let this happen again please!

Deze stood, arms folded across her chest, watching a group of children trying to kick about, a round object made of folded rags. Her mother was sitting by her side, on an overturned tin container.

“Oh my God, mama, see how lean this one is. He can’t even run.”
“My daughter, I don’t know which one is easier, the lean type or the bloated type of this disease. It must also be difficult to lift those bloated feet. Haa! God have mercy.”
“Poor children; robbed of fun! How can any child possibly play with such protruded stomach? Sometimes I wonder what is in that belly, liquid or solid. Mama, look at this other one’s cheeks, looking like they are filled with puss that needs to be pressed out. His head has become too big for his neck. His neck looks like a string. Ha mama, I am tired.”
“Courage daughter, I understand how you feel. We know how healthy these children were before now. Hmm, at least they are happy to be alive, when several of their playmates have died; emaciated or bloated. Oh! This new disease, hmm!” They were both shaking their heads. 

Remembering those who did not survive

“Yes especially with what I saw on the way. We saw dismembered body parts lying here and there as if forgotten by their owners. One young man with two legs cut off by mortar bomb pleaded with us to help him but we could not. He was bleeding profusely but we needed help ourselves and did not even know which direction we should be heading. We were already so wearied that we had difficulty carrying even the small bags we had, let alone an amputated human. I cried for him but there was nothing I could do. It still pains me.” Culled from "The Forest Dames" - available at amazon.com/theforestdames, barnes&nobles/theforestdames, authorhouse/theforestdames, some Nigerian bookstores.

WAR SURVIVOR SHARES HER EXPERIENCE

See what the Survivor wrote in her book, "The Forest Dames." In spite of all that, she survived. 

“The day bullets rained from the sky was the climax. Everyone took off in a race to nowhere. Men and women screamed as they ran; children cried out; dogs galloped, barking; chickens ran a bit, flew a bit and scurried back. Wrappas fell off women’s waists and slippers flung off their feet. People indoors ran out in bewilderment while those outside dashed into their houses for protection. It took everyone by surprise and shook everybody in a hard way. Then it ceased. It was a short period of chaos but it looked like forever. People packed small bags and were ready to move in groups. The offensive resumed shortly after. This time, mortar bombs began to fly in too. Enyia I do not know how to describe the pandemonium that followed.” Culled from "The Forest Dames". Available @amazon, barnes, authorhouseWar survivor shares her experience

A gentleman voices his opinion based on the survivor's 1999 book.

Chinedu Ogoke wrote:
When you share a certain space with somebody you might never know how close you’ve come to being with some spirit beings. While the writer ...entertains, he or she can be a philosopher and teacher and can be said to have been to heaven and come back with supernatural powers. I shake my head at what Ada holds out to us in her novel Bow You Must. In the novel, she tackles both the climate and scripture theories of being black, doing this as far back as 1999.

Ada Agbasimalo