arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Vandaag hielden enkele mensen van het VAK een korte prikactie voor de Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken om aandacht te vragen voor de zaak van Mahmoud Sesay, een jonge asielzoeker uit Sierra Leone.
Mahmoud schreef een brief waarin hij zijn situatie uitlegt en vertelt waarom zijn leven in gevaar is als hij naar Sierra Leone zou uitgewezen worden. Deze brief wilden we overhandigen aan de Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken en we wilden ook graag een kort onderhoud met de directie. Dit bleek echter niet mogelijk. "Rechtstreekse communicatie wordt niet meer toegelaten. Enkel met de 'interne persdienst' van de DVZ mogen we praten, maar niet op dit moment, want ze zijn nu verhinderd."
Na lang aandringen kregen we te horen dat we morgen mogen terugkomen voor een onderhoud met de interne persdienst.

Hieronder vind je de brief die Mahmoud Sesay geschreven heeft en waarin hij aandacht vraagt voor zijn zaak:

Centre for illegals
2330 Merksplas

1st March 2003

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Mahmoud Sesay. I was born on the 16th february 1981. I was living with my parent at #25 Kissy road, Freetown, Sierra Leone. The name of my father is Hassan Sesay. And my mother Salamatu Sesay. With my two younger sisters by the name of Isha and Hawa Sesay.

My father was a Campaign leader for the A.P.C. party, means All People Congress Party. At East One Consistuency. The leader of the party always hold meeting in our house. My mother usually prepared food for them, and also we the children distributed T-shirt to people. Just to convince them about the party.

On the 6th January 1999 the RUF rebels and AFRC junta attacked the City of Freetown with a operation called ‘operation no living things'. They stormed my house on the 10th Januari 1999. They get hold of my parents and put them on a gun point. I put on a resistance not to kill them, so I was chopped with a machette on my head and my leg. From then I was unconcious because I wasted a lot of blood. They killed them and take [took] me along.

I was with them fighting against the Government forces for one year. When the Government Forces overcome them in Freetown, we went in the bush, attacking towns to towns, when we reached Makini Town. I tried to excepted from [bedoeld wordt ‘ontsnappen'] them to return back in freetown. They catched me and hung me up. The heated an iron and stamped it on my arm. They said if I excepted from them and returned back to freetown, the Government Forces will arrest me. That I am a part of them, because there is identification on my arm as a rebel. Indeed, when I excepted from them in Kono Town and returned back in Freetown, the government forces arrested me and put me in Pademba prison, because of the mark in my arm says I'm a rebel.

I was in prison for six month. When I get out of prison, I did not have nobody that could take care of me. Then I was staying with my friend. But my friend had fear to live with me, because a gang of people usually attacked me trying to kill me. He told me to leave the country and [I] went to Conakry Guinea. I was in Conakry when the president requested for all Sierra leonese and Liberian refugees to [be] arrested and [to be] returned back to their country, on september 2000; I was arrested and put into the prison of Seraton. I was in prison for one month, when UN protection officers released me and returned me back to Freetown. I went to my friend again and stayed with him. But situation is still getting more bad for me. I always hid in the town.

One day, on the 18th november 2002, I was sleeping in the night, when a group of gunmen attacked me in my room. [they] Started hitting me, and they …a statement that we are trying to overthrow the Government. They would see that all of us will be killed. They were looking if they could see any weapon in my room. By they way looking, I excepted from them and ran away to my late father's friend by the name of Mohamed Sall. He put me in hiding and prepared his own document for me to leave the country. I arrived in Belgium with his own document and asked for a political asylum. The Belgium Government refused to accept me. They have tried four (4) times to return me back, to go and lose my life. I will never return back. And up till now, I can not find my younger sisters. I have changed three closed centers. Now I am in Merksplas. I'm waiting for help from any organisation or else.

Thanks for [your] concern.

Yours Faithfully

Mahmoud Sesay.