"Yusupha Mbye's mother pushes his wheelchair slowly across the tiled compound of their home in Kanifing, about 11km (seven miles) from The Gambia's capital, Banjul. The late-afternoon sun hangs low as she pauses to straighten a wrap over his legs, stopping briefly to catch her breath. He has been in this wheelchair since he was a teenager, she told Al Jazeera, wiping away tears. Twenty-six years later, I am still caring for him."
"Mbye survived, but the bullet that struck him caused permanent damage to his spinal cord, leaving him unable to walk. I am depressed at this stage of my life, he told Al Jazeera, reflecting on how that single moment decades ago shapes and restricts his life. I cannot do anything for myself without the help of my family. Mbye's father, who supported him for years, died in 2013."
"My father wanted to see Jammeh face justice. He died without seeing that, he said quietly. Now, his ageing mother fears she too may pass away before the former government officials who are responsible for her son's injuries are held accountable. As a mother, it is painful to see your son in this condition, she said. I am afraid I might die without him seeing justice."
Survivors of human rights abuses under former president Yahya Jammeh seek criminal accountability rather than solely monetary compensation. Yusupha Mbye was shot during a 2000 protest against police brutality, suffered permanent spinal cord damage and remains wheelchair-bound, dependent on family care. At least 14 people were killed and scores injured during that protest. Family members express depression, grief and fear they may die before responsible officials face justice. Jammeh ruled from 1994 to 2017 after a military coup. His government was accused of extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence and enforced disappearances.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]