In a book, The Bite of the Mango, a 23-year-old woman, recounts horrific tales of Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war. After being raped at 12 by an older man in her village, Mariatu Kamara was captured by rebel soldier boys who brutally chopped both her hands off.

I didn’t feel any pain. But my legs gave way. I sank to the ground as the boy wiped the blood off the machete and walked away. As my eyelids closed, I saw the rebel boys giving each other high fives. I could hear them laughing.’

While she was recovering in a hospital Mariatu was told that she was pregnant:

‘You’re pregnant.’ I didn’t understand what the female doctor in the white coat was saying. ‘You are going to have a baby. Do you understand?’
‘But there must be a mistake,’ I said. ‘Only women have babies, not girls.’

Mariatu was taken to Canada where she was schooled. She is a Unicef Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflicts.

Another book to add to my Christmas list.

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