Monrovia — More than two decades after surviving one of the deadliest episodes of Liberia’s civil war, Vicky Massa Sesay says she continues to live with the physical and emotional wounds of a conflict that changed her life forever.
By Patience Jones, patience.jones@frontpageafricaonline.com
The scars are visible. Sesay lost her right hand, one kidney, and the sight in one eye after a rocket struck the Liberia Electricity Corporation’s compound in Waterside on July 19, 2003, where thousands of civilians had sought refuge from fighting in the capital.
Today, she battles chronic pain, trauma, homelessness, and the challenge of raising three children with limited support.
“I lost one of my hands, I lost one of my kidneys, and I am not seeing with one eye too. What is there to live for?” Sesay recalled saying as she fought for her life in a hospital bed following the attack.
As she recounted the tragedy, tears welled in her eyes.
“My name is Vicky Massa Sesay. We ran from Logan Town to Waterside, the LEC compound, while seeking refuge during the war,” she said.
According to Sesay, the attack occurred during a temporary lull in the fighting while civilians attempted to carry on with daily life.
“I was blowing the fire while cooking when I saw two big objects with smoke coming toward me. That’s how I fell into the coal pot,” she recalled.
The explosion left a trail of devastation.
“It cut one pregnant woman into two. It cut a Fula man’s two legs off. I was only feeling small pain on my side at first,” she said.
Moments later, she realized the extent of her injuries.
“One person shouted, ‘The girl’s mouth tear!’ I put my hand to my mouth and all the flesh was gone. My teeth were dropping into my hand.”
The gruesome injuries left many in shock.
“Everybody was running away from me because I was bleeding. Even people who knew me could not recognize me,” she said.
Sesay was first taken to Greystone Clinic before being transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of the John F. Kennedy Medical Center, where doctors delivered devastating news.
“One of the doctors told me, ‘You lost one of your kidneys. The bomb hit you on your left side and caused major damage.’ They also told me I had finally lost my right hand because it was already dead,” she recalled.
Doctors removed some of the rocket fragments lodged in her body, but not all.
“They showed me a piece of the rocket they took from my stomach. It was marked ‘Made in USA, 75 millimeters.’ I started crying when I saw it.”
More than 20 years later, Sesay says remnants of the attack remain inside her body.
“There are still particles in my body. I can feel them in my legs. They are very painful.”
She disclosed that she was hospitalized again last year and was informed that foreign objects remain in her stomach and intestinal area.
“They told me there is something in my stomach and intestine area. Sometimes water comes from my operation wounds. I am constantly in pain.”
The war also claimed her husband.
“The first rocket launched on July 19, 2003, killed my husband. Ten days later, another rocket damaged my body and changed my life forever,” she said.
Now a mother of three children aged 18, 12, and 9, Sesay says survival has become increasingly difficult.
“I need medical assistance. I am homeless, and my children depend on me alone.”
Beyond the physical pain, she continues to endure emotional trauma and social stigma.
“Sometimes I face verbal abuse from people because of my condition. They make fun of me.”
One particular incident remains etched in her memory.
“I remember hearing a man making mockery of me, saying, ‘We gave them short sleeves.’ The moment I heard that, my heart broke. I wanted to jump on him because it hurt me so much. I broke down in tears.”
The trauma, she says, remains ever-present.
“I am afraid to go to the hospital because the doctors’ reports are never encouraging. Whenever I hear the results, I become worried because I cannot even afford to eat properly, let alone take care of medication.”
Even ordinary sights can trigger painful memories.
“Whenever I see blood, my mind goes back to July 19, 2003. The trauma is still there.”
Sesay currently lives with a relative while struggling to care for her children.
Her challenges deepened this week when her 12-year-old daughter was reportedly targeted in an attempted sexual assault.
“Just last night, my 12-year-old daughter was attacked by an unknown man. Thank God there was no penetration. We took her to the hospital this morning, and the midwife confirmed that.”
For Sesay, justice remains central to her healing.
She is among thousands of survivors calling for the establishment of a War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia to prosecute those responsible for atrocities committed during the country’s civil wars.
Her story is one of many highlighted by advocates pushing for accountability. Civil society organizations, including the Women’s NGO Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL), have argued that countless victims continue to live with the consequences of wartime violence while awaiting justice.
“People who did this to us are walking freely and making a mockery of us. Justice needs to be served.”
“Some of us are still living with particles in our bodies. Some people are dying in silence. We need justice, and we need help.”
As national debate intensifies over the proposed War and Economic Crimes Court, Sesay says her greatest concern remains the future of her children.
“I have no home, no food, and no money for medication. My children are not in school because there is nothing. I am only living because life is still in me.”
Her words reflect the reality facing many war survivors whose suffering did not end when the guns fell silent.
For Vicky Massa Sesay, Liberia’s civil war may have ended more than 20 years ago, but the battle to survive its consequences continues every day.
