Abass Sesay still remembers the sound of the machete slicing through the air before it took his right arm; though he was only three years old when the rebels arrived in his village.
Memory has a cruel way of sharpening moments of terror. He recalls the fire, the screaming, and the cold silence that followed the deaths of his father and grandmother.
The only thing louder than those memories now are the struggles that never left; his mother’s ongoing battle with Bipolar Disorder and PTSD, the stigma that curls around people with disabilities, and the opportunities that slipped away long after the war ended.
For Abass, the war has never truly stopped. “It doesn’t end when the guns go silent. It ends when justice finally reaches those who suffered the most.”
The survivor is one of thousands who have waited decades for full reparations; those promises etched into the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report but never fully realised.
Many of the wounded still battle chronic pain with no medical support. Many lost childhoods were never replaced with education. Many livelihoods were destroyed and never rebuilt. The war amputated more than limbs; it amputated futures.
Human Rights Commission Chairperson Patricia Narsu Ndanema draws a direct line between the war’s past violations and today’s social and economic inequalities.
Quoting the TRC Report, she reminded the nation why it descended into darkness in the first place: “The central cause of the war was endemic greed, corruption, and nepotism that deprived the nation of its dignity and reduced most people to a state of poverty.”
Her voice rose slightly as she reaffirmed the Commission’s insistence on full implementation of reparations, nothing less.
Yet beneath the solemn statement lingered a truth felt by every survivor; the government has lagged behind in meeting these obligations.
Many programmes promised under the reparations framework remain either incomplete, underfunded, or out of reach for those who need them most.
National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) acknowledged this gap while outlining the institution’s ongoing work with war widows, amputees, the war-wounded, and former child victims.
It words carried the weight of a system trying to do more with less, in a landscape where time has already taken too much.
The Reparations Programme is one of the crucial recommendations of the TRC. The report stated that reparations are primarily the responsibility of the Government and recommended that many of the measures could be integrated into existing programmes being implemented by the government, civil society, and donors.
The TRC recommended that the victims should be provided with free health care, pensions, education, skills-training, micro-credit projects including community and symbolic reparations.
Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Alpha Sesay, did not attempt to soften the country’s past.
“Our 11-year conflict was a chapter of our history we must never sanitise. The pathway to justice for war victims requires a two-pronged approach – robust accountability and comprehensive reparations.”
The AG pledged government’s commitment to strengthening democratic institutions, reinforcing judicial independence, confronting corruption, protecting free expression, and supporting the Human Rights Commission.
More than two decades later, implementation remains partial. While some victims have received one-time payments or limited support through NaCSA, many argue that these efforts fall far short of what was envisioned in the TRC Report.
Rising living costs, limited healthcare access, and lack of sustained livelihood support continue to weigh heavily on survivors.
For many, the absence of consistent and adequate reparations has turned recognition into frustration. The gap between policy and reality is deeply personal for those who continue to live with the physical and emotional scars of the war.
Abass Sesay believes Sierra Leone can only honour its promises by standing firmly on the side of its wounded.
“We are still here, but we need the nation to stand with us, not just today, but every day.”
This is a reminder that the story of war does not end in history books, it ends in justice, dignity, and a country brave enough to never forget.
