How my father’s stories shielded me from civil war
Wayètu Moore was just five when Liberia’s first civil war broke out and the family had to leave their home – but her father was determined to protect her from trauma.
Wayétu Moore was just five years old in 1990, when Liberia's first civil war broke out. The family were forced to leave their home near Monrovia, and to flee on foot to the relative safety of a remote village. Throughout the journey, Wayétu's father Gus was determined to shield her and her sisters from the horrors of the conflict around them, and made up stories to explain what they saw.
After months hiding in a remote village, a young woman with a gun arrived. She was a rebel soldier, named Satta, and announced she'd been sent by Wayétu's mother, who had been away studying in America, to bring the family to safety across the border in Sierra Leone. Years later, living in New York, and by now an established writer, Wayétu set out to track Satta down and thank her for what she did.
Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Laura Thomas
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
(Photo: Wayétu Moore. Credit: Yoni Levy)
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- Wed 6 Apr 2022 11:06GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service
- Wed 6 Apr 2022 17:06GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
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- Thu 7 Apr 2022 02:06GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service
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