September 28, 2015 By Regina Pratt
A volunteer working with flood victims at the national stadium has urged the government to relocate flood victims currently residing at the facility because it is not conducive to house thousands of people and that such could lead to another disaster.
“We are calling on the government and partners to relocate flood victims at the national stadium to a place that will be safer. We have started hearing trace of suspected Ebola case,” he said.
Freetown experienced a heavy down pour on 16 September which left thousands of people homeless, especially those living in the slum communities.
According to unconfirmed report, over 13,000 people were displaced by the flood and millions of property destroyed or missing.
Government responded by evacuating victims to the national stadium and the Brima Atouga mini stadium in the west and east of the city, respectively, as an emergency measure.
The volunteer, who spoke to Concord Times on condition of anonymity, said the number of people living in the national stadium is comparatively smaller than those residing at the Brima Attouga Mini Stadium.
But according to him, the facility is not properly kept clean, with most of the victims being suckling mothers, pregnant women, while some children are not going to school but roam about in filth whole day.
“The actual people who were directly affected by the flooding are not up to two thousand. It could be dangerous because the place is so congested and people can contract diseases from others, especially when we have a number of suckling mothers,” he opined. “The government need to act fast to avoid another disaster.”
Meanwhile, many victims who spoke to Concord Times say they are willing to be relocated to a safer location.
The government said in the wake of the disaster that a plot of 1,000 acres of land had been identified to relocate the victims, while the head of Sierra Leone Housing Corporation hinted they were ready to build low-cost accommodation for thousands living in Freetown’s slums.
But it remains to be seen whether those are not mere words, and that they will translate into concrete action in the not too distant feature.