Families wait in rain to ID lost loved ones in Sierra Leone
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Hawa Stevens spoke through tears of the 28 family members she lost after surging mudslides and floodwaters swept through Sierra Leone’s capital, killing hundreds and leaving hundreds more missing.
“Mother, father, sisters, brothers, cousins all gone. My life has been shattered. … Please help me God,” she sobbed as she waited in a long line in the pouring rain Wednesday outside Freetown’s overwhelmed mortuary to try to identify the corpses of her loved ones.
She was surrounded by hundreds of others, some wearing face masks to try to ward off the smell of death and blue hospital booties over their shoes. Many clutched photos in the desperate hope that they would be among those fortunate enough to find their loved ones and give them a proper burial.
For Stevens, the wait brought only disappointment. “I was only able to identify two of my entire family,” she said in anguish.