Kimie Sirleaf, Liberia "I'm hungry. Food is my only problem"

"My name is Kimie Sirleaf, I'm 50 now. I'm hungry. Food is my only problem. I sleep on an empty stomach most of the time, but thank God we are not hearing guns like before, when the rebels and government soldiers were fighting.

I left Suehn-Mecca since two years now. The war brought me to this displaced camp [in Zwannah]. I do not know where my two grandchildren are right now. We all ran away from Suehn at midnight when we heard heavy shooting near us.

"While walking that far distance in the night through the bush to come to Monrovia, one man just fell down and died right before me. The sound of gunshots were getting too much. I left my son with my two grandchildren behind."

"Life in this camp is too hard. I was here until the war reached us. One government soldier boy helped me and took me in his car and we entered Monrovia.

"After that he took me to the school building. I was living there during the first, second and third attack on Monrovia this year. Then people brought trucks and told us to come back to the displaced camp - more than one month now.

"Soon as we came back, I found that my house where I used to sleep in this camp, had been damaged. I called some children to come and help repair it. There were also too many ants inside. That is why I am sitting outside in the sun. I do not have any family here in Zwannah town to help me. If I say I get money, then I am lying.

"I got food only once since I came back to Zwannah town more than one month now - beans and corn meal. You know, I am too old now to look for money or do hard work like the way the other people are doing in the camp to get food to eat. Sometime when I sit outside, people pity me and give me money. I use this to buy food to eat."