{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='ONLY ON AP Muslim girl with polio speaks of surviving anti-Balaka attack' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c39fd8eafeecae162a1c' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c39fd8eafeecae162a1c' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nONLY ON AP Muslim girl with polio speaks of surviving anti-Balaka attack\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=\"\u003e/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eWhen gunfire rang out through her village just after dawn, and her mother grabbed three younger children and ran for her life, 10-year-old Hamamatou Harouna did not move.Not because of terror, though she was terrified, but because polio...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eWhen gunfire rang out through her village just after dawn, and her mother grabbed three younger children and ran for her life, 10-year-old Hamamatou Harouna did not move.\u003cbr/\u003eNot because of terror, though she was terrified, but because polio had left her unable to walk.\u003cbr/\u003eAs the vicious war between Muslims and Christians in Central African Republic swept into the village, all Hamamatou could do was wait and watch.\u003cbr/\u003eAccording to UNICEF, nearly half a million children have been displaced by violence in the last year.\u003cbr/\u003eHundreds have become separated from their families, lost or simply too slow to keep up.\u003cbr/\u003eParalysed by polio, Hamamatou was at the mercy of Christian militias known as anti-Balaka fighters - until her 12-year-old brother came to her rescue.\u003cbr/\u003eBarely bigger than his sister, Souleymane struggled to hoist her, all 40 pounds (18 kg) of her, onto his back.\u003cbr/\u003eThey set off, barefoot, disappearing into the dense tropical forest as fast as they could manage.\u003cbr/\u003eSoon exhausted, though, Souleymane placed his sister down on the ground and told her he was heading for help.\u003cbr/\u003eHamamatou told her brother she would wait for him in the grass, in the shade of a large tree.\u003cbr/\u003eAs evening fell, hunger set in. Hamamatou had nothing to eat or drink, and cried until her eyelids were swollen.\u003cbr/\u003eLife had not been kind to Hamamatou. She lost her father at age 7.\u003cbr/\u003eA year later, her limbs withered from polio, a disease that had almost died worldwide but is now coming back in countries torn by war and poverty.\u003cbr/\u003eThe pain started in her toes, and a traditional healer could do little for her. Within a month, she could no longer walk. Soon she had to crawl across the dirt.\u003cbr/\u003eThe AP pieced together the story of her survival from interviews with her over two weeks and information from witnesses, health workers, priests and medical records.\u003cbr/\u003eAbandoned by her brother, she sat on the same patch of forest for more than a week, drinking water from puddles.\u003cbr/\u003eGrowing weaker by the day, she began to lose hope of ever leaving the forest alive.\u003cbr/\u003eOn the tenth day, a man with a rifle and a machete turned up on the footpath along with his wife.\u003cbr/\u003eHe wore the necklaces and amulets the Christian fighters claimed would protect them from attack.\u003cbr/\u003eBut the man picked her up like a baby, carried her to a creek, and ordered his wife to wash Hamamatou's red and black cotton top and her filthy skirt.\u003cbr/\u003eHis wife also tried to serve her broth, but after days of starving Hamamatou could no longer swallow.\u003cbr/\u003eThey took her to the home of one of the last remaining Muslim families in town.\u003cbr/\u003eHamamatou was later brought to a church in the nearby town of Djomo, and then to another church about 130 kilometres (80 miles) away.\u003cbr/\u003eShe now lives inside a large tent at a church compound with more than 800 other trapped Muslims, guarded by armed peacekeepers.\u003cbr/\u003eThere are three other girls with polio here, only one of whom has a mother to look after her.\u003cbr/\u003eHamamatou has been diagnosed with malaria, and her braids were shaved off because of lice.\u003cbr/\u003eJust to go to the toilet, she must crawl past a maze of shelters until the red mud, still wet from showers, cakes her forearms and feet.\u003cbr/\u003eBut she is alive. She seems older than her years, with large eyes that reflect the intensity of her short life.\u003cbr/\u003eShe does not blame her brother for leaving her behind, and hopes he has made it to a refugee camp in neighbouring Cameroon.\u003cbr/\u003eAll Hamamatou will say of her mother is that she abandoned her.\u003cbr/\u003eThere are no tears, just the same matter-of-factness with which she relates her story.\u003cbr/\u003eHer only ties to her old life are the shirt she uses as a pillow and the earrings from her brother.\u003cbr/\u003eShe is among hundreds of children registered by UNICEF who await reunification with families that may or may not be alive.\u003cbr/\u003e1. Various of 10-year-old Muslim girl Hamamatou Harouna - who has polio and survived attack on her village by anti-Balaka (Christian) militia - crawling towards bathroom at camp for internally displaced persons (IDP) sheltering Muslims who have fled similar attacks\u003cbr/\u003e2. Other IDPs\u003cbr/\u003e3. SOUNDBITE: (Sango) Hamamatou Harouna, 10-year-old survivor of anti-Balaka attack:  \u003cbr/\u003e\"I have to crawl to go to the toilet. My hands get so dirty. How can I even eat with them?\"\u003cbr/\u003e4. Various of Hamamatou surrounded by other IDPs\u003cbr/\u003e5. SOUNDBITE: (Sango) Hamamatou Harouna, 10-year-old survivor of anti-Balaka attack:  \u003cbr/\u003e\"Just as we were getting ready to leave, the attack started. My mother ran off, abandoning me. My older brother carried me on his back for a long time but he got tired and abandoned me in the bush. I was all alone and slept on the grass.\"\u003cbr/\u003e6. Wide of Hamamatou in tent where she lives and sleeps \u003cbr/\u003e7. SOUNDBITE: (Sango) Hamamatou Harouna, 10-year-old survivor of anti-Balaka attack:  \u003cbr/\u003e\"I stayed in the bush for 10 nights, without anything to eat or drink at all. I slept in the rain. I slept there for a long time, until a man found me.\"\u003cbr/\u003e8. Aid worker from Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) carrying Hamamatou to another tent where she can recuperate better from malaria\u003cbr/\u003e9. SOUNDBITE: (Sango) Hamamatou Harouna, 10-year-old survivor of anti-Balaka attack: \u003cbr/\u003e\"He took me home and gave me water and broth. I couldn't drink, my throat was so dry and tight.\"\u003cbr/\u003e10. Wide of MSF tent\u003cbr/\u003e11. Hamamatou lying on mat inside MSF tent\u003cbr/\u003e12. SOUNDBITE: (Sango) Hamamatou Harouna, 10-year-old survivor of anti-Balaka attack:  \u003cbr/\u003e\"I don't know where my family is. Maybe they went to Garoua-Boulai. I don't know.\"\u003cbr/\u003e13. Other children in camp\u003cbr/\u003e14. Wide of Hamamatou and other people inside MSF tent \u003cbr/\u003e15. Tilt up from Hamamatou's legs to her face; UPSOUND: (Sango) Hamamatou: \"Since my legs don't work, I guess all I can do is buy and sell stuff.\"\u003cbr/\u003e16. Medical volunteer listening\u003cbr/\u003e17. 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