Yesterday, my teammate R, went in search of batteries for her flashlight. When she left the compound she came across a large group of people heading down the street into the residential area behind adjacent to our compound. She joined them when she learned they were going to the home of a university student, shot dead in his home at 8:00 the evening prior. Many of those gathered were fellow students and faculty, government officials were also pointed out to R. The students, overcome with grief - this is the fourth student in two months to be victims of what appear to be targeted killings - are also very angry. R was able to go into the home to be with the family and found the body of the young man, perhaps 20 years old, laid out on the table where they were washing his body.
We know very little about the situation. What we've learned is that he was an excellent scholar and not afraid to speak out (we don't know yet what he, or the other 3 spoke out against). We are planning to meet with the headmaster at the University to learn more about the risks the students face.
Shortly after I went to bed last night, just as I was about to drift off to sleep, I heard singing. Many had gathered to pay respects and they sang late into the night. I fell asleep several hours later to the sounds of drums and the voices of mourning in song.
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2 comments:
Keep us posted as to why students are being targeted.
That must have been a surreal feeling of going to sleep with the sound of people singing.
I will. We will meet with the headmaster likely early next week. All we know is that all 4 students were not afraid to speak out, but we do not know what they spoke out against.
The funeral was yesterday and people gathered again last night around the house and sang throughout the night.
Definitely surreal. Also, when there are gunshots in the vicinity, we usually hear them, this one none of us heard even though it was just doors away and it was early in the evening, but it was inside a home and usually we hear the shots that are more likely outside.
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