Why I feed on sand: 8 year old Amarachi’s nightmare of servitude

ONITSHA, Anambra, Nigeria –  Amarachi Oha, an eight year old house help is  plagued with suffering of immeasurable proportion at such a tender age in the hands of those charged with the responsibility of her upkeep.

The young girl, who has been so dehumanized, starved and malnourished told our reporter that she was left with no other option but to feed on sand so as not to die of hunger.

Amarachi Oha from Ugwueme  town in Agwu Local Government Area of Enugu State was last week rescued by the Human Rights Legal Aid Initiative from  the woman  she was serving as a house help  in Anambra State.

Amarachi took up the service hoping for better life with promises  that  she would be sent to school in return for service, but how wrong she was.  He hope has been dashed few years after she went into servitude with Mrs Ogochukwu  Anichukwu and her husband Mr. Emmanuel Anichukwu.

She was subjected to torture, flogged mercilessly and starved repeatedly forcing her to feed on sand to survive.

 Already, her right hand has been disfigured due to the hard objects Ogochukwu   deployed in beating her for  allegedly eating baby milk.  But Ogochukwu appeared not content with scourging her.  Only last week,  she poured hot water on  the poor girl damaging her  private parts. This is taking place when the little girl  is just healing from  injuries she  suffered after hot water was poured on her back.

As God would have it  a man who had  visited to see Ogochukwu  after she gave birth saw the little girl looking pale and malnourished with bruises all over reported the couple to the Human Rights Legal Initiative in Ekwulobia, Anambra State.

 Following the report, the woman and her husband were on Thur sday taken into custody by the police from   Uga Area Command,  Aguata Local Government Area, Anambra state.

The woman who is living in a family house in Nanka Orumba North Local Government Area  told www.starconnectmedia.com that she  poured hot water on the girl in annoyance because she licked  her new baby’s milk and  that she  is fond of fiddling with the private parts  of her male children and little daughter in her absence.

“She licked my baby milk and always touching my son’s manhood and fingering  my daughter’s private parts and out of annoyances I poured the hot on her” she stated.

She also said that the eight years old girl has  become so immune to beating that she no longer feels pain when beaten. She however admitted that she would do the same to her children if they were found to have taken her baby’s milk without permission.

On why she had not taken the girl to hospital for treatment even when she is in pain,  she said  her family lacked money to take  her to hospital  and consequently  giving her treatment at home.

According to her, they were unable to return the girl to her  parents because the mother’s number was not  going through and that there was nothing they could do about it.

Ogochukwu said her husband has spent a lot of money  taking care of the girl in the house and that he was doing everything possible to make her happy. On why the girl is eating sand, she said that the girl claimed that she loves eating sand not  because she was not being fed.

She also told our correspondent that  she got the girl through her friend from her village in Ugwueme town,  Agwu Local Government Area of Enugu state.

Speaking from her sick bed in Ekwulubia, Amarachi denied eating the baby’s milk and that she does not know anything about the milk in question.

Amarachi  who had injuries all over her body said  if  at all the milk was eaten, she was not aware  but that it could have been done by Ogochukwu’s children. She said that the woman always  subjects her to beating  and told her  to lie that she   took the milk. On why she was eating sand, she said she ate  sand in order not to die of  hunger.

Speaking to our correspondent, the coordinator of Human Rights Legal Aid Initiative Ekwulubia zone  , Comrade  Emmanuel Akanaeme said they were in office last Thursday when  one man just walked in  and laid the complaint but that  they could not go that day  because they thought the case was not so serious and moreover it was late  but that  the following day being Friday they visited the couple  in their home located in the bush and found the girl groaning in pains and with injuries all over her body.

“The girl was damaged badly. There are sores all over her- she is looking haggard and with protruding stomach. The woman has used hard objected to beat  her and in the process  damaged her finger nails.  Her face and mouth are littered with wounds due to the sticks and other objects used in battering her.

“The girl looks  frail , hungry, malnourished and traumatized and we asked the woman what happened ,she said that she mistakenly poured hot water on her. And when we took the child aside to interrogate her ,she said that she was hungry that she would like to eat fufu(a local solid food with soup) before she could have strength to talk  and we promised to give her the food if she will tells us the truth.

“After eating the food ,the girl said the woman was always  beating her and that she never took any milk to drink. She also said  she ate sand sometimes to stay alive.  We then, went back  to the woman to find out why they have not taken the girl to hospital and she said they did not have money to take to her to hospital but that they were buying medicine for her. We then told  her husband to take the girl to hospital and report to our office on Monday  but they never honored our  invitations.

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“We waited for him throughout  Monday and he did not show up, neither did he take the child  to hospital until Tuesday, when we went and took the girl to a private hospital and posted the  news on social media to see if the parents of the girl could  see her. We also asked if they had contacted the parents of the girl but they said the number was not going but when we called we got the mother.

“By then ,we had reported to Uga Central Police Station, Aguata. On Thursday, we were given policeman  and we went  and arrested both the husband and wife. The father  of the girl came in from Agwu with the town union president and other members of his community.

Speaking to our correspondent, President General of Ugeueme Town Union,  Hon. Gideon Nwafor  called on the government at all levels to come to the aid of the girl to enable her overcome the trauma and psychological torture she  was subjected to in the hands of the couple.

According to him, the girl has  been so dehumanized that she has turned to something else and her  physical appearance has badly depreciated due to what she suffered from the couple who were supposed to protect her.

“I want to say that what was done to this  girl should not be done to any other child in the country because it was the height of inhumanity to a girl child. She is traumatized, dehumanized and went through psychological shock. A child of her  age can hardly overcome  this in life if not rehabilitated by government or corporate bodies.

“We are calling on government to ensure that the girl  gets justice, justice in terms of rehabilitation, by giving her scholarship to enable her forget the pains of her life” he said.

He said his people saw the news online and they started calling him and I went home and confirmed that the child is from our town hence my coming to see for myself and support the cause of justice. I was shocked that a mother could do this to a child, especially a girl child. The father of the girl Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Oha said the mother of the girl did not tell her before she released her daughter to as a house help, saying that he and the girl’s mother  no longer live together as husband and wife but that she only came to Ekwulubia because life is involved.

“I have  separated from the mother since   2011 and the child was   born  on 2012, she is not my child, I only came here to see what happened because life  is involved. She is not my child but by our tradition, if a man’s wife gets children outside the man when the bride price has not been repaid  the child still belong to  the man. I saw the girl on Facebook and I never knew she was my ex-wife’s daughter   and people started calling me that my  child was maltreated and I managed to come here  because it is a matter of life” he said.

The mother of the girl Mrs Florence Oha  on her own appealed to government to assist her so that her daughter can be normal and be able to live a normal life. She also demanded for justice for the way her child was maltreated and dehumanized by a follow woman.

On why she decided to give out her eight years old child as a maid ,she said that her friend sent her mother that she needed somebody who will stay with her and she obliged because there is no how she will doubt her friend. On whether she has been calling to know about the state of the girl, she said yes and that every time she calls they tell her that the girl is okay .

“My prayer is that  let my child be well again, I did not send her out because I cannot feed her . Whatever I eat she will eat” she said . Chairman  of Nanka  Welding Line Association, Mr.Uche Ezeofor   wondered how a woman could  inflict  this kind  of pains on somebody’s child.

“Even when you look at the girl she is not healthy. What about the fingers and wounds all over the girl’s body. This is cruel and inhuman” he said.

Anambra state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr C.Don Adinuba said they were not aware of the incident, but  thanked  our correspondent for drawing  their intentions to  the information.

He said that the girl looked very frail and hungry  promising that the government would  intervene and make sure that the girl eat good food to regain herself first.

” This is inhuman and cruel  . By Monday Government will do something about it. At least the girl needs food to regain energy. This is the height of sickness” .  Spokesman of Anambra State Police command,  Haruna Mohamed  could  not be reached on phone for comment.  In addition,  Commissioner for Woman and Child Affairs Mrs. Ndidi  Mezue neither picked nor replied calls and messages sent to her.