Immediately after the ten years of civil war in the country the government thought it fit to organize a security network across the country to ensure that the lives and property of the ordinary man is well protected.
In this regard, specific attention was paid to areas that were badly affected during the cause of the war and Kono district was no exception to this development.
A site was proposed and later named 9th Battalion Barracks which is situated far away in the outskirts of Koidu.
But in the true sense of the word that scene cannot be viewed as a barracks for any living being let alone a soldier.
This is because when we talk about a barracks as a dwelling place for a national army, we should be looking at what facilities have been put in place to accommodate each soldier.
Nothing of the sort happened in the case of the 9th battalion as the soldiers have to plan everything for themselves starting from lodging, accommodation, down to basic human needs such as water and toilet facilities.
The structures in the so called barracks are local, below standard and can be compared to any remote village in this country.
Mosquitoes and crawling creature are rampant all over the place.
The soldiers are unhappy and disgruntled about their officers who are always exploiting them in the form of contributions only to satisfy themselves.
In order to help and minimize the suffering of the husbands, the women in accord have reached out for help in the form of seedlings to a donor agency, which has volunteered to help so that they can farm to sustain the living standards of their home.
Speaking to Awoko one of the soldiers who prefers anonymity said his wife has deserted him leaving behind two kids. He said that he cannot go to work early these days because he has to take care of the children.
“If the army had been properly taken care of, what we are going through now would not have happened” the soldier said.
Even the operation “Pebu” which the government claims to have established in various barracks upcountry couldn’t be seen as anything meaningful.
This is because by looking at the time the project started up to this day, there has been no progress as everything remains a standstill and who knows whether government will ever complete them.
The question is today the country might be peaceful and quiet but no sooner there is an uprising, the first people to be called upon will be the army. If indeed that is the case then why not take care of the army?
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