TOGETHER: Mr Meheret with his wife and child. PHOTOS BY FLAVIA LANYERO 

In our daily series capturing personal stories of victims of the July 11, 2010 bomb attacks in Kampala, our reporter Flavia Lanyero, tells the story of an Ethiopian who came in search for freedom and peace in Uganda, but now lives with an injured spine.
Mr Jonie Meheret ran away from Ethiopia in search of peace and freedom. And for three years, he found it in full in Uganda. That was until July 11, 2010, when suspected terrorists attacked Kampala, killing 76 people and leaving hundreds others dead.
On that Sunday, Meheret and friends had in anticipation of the World Cup fun, decided to kick-off the party early. They hopped from one bar to another until towards the start of the match, they settled for the Ethiopian Restaurant in Kabalagala. Then—death struck. He remembers hearing a loud bang and chaos around him. When the final count was done, 15 people had died, luckily, Meheret and his five friends survived. But it was not without scars.
Fear of paralysis
“It was a very bad day. I do not want to talk about it,” he says when I prod him further.
Before the incident, Meheret was fending for his wife and daughter from earnings as a long-distance truck driver. That is no more.
The blasts injured his spinal cord. He cannot sit upright for a longtime now, his back hurts. He should have undergone corrective surgery three months after the incident but he is still waiting, one year later. “Some doctors say the injury is very bad and the operation cannot be done here because I can get paralysed, but others say I should do it here,” Mr Meheret said, “I feel like I should not do it here.”
The UN refugee body, UNHCR, is willing to sponsor the operation wherever it is recommended but can only take an endorsement from Mulago Hospital, which backing Meheret says, he has failed to get despite numerous consultation with doctors. “I am not a doctor but if one says it is dangerous to have the operation here, I think it is good advice. I am worried for my life,” he says.
Meheret’s wife, Lulu, has her own fears. When her husband was admitted to International Hospital Kampala after the blasts, they spent three days without medical attention. The couple did not have the money. “He was in bad condition and some doctors even advised us to go back home since we could not pay the bills,” she says. “But after three days, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura (the police chief) came and they started working on him.” Lulu says many patients were grateful to Gen. Kayihura for the directive to the hospital to treat patients before payment.
The operation thereafter, says Meheret, to remove bomb particles from his stomach, chest and intestines was successful. As he waits for belated further treatment, Meheret has other fears to contend with. “I do not go to any public places anymore,” he said, “When many people are around me I am disturbed and afraid. I do not want to go to a hotel or café.”
Until after a month ago, Mr Meheret had a phobia for darkness. He could not sleep with lights switched off. He also gets disturbed when he sees people watching football. But after several sessions with his psychologists, whom he paid, he is trying to get back to normal.
Lulu says, “We sleep with gospel music throughout the night. When he wakes up and there are no lights on or gospel music, he gets frightened.” Meheret says he wakes up feeling a burning sensation on the back, sometimes, one leg gets numb. Some nights are very uncomfortable. “Now I am just waiting for my God since no operation has taken place, I don’t know what to do,” he says. To put bread on the table, Meheret tries driving but can’t do it the whole day. The family largely survives on handouts from neighbours and Good Samaritans.
Despite the tragic experience, he still holds Ugandans in high esteem, describing them as kind and peaceful people. “In my country, when people are drinking, others are fighting. It is generally violent. I love Uganda and I thank the government for what they did,” he said. He remains an occasional patron of the Ethiopian Village Restaurant, having gone there to lay a memorial stone and still visits whenever there is an Ethiopian holiday. He now finds solace in God and fellowships with believers every day. He also waits anxiously for a call from UNHCR to find out how he’s doing.