Chapter 5: After the Rescue

Lily---On the plane to wherever they were taking us I knew I had to get out in front of this. I decided to play a victim. I could not let the world know I was a vital part of Tembo’s organization.

We landed at a base in Israel. How do I know it was Israel? I saw the flags. Ruby and I were separated and put in nice rooms, with a private bath.

A female soldier came in and brought me some clothes and a lunch tray. I did not talk to anyone. After a hot shower I put on some clothes and sat on the bed watching the television.

A couple of hours later that female soldier came back and asked me to follow her. There was some Americans from the Embassy who wanted to talk to me.

She shut the door behind me and the man introduced himself as Mike Casper. The other person was a very pretty woman who said her name was Liz Bells. They said they were from the U.S. Embassy, but I was never shown an I.D. or anything official. The questions started. I felt like I was being interrogated so I decided to tell them as little as possible.

Casper---”You are Dr. Lily Simmons, right?”

“Yes Sir.”

“You don’t have to be so formal. Call me Mike.”

“It is just that I have been a slave for so long. I am sorry.” I start to cry.

“You were held as a slave?”

“Yes of course. Tembo’s slave. See!”

I stood and pull off my shirt and show him the scars on my back. Then I lowered my pants just enough for them to see the brand.

I put my shirt back on and sat down.

“At first, I resisted. That did not work with Tembo. I finally submitted and did whatever he told me. He whipped me if I dis-obeyed.”

“I am sorry for what you have been thru. We would like to know about the raid on the hospital when you were with Doctors without Borders. Can you tell us about that?”

“I was in the hospital doing my morning rounds when it started. The soldiers were firing and everyone was running. Then it was over. I was taken outside with all the others and stripped. The soldiers played with the naked females. I remember Tembo cutting off the head of a black doctor who protested the way we were being treated. I will never forget seeing my fiancé’s head on a stake as I was led over to a truck. I curled up in the bed of the truck and cried. I was in shock.”

I started crying again. The woman got out of her chair and found a box of tissues, she handed me one

“Did you ever see Colonel Abebe or any of the soldiers who were guarding you?”

“No, I suspect they were all killed. The only reason I am alive is that Tembo needed a doctor and I was the only female doctor besides Dr. Sally and she was a Pediatrician. I think she was sold in the slave market. That’s what Tembo said happened to all the other females.”