May 2021 – Mumimo thought his anxiety-filled life hiding his family from death threats was hard enough. He didn’t count on COVID-19 putting his wife in the hospital followed by the premature birth of his daughter.
“It was really a life challenge I can say,” explained Mumimo. “When you are sick and everyone in the family is sick and hiding from enemies and financially broke is a challenge.”
As we’ve previously reported, Freethinkers International has been working with Mumimo and his wife and her five-year-old daughter to get them to a safe country where Mumimo’s atheist views are tolerated. For now they hide out in the African nation of his birth because his atheism in a land known for blasphemy laws and violence against “heretics” is inherently dangerous. Police have arrested and tortured Mumimo and mobs have repeatedly attacked him. Men once beat his wife and her daughter with electrical wires when they came looking for Mumino and found his family instead.
Mumimo and his family hide in a one-room apartment and only venture out at night. They are working with Freethinkers International and our sponsors to get to a safe haven. But even this dangerous life became more chaotic when Mumimo and his pregnant wife contracted COVID. His symptoms were minor but she was seriously ill and needed to be hospitalized.
COVID caused their daughter to be born prematurely at seven and a half months. Mumimo says the baby is in an incubator and doing well despite being so tiny. And his wife has recovered too.
“What we are going through can not be explained but can be felt,” Mumimo told Freethinkers International. “It really affected us mentally and physically and financially. We still feel the fatigue.”
Mumimo’s wife and newborn daughter remain in the hospital. And that has created a massive financial burden. Mumimo said the incubator and his wife’s treatment cost money he doesn’t have. “There is no free medicine or doctors when it comes to COVID or chronic diseases,” he said.
Freethinkers International has helped with some costs, as did a man at the hospital whose child died and he gave Mumimo money for his medical fees.
We still need your help to pay medical bills and help secure transit to a tolerant country on the African continent. Only then can Mumimo’s family be safe. In the meantime, Mumimo must risk his life just to go to the hospital to see his new daughter and his wife.
“I move when it is dark and, when I have money, I book a taxi. Luckily because of corona virus everyone must wear a face mask so it helps me cover half of my face,” Mumimo explained.
Help us bring attention to this critical situation. Share this story, spread the word, and let’s work together to find a solution. All episodes of this family saga can be read via this page
