wfn.org | Church worker finds displaced Liberians in dire need

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Nov. 21, 2003  News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
7E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org7ALL-AF-RM-I{CUL006}

NOTE: This story is part of a weeklong Close Up series on how the United
Methodist Church is helping Liberia recover from war. Photographs, video
reports and other features are available.

By Joni Goheen*

MONROVIA, Liberia (UMNS) - George Barrolle's job puts him into daily contact
with the many faces of suffering in this war-torn country.

Barrolle is director of the Human Rights and Peace with Justice Program for
the United Methodist Church's Liberia Annual Conference. He travels to
displacement camps in and around Liberia's capital city of Monrovia,
searching for violations of human rights. During his assessments, he looks at
humanitarian and security issues, food, shelter, health care and education.

"We share this information with parties of the church," he said. The church
will draw up a proposal for addressing the situation. "Since the church is
involved (in relief), we feel that the church would want to get information
precisely as it occurs in order to be able to lobby and continue to share the
information with (its) partners for additional aid."

One recent day, Barrolle headed out to the Findel camp, about an hour's drive
from Monrovia. He had heard rumors of sex being traded for food in the camp.
The long red clay road leading to this camp was muddy from the incessant
rains, and the potholes were like small ponds. Lush landscape surrounded row
after row of thatched huts. The straw roofs were partially covered with white
tarps to keep out the rain.
 
Findel is a 2-year-old permanent camp that once housed more than 16,000
people. Africa for Assistance and Concerned Christian Community are managing
the camp. The Red Cross is also present, trying to reunite separated
families. 

Upon arrival, Barrolle discovered the camp had no security, so his stay would
be short, no more than 60 minutes. The rest of his assessment team was
nervous, since the camp had been looted and was in an isolated area, making
it an easy target for rebels yet to be disarmed. 

According to camp managers, Findel had been without food for nearly eight
months. In July, occupants fled to Monrovia because of the fighting. They
left everything behind. Their camp was looted and structures were destroyed.
Relief agencies will not deliver food to camps without shelters for residents
or structures for storage nor will they deliver food to camps without
security. The fear of ambush is too great. 

Barrolle asked how the people were managing to eat. Said William Pala of the
Concerned Christian Community: "If you eat it tomorrow, you start preparing
today. People go in the bushes and they dig for root. If you don't cook it
the right way, it causes chaos in your stomach."

People are slowly returning to this camp as they find their homes are no
longer habitable. More than 7,000 have returned, some only to find that their
living conditions are not much better. Shelters were destroyed and need to be
rebuilt, but materials are often in short supply. Clothing and cooking
utensils were stolen. 

"The condition is very bad because we don't have food, we don't have food,"
said a 17-year-old camp resident, who identified himself only as Joseph. "We
don't have clothing; we don't have clothes, slippers. We don't have nothing;
we are suffering."

Barrolle didn't find cases of sex being traded for food, but he did find
people starving, without clean water and with very little hope. There was
talk among the camp managers that relief could come as soon as security
forces were brought in.

The security situation was precarious on several fronts. The rebels in the
area had not been disarmed, and everyone was scared that the camp would be
raided again. The Economic Community of West African States Military,
installed by the United Nations to assist with securing the country, does not
want to deploy troops because of the possibility of ambush. 

While no rapes had been reported in the camp, Barrolle checked out the
medical clinic to be sure. The clinic, operated by Doctors Without
Borders/Midecins Sans Frontihres, treats 75 to 80 people daily, he said. "The
cases that they treat are mostly respiratory cases with children. This is the
rainy season, and most of the children sleep on the floor so the respiratory
infections are high among the children." 

A U.S. military helicopter passed overhead. "The American presence means the
resuscitation of life for most of the Liberians, most of the IDPs (internal
displaced persons)," Barrolle said. "When they see the helicopter, I don't
know what goes through their minds. Those are American planes. ... The planes
just fly over; if they would just land and bring some food or something. I
can't imagine what goes through their minds when they look at those planes."

Getting ready to leave, Barrolle gave his assessment. "The need is desperate.
In fact, the people have not been given rations for like eight months,
(which) tells you that these are hungry people," he said. 

"It's terrible," he continued. "They've been looted. They don't even have
eating utensils. They don't have clothing. Clothes were taken away as a
result of the crisis. We understand soldiers came in and they just ripped off
(the people's) belongings. These are desperate people. They have been
uprooted. So the need is severe. There is a serious human crisis.

"In the security situation, even if they were to distribute the food items,
the fear is that the armed men would visit them and they would take away the
food. So there's a need to extend the security situation. They need to have a
military presence in the camp.	Words cannot describe the urgency of the
need. Some 50, 60 (displaced people) are returning daily, and most of them
don't have any place to stay."

Barrolle said he would write a report that would be shared in the church and
among its partners. "We collect the information to raise awareness from the
church's prospective and then to use the information to create awareness with
the hope that we get some relief assistance."

Contributions for ministries in Liberia may be designated for the United
Methodist Committee on Relief's Liberia Emergency, Advance #150300, and
dropped in church collection plates or sent to UMCOR, 475 Riverside Dr., Room
330, New York, NY 10115. More details are available at
http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/emergency/liberia.stm.
  
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*Goheen is a freelance writer living in Morrison, Colo. 

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org