AFRICAN PANORAMA
Over the last few weeks, Liberian refugees at the Buduburam Camp in the Republic of Ghana have been having one of the most difficult periods of their lives since their escape from the Liberian civil wars. The behavior of the Ghanaian Government has been unfortunately heavy-handed. It must be difficult to find justification for the unprovoked physical attacks and rape by the “security forces” in the face of peaceful demonstrations by women and children asking the UNHCR for reasonable resettlement benefits. Even requests for restraints from the UNHCR to the government of Ghana have been basically ignored. On the other hand, there are sufficient reports and evidence to prove that the victims did not violate any laws of Ghana nor pose any security threat to the country.
For some years now, especially since the beginning of the Liberian civil war, Ghana has been over-stating her importance in the West African sub-region and on the African continent. The women had no direct axe to grind with the government of Ghana ; even if their grievances were against the Ghanaian government, they would be justified.
Yet, Since 1991 Ghanaian authorities have reportedly been in the business of diverting benefits intended for Liberian refugees to Ghanaians posing as Liberians. Scholarships, resettlement slots abroad, financial aids, etc. have been diverted over the years leading to frustration and suspicions of the refugees. All of this, however, is beside the point of this article.
The cardinal issue here is with the response of the Liberian Government under President Ellen Sirleaf. In the face of what many observers have termed an unfair, disproportionate and unnecessary response of the Ghanaian government, the government of Liberia has been practically no show when it came to defending and protecting the interest of suffering Liberians. This lack of concern for Liberians has been a pattern of Mrs. Sirleaf’s behavior from as far back as 1990 when the civil war in Liberia was at its worst; it continues to be shown every time a judgment call is required of Mrs. Sirleaf.
A Careless Whisper?
Every Liberian or perhaps most Liberians remember mid 1990 when the civil war had decimated a very significant portion of the country’s population and human suffering was massive and unbearable. It was a time when people of conscience everywhere were scrambling to stop the killings and bring relief to the people. Children were dying like flies. Those who lived through the war were simply walking skeletons themselves. People waited in vain for some sign of relief that was not coming.
Then, at that crucial moment, Mrs. Ellen Sirleaf spoke, urging Charles Taylor to keep fighting as Monrovia would be built in three (3) days. That comment felt like a dagger in the chests of many suffering Liberians. I still can’t stop wondering whether this was just careless talk. Or was Mrs. Sirleaf so caught up in the moment of her and colleagues’ closeness to power that she didn’t mind what the consequences would be? Did she really care about the glaring consequences: starving children, families desperately surviving on leaves and cabbage from coconut trees along the beaches of Monrovia , people drinking from contaminated wells and creeks and dying from cholera? What was she thinking?
In any case, that comment was very insensitive; it took Mrs. Sirleaf a very long time to “apologize” for it or to acknowledge that it was unfortunate. How unconscionable that was to have your children and grandchildren sleeping in comfortable beds, living and going to school in the safety of faraway places while at the same time calling for destruction upon poor and innocent children and families who had nothing to do with your power politics!
Another incident that further convinces me of Mrs. Sirleaf’’s insensitivity is the situation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in Liberia and some of the revelations coming from victims and perpetrators testifying there. A few months ago, a family from Grand Bassa named the Liberian singer Sundaygar Dearboy as the person who killed and tortured people in their town during the war. That allegation should have been a warning to the president of Liberia to stop her dancing and partying with the singer. Not that he is guilty of anything by being accused, but it would be necessary for the president to show good judgment by taking that small step and experience a little inconvenience in order to show the process and aggrieved families some respect and compassion by letting the singer address the issue.
But that was probably too much to expect of Mrs. Sirleaf. Mr. Dearboy was therefore in full attendance at the second anniversary of the president’s inauguration (whatever that means) singing, dancing and carrying on. Not long after that Mrs.Sirleaf herself said that she would not testify before the commission as it would jeopardize the sale of the book she plans to write to obtain her retirement money. She claims that she will enumerate her ideas and recount her role in the war in that book. What a mockery!
Is this Liberian president capable of setting any example that Liberians can take as a clue about how to carry on things in the country? Even Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu went to the TRC in South Africa . Why does she only show concern for fairness and justice when she is not in the position to administer fairness and justice? When she was chairperson of the good governance commission during the Gyude Bryant days, she was all over the place talking about fairness, openness and justice as the path to reconciliation. Now that she is president and has the opportunity to ensure that her wishes come through she is found wanting. She has simply given Liberians the back of her hand.
About Contacts and the Liberian Refugee Crisis
It is early 2008 and here comes another Liberian crisis. Refugees in a Ghanaian camp, mostly women and children, have been trying to get some reasonable resettlement money from the UNHCR to go back to Liberia or resettle to a third country. It seems easy and benign enough, but not in the estimation of authorities at the Ghana Refugee Board or the Interior Ministry which is probably trying to avoid the embarrassment of having to explain how come these folks were getting barely $100 to go back to Liberia . Their way out was to create a crisis and blame it on the refugees. Therefore, they began to carry out armed attacks against the women and children while hunting down lining up men into detention. Those arrested are charged with disturbing peace. Disturbing which peace? May I ask here?
Do I have any qualms with that action? Not at all. It is Mrs. Sirleaf’s response that begs some explanation. Because one of the first things she did was to call on the refugees to desist from breaking the laws of their host ( Ghana ).No investigations, no questions asked. The first reaction Liberians in that difficult situation got from their president was a statement tantamount to a condemnation. It remains to be explained yet how these women and children were posing any threats to Ghana ’s security or breaking the laws of that country.
Once again, the president has shown her lack of compassion. You never beat down a people who are suffering and feeling helpless or hopeless. Madam President, you should do the most honorable thing by apologizing to those people for speaking before getting the whole story. Perhaps, you might feel bold enough to offend and disparage your own people than to call on John Kuffuor to protect those Liberian refugees in case he is offended.
No. It is not a problem to work with outsiders, but you have over and over shown that you don’t mind pushing your people under the bus if that is what it takes to ingratiate yourself with outsiders. Heavily armed soldiers and police using armored personnel carriers to attack women and children and that was your reaction? So much for women’s rights, Madam President! I hope Liberians can see how hollow and meaningless borrowed catch-phrases can be, especially if the catch-phraseologist doesn’t believe in them.
Furthermore, it is about time that Mrs.Sirleaf uses her “international contacts” to help those women and children get the relief and fair treatment they deserve. This should not be difficult, as that was the strength candidate Sirleaf touted when she ran to be president. I wait to see the outcome of this situation and anything devoid of full justice and appropriate compensation from the government of Ghana for the properties lost and the pains and sufferings of those women and children is not acceptable. Madam President, can you for once stand up for your people? It takes some courage and statesmanship, not raw politics of convenience. I am sure you can rise to the occasion and make the difference for your people this time. I HOPE YOU DO. THIS IS THE TIME.
Note: The views expressed in the foregoing article are exclusively those of the author.
PRESIDENT SIRLEAF AND HER JUDGEMENT CALLS...
BY ALEXANDER MOLLEN
Liberians Refugees In Ghana
