In Acord Newsletter Issue 1: February 2001

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Article 5:

Our dilemma in Liberia

We are currently facing a dilemma in Liberia. The current political climate and the looting of the ACORD office in early October is making it extremely difficult for us to maintain a presence in Lofa County. Our alternative would be to work in neighbouring countries, observing the situation from afar. Such a move would result in our abandoning the people of Lofa during their hour of need and would fly in the face of our stated mission and values says MARY MUSIRIKA, ACORD's Programme Co-ordinator in Liberia.

ACORD's solidarity with the poor in Liberia's Lofa County is posing a major challenge. Having recently returned from Guinea to which they fled during a seven-year conflict, the people of Lofa are still traumatised, there is weak social organisation, the ethnic tensions are high and violence continues. UN agencies are not operating in the area, having declared it a Phase IV "pack your bags and go" zone. Indeed, it is only organisations like ours, with a declared solidarity with the poor, that have chosen to continue operating in the area.

However, following the looting of ACORD's premises in early October, it is unlikely that we can remain in Lofa for very much longer. Our alternative - to work in neighbouring countries while observing the situation in Lofa - would mean that we would no longer be working alongside the most marginalised and vulnerable people, most of whom are in Lofa. Furthermore, Liberia is at war with most of its neighbours.

How far can we stretch our good will in a place where there is no law and order? How far are we prepared to go?

A history of skewed development
Since its founding in 1847, Liberia has suffered a legacy of exclusion and skewed development in favour of non-indigenous people. The seven year conflict (1989 - 1996) was a brutal culmination of the country's unresolved past - the culmination of a century long era of marginalisation of its indigenous people by settlers who arrived in the mid 1800s as returnee slaves from America. The conflict 'officially' ended with democratic elections organised by ECOWAS in 1997.

The violence continues
Despite the democratic elections, Liberia is worse off today than it has been in its relatively recent history. The end of the seven-year conflict should, in theory, have ushered in an era of peace and reconciliation. Instead it left a plethora of armed factions in its wake, all claiming support from different ethnic groups.

Violent opposition continues and the victims of this violence are mainly the citizens of Lofa County, which borders Guinea to the north and northwest, and where we currently have our only Liberian programme.

Lofa County has been the focus of much of the recent conflict as it is home to the Mandingos, one of the clans seen to be favoured by Samuel Doe, an indigenous Krahn, who instigated a violent overthrow of the Government of the True Whigs, which had ruled Liberia for over a century. The coup was welcomed by most of the people of the interior who had felt excluded and marginalised.

In the eyes of the Government, the rebels and the Mandingos are one and the same as most of them fled to Guinea during the seven-year war and did not return. In addition, ULIMOK, a fighting faction during the war, was seen to derive its support from the Mandingos. Most of its leaders are still in exile in Guinea.

ACORD's role in Liberia
ACORD initiated the Lofa programme in early 1998, initially with the intention of working with groups who had fled into Guinea during the conflict and who were now repatriated into Lofa Country. Given that ACORD had a programme in Guinea, very close to the Liberian border, it was assumed that the repatriated communities, most of whom were from the forest zone, would make up the bulk of ACORD's future partners. Because of the insecurity in the area, it was not until May 2000 that ACORD recruited a programme co-ordinator in the town of Zorzor in Lofa. In July, after just two months presence, forces opposed to the Taylor government, who took over Voinjama town in Upper Lofa, again attacked the county. The latest attack was in October.

The situation today
Meanwhile, Liberia as a nation continues to be shunned by outsiders, led by the United States and Britain. It is alleged that Liberia's President Charles Taylor supported and still supports the rebels in overthrowing the legitimate Government of Sierra Leone.

Indeed, the security situation there continues to have serious repercussions for Liberia, and has resulted in a dramatic cut in foreign assistance and foreign investment. This has had dire consequences for ordinary people and has reduced assistance for education and health, the two basic services that are of greatest concern to them. Furthermore, services and development of infrastructure have been centred on Monrovia and other coastal towns, to the exclusion of the hinterland.

At present, efforts at national reconciliation and peace building have to be vetted by the Government. There is no free press and the opposition is very weak and intimidated.

The role of NGOs
In situations such as these, non-government organisations, both local and international, should be the intermediaries of the people, advocating for basic rights and lobbying for people's participation. Some Liberian NGOs, such as CEDE (Centre for Democratic Empowerment), are struggling against the odds, under permanent threats and physical attacks. The NGO sector has been weakened and the intervention of the international NGOs has been mostly reduced to emergency relief.

What future for ACORD?
As the world turns its back on Liberia, and as the stand off between Taylor's government and the donor community widens, ACORD should not tear herself away especially as the people of Lofa County need our support and solidarity, now more than ever.

Our current dilemma must challenge us to find a compromise so we do not abandon the Liberian people in their hour of need.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Liberia has been given two months to convince the UN that it has stopped supporting rebels in Sierra Leone. If it fails to do so, the UN will impose sanctions. If this occurs, the people of Liberia will need support more than ever.

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