5 April 2011—The humanitarian crisis following post-presidential election violence in the Ivory Coast continues to worsen. Fighting has forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. Nearly 100,000 people have fled to neighboring Liberia.
"Refugees have walked for days to find safety in Liberia—and have arrived with nothing but the clothes in their backs." said Daniel Wordsworth, President of the American Refugee Committee. "Liberian host communities have been heroic in helping their neighbors from Ivory Coast. But people are in desperate need of food and shelter, and the situation is dire."
American Refugee Committee teams are building hundreds of emergency shelters to house refugees in Nimba County, Liberia—which borders the Ivory Coast. ARC is also training additional Liberian carpenters living in villages in the affected area, so they can speed up shelter construction activities.
"We're seeing the human impact of the election stalemate, and the conditions remain very volatile," added Wordsworth. "We will continue to work with the people of Liberia to help save lives."
The American Refugee Committee teams have been responding to the Ivorian crisis in Liberia since December.