Geneva, June 16, 2003 - Report after
report from Liberian members of the global alliance Action by Churches
Together (ACT) International detail not only the horrors brought on by
the most recent clashes and battles between government and rebel forces,
but also a rather anxious hope for a cease-fire, a longing for peace and
the desperate needs of the tens of thousands of people caught up in this
protracted civil war.
The recent military assault on the city
of Monrovia by the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD)
rebels, has clearly, according to the ACT members based in Liberia, "taken
the humanitarian situation to a dangerous and disastrous level for the
million and half residents and displaced people of this city."
Although Monrovia is now back under government control, fighting continues in the rural areas. As for humanitarian conditions, as bad as they are in the capital city, ACT member Lutheran World Federation-World Service (LWF-WS) writes that conditions are certainly not better in the rest of the country.
An assessment conducted by fourteen international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including LWF/WS, has recorded more than 71,000 internally displaced person (IDPs) in five of the seven centers (hosting the current influx of IDPs into central Monrovia) since the recent fighting. 58,000 alone are being sheltered at the Samuel K. Doe Sports Stadium (SKD).
Humanitarian conditions at these centers are quite desperate. At the SKD stadium, 45 toilets are reported blocked. There are only 3 open wells. IDPs are fetching water from gutters, while making use of latrines in the surrounding area. Only one of the other four centers has a hand pump (for water) - and this for a total of 1,032 people.
At least one NGO has started distributing treated water in limited quantities at the SKD stadium.
The UN's World food Program (WFP) has reported that it has opened its warehouses, which contains enough food to cater to those in need during the current emergency. The Government of Liberia has also begun distributing rice donated by Taiwan at two of the centers. Healthcare is being dealt with by humanitarian agencies specializing in this field. Vaccinations are a high priority.
Of concern too is the protection of people. Humanitarian agencies have recorded a number of unaccompanied blind persons and children in two of the centers. At least 400 children among the IDPs are orphans, with no one to care for them.
There is an acute shortage of basic humanitarian relief items in the stocks of the intervening local and international agencies in Liberia. Combining relief items amongst themselves, the agencies have come up with a tally of 341 bales of mixed clothing, 4,900 blankets and 300 mats, 2,500 buckets, 2,500 pots and 350 lanterns. The lanterns will be distributed to provide protection and security at SKD stadium.
LWF-WS will immediately distribute their limited stocks. The 75 cartons of BP-5 biscuits, 43 bales of men's clothes, 38 bales of women's clothes, 10 bales of overcoats, 316 cartons of Japanese clothes and 69 cartons of Japanese biscuits will be distributed amongst the most vulnerable persons, which include the several hundred displaced orphans, blind persons, the many elderly, as well as persons with disabilities. Urgently needed are tarpaulins and/or plastic rolls, high protein biscuits (BP-5 and BP-4), clothes and blankets, mats, footwear, containers to store water and cooking utensils.
LWF-WS will also collaborate with other agencies by repairing damaged windows of public buildings and other facilities where the displaced are currently seeking shelter.
Reverend Brown who heads up Concerned Christian Community (CCC), an ACT partner in Liberia, reports that his own home has been looted, as well as his church, the CCC container warehouses and a clinic in the area, adding that the doors of the buildings were forcibly removed.
He writes, "a lot of dead bodies left lying in the area have been buried by displaced persons cut off by the fighting." Also, that "IDPs from camps such as Seigbeh, Voice of America #1 (VOA#1), Perry Town, Plumkor, who were cut off by the fighting, remained in these camps through the resurgence in conflict. However, most of the IDPs from VOA#1 fled the camp when government forces took the area back from the LURD forces and ran through the camp firing indiscriminately."
Financial institutions have been closed since Monday, June 9, three days after the fighting came within kilometers of Monrovia. Rumors have it that the banking executives have left the country. The upshot of this has been that LWF-WS has been able to meet only half of the emergency payroll for its staff, as there is no way to obtain the balance from the bank. Added to this is the increase in the cost of living, which LWF-WS says is happening at "an alarming rate". Looting is also becoming a problem in the city.
Meanwhile, the president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, at a press conference held on Sunday in Monrovia, emphasized that any peace deal should be "comprehensive" or in other words, include him, his family and supporters. The president has also been reported as insisting that charges brought against him by a special United Nations-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone be dropped, as part of a deal.
Thousands of battle-weary Liberians are now pinning their hopes on the peace talks in Ghana. However, President Taylor is reported to have instructed the army to continue fighting the rebels until a cease-fire agreement is signed, a move that many believe bodes ill for the country right now.
For further information please contact:
ACT Communication Officer Callie Long (mobile/cell phone +41 79 358 3171)
ACT is a world-wide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need through coordinated emergency response.
The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
Callie Long
Communications Officer
ACT International Coordinating Office
Tel: +41 22 791 6039/6033
Mobile: +41 79 358 3171
Fax: +41 22 791 6506