On June 7, 2003, in an early morning call
to the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), a Liberian Baptist leader pleaded
for international intervention to stop his country sliding into anarchy.
Emile Sam-Peal, the general secretary
of the Liberian Baptist Missionary and Education Convention, said that
rebel forces were now near the center of Monrovia, the country's capital.
Charles Taylor, the current president of Liberia, attended peace negotiations
in Ghana this week, while at the same time being indicted for war crimes
by a tribunal investigating the recent war in Sierra Leone.
Sam-Peal fears that the situation in his country could deteriorate to that being experienced in Bunia, Congo, where fighting between ethnic groups has killed tens of thousands. Reporting that the Presidential guard had thrown away their uniforms and were now in civilian clothes, he is worried as to the confusion this will cause.
"People are scared, and fearing for their lives," said Sam-Peal, who in the past has had to flee his country during times of conflict. As well as running the Convention, he is the interim head of the Baptist Seminary in Liberia, while the Seminary president is on sabbatical.
Sam-Peal asks for the prayers and support of the Baptist family around the world. As chair of the BWA's division of Baptist World Aid (BWAid), he knows only too well of the tragic situation in many other parts of the world. "Once again we need the help," Sam-Peal told BWAid Director, Paul Montacute. "Please ask the international community to step in now, so that further bloodshed can be avoided. Please ask people to pray for our country, and please continue to help us through BWAid."
Donations in support of the people of Liberia can be designated for "Liberia Relief," and sent to:
Baptist World Aid Baptist World
Alliance
405 North Washington Street
Falls Church, VA 22046, USA
Phone: +1 703 790 8980
Fax: +1 703 790 5719
Email: BWAid@bwanet.org
Contacts: Paul Montacute or Lee Hickman