Liberia: Healing a Battered NationDate: August 29, 2003 
They gather in The Women's House of Comfort, one of several tents outside the Liberian capital Monrovia's SKD sport stadium. Some are alone, however many cradle small infants. The women represent only a small number of the some 30,000 displaced people who are still living in the stadium under wretched conditions. In spite of the war being declared officially at an end, people are still streaming toward Monrovia, fearful of attacks by rebel soldiers who are fighting their own war.
At Fender University, one center that already houses 12,000 displaced people, more people arrive daily. At least 1,000 of these people are elderly. Frail, vulnerable, sick, they sit in the two large halls set aside for them. Few speak. An air of desolation hangs over them. Some have walked for days to reach the safety of this compound. Often the soles of their footwear have been completely worn away. They are, without fail, exhausted and desperately hungry.
Kerry Sly, head of mission for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) in Liberia, says that, for most Liberians, this is not the first time they have been displaced. It is more like the fourth or fifth time. "Imagine 14 years of being forced to move," he says. "This is not just a disaster. It's a catastrophe, where a small group is holding a whole country hostage."
UMCOR's program manager, Julius Sele, adds that many of the past leaders of this country have left a devastating legacy. "A whole generation now only knows the language of hate. We are only alive because of mercy."
UMCOR and The United Methodist Church of Liberia are working with members of the Action by Churches Together (ACT) network and others to help bring healing to this nation. In addition to United Methodists, ACT members and local partners working in Liberia include Concerned Christian Community (CCC), Lutheran Church in Liberia, Lutheran World Federation, Presbyterian Church in Liberia, Christian Health Association in Liberia, World Hope International and YMCA-Liberia. At this time, the groups are focusing on providing the desperately needed basics -- food, clothing, blankets, soap and other non-food items -- and emergency psychosocial care.
Miriama Brown, CCC's national director, says that many Liberian women need specialized trauma counselling to help heal the deep psychological wounds they have suffered. So far, 1,502 women have registered with CCC at The Women's House of Comfort. The majority of the women, both young and old, are now widows. Many of them were forced to watch as their husbands were killed and were severely beaten and raped. Today, many are withdrawn, severely depressed and deeply fearful.
"We have cried too much," says Miatta Roberts, a CCC counselor. "We need divine intervention and grace to bring healing to our country."
Considering that the war only ended officially on August 18 this year, it is a testimony to the courage and commitment of the staff who-- against all odds-- continue their emergency work. Both the CCC's and YMCA's offices were stripped bare. UMCOR's office was turned into temporary shelter for about forty displaced persons. Most of the staff working for ACT members and partners had their homes looted too and became displaced themselves.
Having survived so much, many people need trauma counseling, but, as UMCOR's Kerry Sly points out, such assistance won't be truly successful until people feel secure again. Right now, safety and security are missing in the lives of most Liberians.
Source: Action by Churches Together (ACT), http://www.act-intl.org. ACT is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need through coordinated emergency response. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is a member of ACT.
Photos: 1. Some of the 600 elderly men who have walked for days to reach the relative safety of Fender University shelter for IDPs. Many of them don't know what happened to their wives. Many of them suffered terrible abuse at the hands of the rebel soldiers. 2. Jainjay Move, a physician's assistant, provides basic medical care in Concerned Christian Community's medical tent. Credit: Callie Long/ACT International, August 2003.
Your gifts to UMCOR's Liberia Emergency, Advance #150300 will enable UMCOR to respond to this latest crisis with humanitarian assistance and continue its ongoing development work and other ministries in Liberia. You may also designate "child soldiers." One hundred percent of your tax-deductible gift will be used for this emergency. The generous giving of United Methodists to the One Great Hour of Sharing supplements the cost of Advance gifts. Give through a local United Methodist church or send financial contributions to: UMCOR, 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Call 1-800-554-8583 to make a credit card donation.
