Source: allAfrica.com
Ivorian refugees residing in the border town of Buotuo have informed this paper that they have not received any food relief materials from any humanitarian organization in the country since they crossed into Liberia more than one month ago.
The refugees claims contradict recent statement made by the Deputy Executive of Liberia Refugees Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) Mr. Saah Nyumah that they have provided some relief assistance to the Ivorian refugees.
Mr. Nyumah recently told newsmen at a press conference at the Ministry of Information that the LRRRC has provided some food items to the refugees.
Speaking to our reporter in Buotuo, the head of the refugees in that area, Madam Toudego Delphine, cited the lack of food, safe drinking water, clothing, sanitation facilities as the key problems facing the refugees.
"The issue of food has gone off hand. We have finished the food from the local community members and all of us are now facing severe food problem," Madam Delphine stated through an interpreter.
She furthered that few of the able body women usually go into the bushes in search for wood to sell while others work for some of the community members as a means of getting food for themselves.
Madam Delphine also stressed the issue of safe-drinking water as key to their well being. She said lots of the hand pumps in the town are no longer functional except for three of them that were recently reconditioned by Adventist Development Relief Agency(ADRA), "but to get water from the few pumps is very difficult because it does not pump sufficient water as a result we are always in queue or sometimes fight to get a bucket for drinking," she added.
Madam Delphine also explained to our reporter about the poor sanitatory condition in Buotuo. " All over in Buotuo, you don't find any toilet facility and we have many children defecating all over the place and some of them getting sick from such condition, there is a clinic here but no medication, we are really suffering. "
Meanwhile the head of UNHCR Liberia has attributed the food situation in Buotuo to bad road condition, but said they are making every effort to meet the needs of the refugees.
But Madam Delphine in an interview with our reporter in Buotuo said that the issue of bad road should not be used as a ground for keeping hungry, " they say the road is bad to bring food for us, but every day two to three cars come here to gather listing of refugees and don't return with anything," she ended in an angry mood.
Our reporter who just returned from Buotuo one of the local communities hosting the Ivorian refugees, said 90% of the over 3,000 refugees are mainly women and children and the rest are elderly men. According to him, some of the children flee into Liberia without their parents.
Everyone is a genius
Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – A Einstein
Drawing the line in Liberia
Crimes sponsored, committed, or masterminded by handful of individuals cannot be blamed upon an entire nationality. In this case, Liberians! The need for post-war justice is a step toward lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Liberia. Liberia needs a war crimes tribunal or some credible legal forum that is capable of dealing with atrocities perpetrated against defenseless men, women and children during the country's brutal war. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in Liberia will not produce the intended results. - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Men with unhealthy characters should not champion any noble cause
They pretend to advocate the cause of the people when their deeds in the dark mirror nothing else but EVIL!!
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people - Bernard Gbayee Goah.
If Liberia must move forward ...
If Liberia must move forward in order to claim its place as a civilized nation amongst world community of nations, come 2017 elections, Liberians must critically review the events of the past with honesty and objectivity. They must make a new commitment to seek lasting solutions. The track records of those who are presenting themselves as candidates for the position of "President of the Republic of Liberia" must be well examined. Liberians must be fair to themselves because results from the 2011 elections will determine the future of Liberia’s unborn generations to come - Bernard Gbayee Goah
What do I think should be done?
The situation in Liberia is Compound Complex and cannot be fixed unless the entire system of government is reinvented.
Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption.
Any attempt to institute the system mentioned above in the absence of rule of law is meaningless, and more detrimental to Liberia as a whole - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Liberia's Natural Resources
Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.
Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government. The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Liberia needs a proper system
If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else. To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law. To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Solving problems in the absence of war talks
As political instability continues to increase in Africa, it has become abundantly clear that military intervention as a primary remedy to peace is not a durable solution. Such intervention only increases insecurity and massive economic hardship. An existing example which could be a valuable lesson for Liberia is Great Britain, and the US war on terror for the purpose of global security. The use of arms whether in peace keeping, occupation, or invasion as a primary means of solving problem has yield only little results. Military intervention by any country as the only solution to problem solving will result into massive military spending, economic hardship, more fear, and animosity as well as increase insecurity. The alternative is learning how to solve problems in the absence of war talks. The objective of such alternative must be to provide real sustainable human security which cannot be achieved through military arm intervention, or aggression. In order to achieve results that will make the peaceful coexistence of all mankind possible, there must be a common ground for the stories of all sides to be heard. I believe there are always three sides to every story: Their side of the story, Our side of the story, and The truth – Bernard Gbayee Goah
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