P 0 2
or It
Some experts guessed
, that close to 100,000
children in Monrovia alone
will need some form of
emergency diet in order to
stave off th ravages of
. brain damage brought on
by malnutrition.
MONROVIA-It h been 1-
mo t year- nd- -h If ince
civil r fi t erupted in Liberia.
. Of the principa l omb t Iit ,
only two rem in-Prince
Johnson and Ch rle T ylor,
President Samuel K. Doe h ving
been killed in e rly September.
The three warrin factions,
the Itional Patriotic Front of
re t pre ent,
honorin th e e-fire th t h
been in effect inee I te Decem
ber.
Thirteen month of bloody
c rn e plunged Libe ri , a
ountry founded in 1822
h ven or former merican
Ie, into little more th n
e refugee c mp.
CORDI G TO report
is ued by the Office of US
Foreign Di ter A i tance
(OFDA), t Ie t 750,000
Liberian h ve ought refuge in
we co e
arpto
ev,
I
The controversial "People's Preacher," Rev. Al Sharpton,
returned to New York May 3 after a week-long tour of Britain
:- where thousand in the poorest communities of London, Bris
tol and Birmingham had the oppor
tunity to meet and come to know for
them elve the maverick inde
pendent who for a full week prior to
his rrival was variously described
by the London tabloids as: "The
Most Odious Man in America,"
"Rev. Hate," and "The Beast from
the Bronx."
His visit coincided with the 10th
anniversary of the Brixton rebellion
which shook the Black and working
class communities of South London
in protest again t racial and
economic i nj u 'icc.
it coincided as well with the airing of the BBC', nationally
broadcast show, "Everyman,", which pre ented an hour-long
documentary on the new civil rights movement that Sharpton
is leading in the States.
Rev. Sharpton was invited by the parents of Rolan Adams,
a 15 year-old Afro-Caribbean youth who had been murdered
by a white gang in Thamesmeade, to lead a march to protest
racial violence and to focus national and international atten
tion on the pervasive racism in the U.K. More than 2,000
demon trators-Black, white, Indian and Pakistani-marched
six miles through South London.
MONDAY NIGHT ON the nationally televised" Jonathan
Ross Show" on the BBC, Rev. Sharpton made a personal
appeal to Queen Elizabeth: "Speaking as one of your ad
mirers, I am asking that you respond to the Roland Adams case
as a way of establishing that this kind of racial bigotry and
violence will never be tolerated. tI
His comments drew heavy fire from London tabloids and
from the New York Post whose front-page headlines branded
Sharpton a "Royal Pain" for confronting the Queen and the
government of prime minister John Major.
"It has been absolutely spectacular! He i a remarkable
man, and Britain will never be the same!" commented Rev.
Hewie Andrew, Director of Developing Black Ministries of
the Methodist Church of England and a well known activist in
the Black church community in London. The three appearan
ce he organized for Rev. Sharpton at the New Testament
Assembly Pentacostal Church, St Andrews Church, and at the
Quaker's Friends House, however, were by far the most con
troversial.
"There was a tremendous response on behalf of
parishioners for the opportunity to hear Rev. Sharpton speak.
My phone rang off the hook for days," Andrews reported. "At
the arne time, the tabloids were calling for his banning from
Britain, and in the midst of this controversy, a number of the
Clergyman withdrew their invitations to have him speak before
their congregations,"
BROTH R PEPUKAYI of the Pan African Congres
Movement organized 8 number of public forums for Rev.
Sharpton. One in the Selby Center drew 1,500 from tfie Black
communities of London. Another in Birmingham drew
1,100-more than half of whom stood outside the packed
a embly hall to h, ar Sharpton' speech broadcast over the
public address ystem. '
Another event, who was temporarilydispersed after threat
of a bomb attack. On the final day of the tour, Rev. Sharpton
traveled to the seaport town of Bri tol, where he was wel
comed by Mr. Paul Stephenson of the We t Indian Parent's
Association. There they traveled to the grave site of one of
the first lave to be buried in Britain. Bristol was the port of
departure for slaves who were being shipped to America in the
1700' and 1800' .
Sharpton delivered an ad.dre on "The Poli tics and
Psychology of Racism" at the prestigious London School of
Economic where he drew an overflow, mul ti-racial crowd of
1,000 in the school's Old Theatre. Over 1,200 students at
Goldsmith College turned out to hear him on their campus the
previous day.
"One of the mo t positive development of my tour in
England has been the poli tical alliances that we have forged
with our brother and sister across the Atlantic," . aid Rev.
Sharpton. "Raci m knows no boundaries, and the (ight for
racial justice i an international fight. I am proud to announce
that the Pan African Congre Movement will become part of
the National Action Network, and I hope to return to London
over the next few month to .continue our work together. I
look forward to the continued internationalization of our
struggle."
h If- -million per on re
reported to be di pI ced.
While there re no fin 1 num
ber of tho e illed, e tim te
h ve run high 15,000 to
20,000 dead.
A i the c e in any w r,
heer number of combat nt
10 t doe not ccurately portray
the true 10 of life; th t remain
to be determined when one con-
ider the horrible toll exacted
on the civilian popul tion. The
people are tarving to death.
E ch day, the number of dead
attributed to the war increa es
not 0 much by the discovery of
more bodie , but the sobering
realization that there i no food.
Reports vary as to the amount of
relief getting in from outside
group.
Since May of 1990, some
170,000 metric ton of rice and
over 22,000 metric tons of
processed. The OFDA ha cal
culated that 99,100 metric tons
of Title II food aid already ha
reached the country.
THE PEOPLE ARE literally
dying in the streets. The mo t
visible and heart-rending vic
tim are the children. Some ex
perts have guessed tha t close to
100,000 children in Monrovia
alone, will need some form of
emergency diet in order to stave
off the ravages of brain damages
brought on by malnutrition.
According to James K.
Holder, executive director for
the Liberian committee for
Relief-Resettlement and
Recon truction (LICORE),
"these conditions still exist; and
are getting worse due to the lack
of food."
"Food is only coming in at
certain points," Holder said.
It wasn't until December that
Spriggs Payne Airport was
opened, and even then the scar
city of fuel allowed only for day-
time flight, not to mention the
I imi ta tions inherent in having
only one operational airport.
Si tuations have changed some
what with sporadic commercial
service for Monrovia. Air Cargo
, of Liberia and Air Ouinea have
both resumed intermittent ser
vice between Freetown, Sierra
Leone and Spriggs Payne Airport
and Monrovia.
Lynne Schoepe, administra
tive assistant for the Liberia desk
of Ca tholic Relief Services
(CRS), echoed Holder's assess
ment. Scho pe painted a picture
of a logistical nightmare. "The
availability of ports is limited ...
there aren't a lot of ships going
in-even getting su plies to our
people is difficult," Schoepe ob
served.
According to CRS, the
CORRECTIONS
The unidentified
photo. In the MIY
19-25, 1881 ·Cleln and
Sob.r .tory w.re (l-r)
f.th.r Baldwin B.yer,
dlr ctor of Jeff r.on
Hou.. Ind hou ••
mlnag.r, Ron O.
Li beri n Agricul tur I Company
(LAC) ha been given exclusive
u e of the Port by Charles Taylor.
"They are trying to do business
still ... (but) they are having to
import fuel," Schoepe co tinued.
Logistical obstacles aren't the
only hindrance to Liberia's
reconstruction. Liberia's
economy is effectively dead.
The OFDA had reported at the
outset of the conflict, the
country was delinquent on
several billion dollars on foreign
loans, Source report that there
is virtually no banking. Schoepe
de cribed the situation a even
wor e, "YQU can't get.�JlY llloney
into 'the country, there i no ex
change, the black market isn t il
legal because there is nothing to
buy."
country i in Charle "I ylor�
hand ,5 . i held by t�e
COMOO/interim govemme t
he ded by Profe or Ama
Sawyer, Holder explained. .
The government initially h d
problem bee u e the election
o the nine official -not to mea
tion Sawyer, di puted by
Taylor.
I 0, the Liberi n peop e
them elve didn't h ve a repre
entative voice in the election
of the participants.
Holder explained, "thi
done without the mandate of tbe
people, these were exiled
poli tici n with no m ndate from
the people."
Provi ion re being made for
democratic future.
There are two "bright pots"
on Liberia' recent past and near
future. On March 15, 1991, the
interim government pon ored
an "All Liberian Conference." At
this conference, a new interim
government will be reconstituted
for the people. ·
FOLLOWING THE LAST
cease-fire, an interim govern
ment was establi hed by the
ECOMOG (the monitoring
group e tablished by the
Economic community of We t
African States).
The government,. compri ed
of nine, native Liberian "intel
lectuals" was specifically
formed to bring the warring fac
tions of the country together and
facilitate some reasonable solu
tion that would address the ini
tial problems.
"There is 'physical diVi ion
-In the country," said James
Holder.
"Ninety-five percent of the
Africa
.
THIS NEW government
which will have supposedly tie
elected by the people, will hav:e
a 12-month mandate to lead the
Liberian people to setting-uP .
campai gns, prod ucing cal)
didates and gradually worki�
toward general, countrywid.e
elections sometime in 1991. '
Also, a "Li beri an Relief,
Rehabilitation and Reconstrue
tion Fund" bill proposed t>:y
Senator Edward Kennedy qf
M: S,s �tJ eus anCJ Paul $im
of lllin�i i� cur�e��ly ��ki08,
the rounds of the US House add
Senate.
arve
Don't Let
Here's how you can help
The following organizations are among those accepting tax-deductible ccnancns for
African famine relief, which you 'should designate on your check.
Arlcar.
Afrlcar. Hou ••
440 R Street. N. W.
Wa.hlngton, D.C. 20001
American Friend. Service Commltt ••
1501 Cherry St.
Phllad Iphll, Penn. 19102
American Jewlah World Service
1290 Av nue of the Am.rlca.
New York, N.Y. 10104
Amerlcln Red Cro ••
PO Box 37243
Wa.hlngton, D.C. 20013
Cltholl� Relief S.rvlce.
Social Mlnl.trl •• Offlc.
305 Michigan Ave.
Detroit, Mlch, 48228
Church World Service
PO Box e88
Elkhart, Ind. 48515
(Epl.copal) Pr •• ldlng BI.hop'. Fund
for World R n.f
815 Second Ave.
N w York, N.Y. 10017
Oxfam Am.rlca '
115 BroadwlY
Bo.ton, M.... 021'18
U.S.Commltt •• for the Unit d Nltlon.
Chlldr n'a Fund (UNICEF)
333 E. 38th t.
N w York, N.Y. 10018