War Rages On

War does not end with a truce or a surrender, it smolders and rages on. Its devastating effects continue to divide, marginalize, oppress, and wound. Behind the broad smiles of those I meet, the eyes look familiar. I realize that they are much like the eyes of so many in Palestinians and Israelis I know. Virtually everyone is wounded my war, and the recovery is long and slow, if ever. People are struggling to move forward and there are very sure signs that the country is beginning to recover after a fourteen year civil war that killed 250,000 people, forced 800,000 into exile, and displaced 700,000 people. Families moved from place to place trying to find safety, traveling on foot, in down pour rain, and without food, clothing, or belongings. Sometimes they had what they could carry, or if they were lucky, they had a wheelbarrow. Family members died along the way, and many were buried by the side of the road, covered hurriedly with leaves or dirt in a futile attempt to give offer them burial. Women (and in come cases men) were raped Pregnant women among the most vulnerable. Unborn babies were cut from the womb and killed being called "future enemies". Individuals betrayed their families and betrayed neighbors; accusing, turning in, and executing them. People crossed treacherous rivers holding on to a rope, hoping and praying that they and their children would reach the other side and safety, as bodies of those less fortunate floated by. Children and young adults were conscripted into the army and forced to commit brutal and unthinkable crimes. People share their stories with me. They need to be heard, and I get the sense that they want what they tell to reach beyond their borders. I wonder how God will heal them. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2003 mandated the creation of a national truth and reconciliation commission. In 2006, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and it has the mandate to investigate human rights crimes committed between the "rice riots" of 1979 and 2003. "The TRC gives both the victim and the perpetrator a chance to come to terms with what happened in this country," says Nathaniel Kwabo, Executive Director. The commission has collected close to 24,000 statements in Liberia and amongst Liberians in the Diaspora, and the hearings will come to a close in July. The record summarizing the findings is to be completed three months later. A survivor of the infamous "Mahare river massacre testified to the TRC,
"When the goveernment forces came to our area they captured us accusing us of supporting the LURD rebels. They drove us in a pickup, 10 people at a time, to the river. There they executed us. I think we were 350 people. I was shot but the bullet passed through my flesh. The soldiers thought I was dead like everone else and they threw me in the river with all the other corpses. I can swim and dive, and that's what saved me."
While an important program for the healing of the country, these proceedings involve less than 10% of the population. I have met with Dr. Joseph S. Guannu, former Ambassador to the United States and Founder and Director of The Peace Institute here at Cuttington. I look forward to collaboration on programs of healing and reconciliation. It will be a challenge to find resources, support and professional staff. No, war does not end with surrender. It continues its grip on this country.