Position
Statement
Presented to
Hon. J. Gble-Bo Brown
Superintendent,
Maryland County, R. L.
By The
Leaders, Women, Men, Youth & Farmers of The Whole Graway Ferguson
Community, Cape Palmas
Harper City
Hall, June 11, 2012
Hon.
Superintendent, March, 2011, Refugees emerging from the Ivory Coast that were placed
on The Bishop Ferguson High School Campus by The Liberia
Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement
Commission (LRRRC) headed by Cllr. Wheatonia Y. Dixon Barnes, destroyed eleven (11) sugar cane farms within the
Ferguson Belt with impunity. These farms belonged to eleven tax-paying and
law-abiding citizens residing in the Ferguson Belt. Several complaints were
filed to your office. Additions to that, complaints were also filed in the
offices of LRRRC both in Monrovia and Harper respectively. One year and three months
ago today, both LRRRC and your office fail to produce positive response. As you
know, the destruction of the farms was astronomical. As such, it has been an
economic burden on us. The damage in terms of dollars and cents is equal to Sixty-six
thousand ($66,000.00) United States dollars. After intensive Positive Action mounted
on your office, which came from us and our friends, children and other social
justice advocates, your office was forced to establish a “Commission of
Inquiry” to investigate the matter. Even though we are not satisfied with the composition
and Report submitted by the Commission which was headed by The Catholic Justice
and Peace Commission, its formation and activities justifies our legitimate claims.
Hon.
Superintendent, having inherited the area from our Foreparents who lived there
more than 100 years ago, we have done all that is required under our Organic
Laws to maintain and protect the area. When the Refugees were brought into the
area, we, as custodian of the area, were not informed. Yet and still, as a
decent people, we gave our fullest support. But our generosity and hospitality was
and continues to be abused by both LRRRC and the comity of refugee management.
Hon.
Superintendent, the failure of LRRRC and the local government of Maryland, yea
Liberia, to recognize the Report of its own “Commission of Inquiry” which
confirms the destruction beyond human imagination, is a clear and deliberate violation
of our Rights as law-abiding and tax-paying citizens of the Republic of
Liberia.
Therefore,
based on the supramentioned undisputable facts, you and LRRRC have denied us
the ability to obtain our full human conditions. As such, we hereby register
our distaste and disdain and thereby DEMAND reparation otherwise we will
resolve into NONSTOP and continuous peaceful and nonviolent street
demonstrations in order to capture the undivided attention of the Liberian
government. This will include and not limited to “Sit-ins,” passive resistance
and PROLONG marches along the streets of Harper and maybe transfer our
activities to Monrovia to meet with Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,
President of the Republic of Liberia to submit our legitimate claims.
We
have called on all international and local government and nongovernmental
organizations to help us out of our misery, but none came to our rescue. Even
The UNICEF which is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate
for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to
expand their opportunities to reach their full potential, continues to sit on
the proverbial fence watching our children being kicked out of their class
rooms only to make room for refugees. Consistent with The UNICEF Mission
Statement, it is committed to ensuring special protection for the most
disadvantaged children - victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms
of violence and exploitation and those with disabilities. But when the Refugees
launched an unprovoked attack on our children and their parents, UNICEF has
been sitting by and watching. Are our children considered children of a lesser
god?
Hon. Superintendent, we want to summon all of you who have a practical nature, all who possess idealism, dynamism and immense sense of patriotism, all who believe in goodness, truth and beauty, to unite to support our reparation demands so that we and the Refugees can built a new society where each of us will have a peaceful and tolerant future. In this new society we will work for ourselves and enjoy what the Creator has bequeathed to us, those things that until now we have been deprived of by the LRRRC and Refugee management who hold economic-financial power in their hands. We have arrived at a decisive moment in time when it is no longer possible to go on sustaining unnecessary economic pains as a result of Refugee violence.
We
are calling on all of you to bring about a change that is in the interest of
the refugees and citizens of this country. We are calling on you to turn this
economic bankrupt situation around, to disinvert it and head it in the right
direction. We want to live life; we want to produce for ourselves and our
fellow men and our children; we want to live in peace with everyone. Nor can we
let anyone go on exploiting us and destroying our children’s future. We intend
to put a stop to all of this because we want to live in a time of peace now —
that peace we have always desired but which has been denied us.
Hon. Superintendent, we are greatly disturbed by this broad daylight violence against us. And so we are now prepared to take matters to the Liberian government. And if need be, we shall take this matter to The United Nations for redress.
Our children have been denied schooling and we, as their parents, have been denied economic progress. Therefore, we unequivocally, with all we can command from the roof our tongues, demand reparation!
We
look forward to your immediate response to this human catastrophe.
Attached
is a copy of the Report of the Commission of Inquiry set up by your office and
headed by The Catholic justice and Peace Commission. The Report is captioned,
“The Committee Report
Eleven Sugar Farms
reportedly destroyed at Bishop Ferguson Community in Harper by Ivorian Refugees
Harper City, Maryland
County
Republic of Liberia
Prepared and Submitted
on behalf of the Committee:
Thomas B. Mawolo
Chairman
The Catholic Peace and
justice Commission
Cape Palmas Diocese”
Signed - Victims:
1.
Monday Howe
2.
Alexander Harris
3.
Perry Harris
4.
Thykindon Harris
5.
Quiah Harris
6.
William Harris
7.
Nyemande
Elizabeth Harris
8.
Martha Harris
9.
Victor Harris
10.
11.
Approved:
Victor Wade Harris/CLAN CHIEF/WHOLE GRAWAY
T.
Gbuo-Mle Bedell/Founder/Operations/CCAC/Social
Justice Advocate
cc: Ministry of Internal affairs
LRRRC
Commissioner, Harper District
Legislative Caucus
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