Rumors of War in Maryland: A Case of Arson in Kmakelinwein

(Thomas Bedell, June 15, 2008)

Two nights ago it was Friday June 13. I was asleep when my cell phone rang. I woke up; turned around in my bed and picked up my phone. I noticed it was about 1:00 a.m. I said “Hello!” But there was no response. I said “Hello!” again. No response. Then something inside me started talking: this same person on the line could be the same person, few weeks ago, who broke the news of a fierce fight between Rocktown and Wetchukeh. Like he did previously, he was breathing very hard. And it seemed like his life was in danger. But I engaged him more: “Hello, Hello.” But no response. After many “hellos,” I took a break and started thinking:: something was going wrong again. But I didn’t know where. I knew it when the caller broke silence. “Kmakelinwein is on fire!” he sharply said. I asked him what he meant by that. He said, I say, “Kmakliewein is on fire!” Right away I partially got the message. Kmakelinwein is a name synonymous to fighting in Maryland. So I used that Info to compute the news - “fire” and Kmakelinwein did not go together. Unless the conflict in the area had resumed. By linking both, I realized Rocktown and Wetchukeh were again at war. But I did not want to rely on my own conclusions. I wanted him to tell me everything. So I waited for him. Then in a slow and quiet voice he said, “Those Rocktowners who escaped the fight in Kmakelinwein are now internally displaced. You know that, right?” I said, “Yes!” And then he asked, “You know they are now residing in Rocktown, right?” I said, “Yes!” And then he said every weekend, since the fight occurred, the citizens returned to Kmakelinwein, where they’ve lived for many years, to get some foodstuff for their families. This time when they returned, their village was inflame and huts engulfed by fire. The returnees formed a fire brigade to stop the fire. But up to no avail. The fire took its toll. But some citizens ran back to town (about two to three hours walk) to report the arson. They informed the current Chief of Rocktown who is acting in place of the detained Chief. The Acting chief in turn contacted the Rocktown Development Association (RDA-Harper) of Harper and the Kudemoweh Development Association in Harper. RDA- Harper and KDA-Harper reported the incident to the Acting superintendent. Immediately, The Liberian national Police, UNMIL and INTERPOL proceeded to the area. Few Rocktowners who were at the site and saw the fire, were asked to escort the Joint Security. When Joint security arrived, six huts were already burned to the ground. But they saw no arsonist. And so they compiled a report and submitted it to the County local government for their action. When the caller told me all this, I had to do my own inquiry. I called around town. But the news the caller gave me remained constant. The only difference came when I contacted someone to contact the chief of Wetchukeh. The person told me the Chief told him the Rocktowners set their own huts ablaze. He said the Chief told him that he (chief) realized that each time the Rocktowners retrieved their belongings from their huts, they set them on fire. My take is the man misunderstood the Chief. Because it doesn’t make any sense for people to burn their own homes. My belief is those who are stirring up the conflict between Rocktown and Wetchukeh could be behind the arson to provoke Rocktowners’ revenge against the Wetchukeh people for all hell to break loose.  

Whatever the case may be, this could have been avoided if the Central government had station security forces in the conflict zone to protect all the citizens in the area and give them good reasons not to run away from their longtime homes and be internally displaced. The Central government’s failure to place security in the area is responsible for this arson. THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT IS TO BE BLAMED!

Rumors of revenge abound. But Presidents of RDA-Harper and RDA-Monrovia, Messrs. Jeremiah Collins and H. Wah-Toe Bedell, II, respectively, have called for calm and restraint. They’ve continued to encourage Rocktowners to live in the confines of the Law and remain law-abiding. They promised legal efforts to bring the conflict to an end in the court of law to stop the bloodshed in the area!

If you ask me, considering the ongoing hostilities, I am not certain in which direction is Maryland County is heading. Evolving events will determine the path to the future!