Every week, the women in white can be found at Monrovia’s dilapidated old airfield, praying for the safety of the Liberian nation. They gather by the hundreds, braving torrential rain or blazing sunshine, determined that God would never forget them again.
Almost every woman here has been driven from her home by war; all have lost a child, parent or husband to the vicious civil war that engulfed Liberia for 14 years. Some, like Mother Margaret Malley, are almost the only survivors of their whole family.
She lost part of her arm fleeing from a series of mortar attacks the locals nicknamed ‘World War IIIâ€.
‘When the war was on, we came here to pray all day, every day,†she said, explaining the foundations of her movement of more than 5 000 members. Mammy Bakai and her 12-year-old granddaughter Jenny have been coming here for the past three years.
‘They killed my son right in front of me,†recalls Bakai, ‘then we ran to Monrovia. We ran again when the city was attacked. They burnt my house, spoilt everything. All I want now is to get my house back, pay some school fees, bring back the rule of law.â€
Now it seems their prayers have finally been answered. After years of being raped by drug-crazed soldiers, fleeing their homes and even fighting alongside rebel forces, women are taking control of Liberia’s political scene.
The October 11 elections are part of the 2003 peace deal that set up a transitional government and pushed former president Charles Taylor into exile. A recent report by the International Crisis Group said they are likely to be ‘free and fair.†But the challenges of stabilising a country that has not had piped water or electricity for 14 years are enormous.
One of the top candidates for the presidency is Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a feisty political veteran who once resigned as finance minister after protesting excessive government spending. Her straight-talking ways led to two spells in prison.
‘I was taken to Shefflin military base and put in a cell with 12 other people. One by one they were taken out and shot,†she recalled.
Afraid that Johnson-Sirleaf could capture the all-important women’s vote, other candidates are also wooing female voters. Corporate lawyer Varney Sherman and football star George Weah have both organised clubs for women supporters.
But, for the women who gather everyday at the old airfield, promises ring empty while the cupboard is bare. A tentative peace may have descended on Liberia, but it will take a lot longer before the country, and its citizens, rise above the ashes of war.
Elections in the balance
Liberia’s elections have been thrown into doubt by Supreme Court rulings that upheld appeals from two presidential candidates, who were barred from standing because the National Elections Commission (NEC) had problems with their registrations.
The court ordered that they be given seven days to correct the discrepancies.
Just hours before the ruling, the NEC had announced that all the ballot papers were in place throughout the heavily-forested country, huge swathes of which are remote.
‘The implication of the decision is obviously that we are not sure if we can implement the decision and still keep the election date of October 11,†NEC head Frances Johnson-Morris said on Wednesday.
A ‘behind-the-scene compromise†with the aggrieved candidates has been mooted. Recently, the court upheld a petition filed by the Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia, who had argued that since two senators are to be elected from each of Liberia’s 15 counties, voters should be allowed to choose two candidates instead of one. — Irin News Service