i'm writing this post from accra on the fastest internet ever (seirously. it beats out the internet i have in kingston... that might not be saying much though).
we came into town today to get a few things done and to say goodbye to the last of the may volunteers. it always blows my mind how close you get with people here even after only two weeks. its very similar to what goes on at camp i guess.
the past few days have actually been really exciting. a couple days ago i was getting taken to this girls house (a lot of kids show up at our window asking to take us to their homes to meet their families (one had me hold her baby)... i imagine this is what angelina, paris and the queen feel like.. sort of.. in a weird way..) anyway. off topic. i got taken to this girl's house and met her family and there were all these women around who she said were 'workers'. confused, i asked what kidn of work they did and they said social and activist work. automatically i was kind of excited about this, so i started asking more questions, focusing on whether or not they were involved in the strikes that happened about a month and a half ago. turns out, they're the masterminds behind them. how insane is that?!
i'm not sure if ive mentioned these strikes at all before, so i'll give a quick overview just incase. basically, the UNHCR has really been screwing up the repatriation process to liberia. a few months ago, they were really pushing local integration into ghana, but only for a very select few liberians who held very specific skills. they wanted to see the educated and professionally trained people integrate into ghanaian society which is obviously not a majority in camp. the alternative for most was to take a $5 repatiration package to start a new life in liberia. its important to remember here that $5 goes next to no where. most people are going back to a country that they left in the middle of a war roughly 10 years ago. its hardly the same place, and only the select few are returning home to a property and family. $5 for a family is completely unreasonable. it wouldn't buy a bag of rice or much food at all (a meal costs maybe 50 cents, but still. they're rebuilding lives, not going away for weekend trips). water here (a 500ml bag) costs about 5 cents. again, not expensive.. but really, $5? most people i've talked to have predicted repatriation would cost about $300 (between buying land, food, training, etc.). anyway. fed up with what i'd call abuses by an organization they feel used their cause to get money but failed to send any of the money back to the people that need it, a group of women organized. it started with maybe 30 women, and grew across camp to involve about 2000 at its peak.
the strikes started when frustration had really built up, in response to the package and the lack of alternatives and general information. these women organized themselves and led a peaceful protest at the front of camp, with more money being their main cause. while these strikes did launch them into some dialogue with the UNHCR (end result being a $100 package.. still not enough), the ghanaian government did a pretty quick job of shutting it down. they sent thier police in to arrest and deport a lot of women, sending a large group to isolated camps somewhere in ghana. they managed to create a huge climate of fear in the camp, and spark a massive resistance towards the ghanian government (and a subsequent push to repatriate to liberia). as it stands, the organization is in the process of rebuilding. the strikes frightened a lot of people and the meeting i went to had only 30 (firey) women at it (like i said, their numbers used to be in the thousands).
i walked back home with the two leaders of the organization, talking about where they want to go next. they're insanely cool women and really are what i had in mind when i came over here... ive been having a lot of fun with CBW but i do think there is a lot to be done in camp that i'm not getting the chance to do with CBW. i'm going to continue to meet with these women as they rebuild, and hopefully am going to be able to contribue to them buying a temporary office on camp. they need a mailing address and a spot for people to go if they want to have a bigger influence with the UNHCR and other organizations. right now they're in the process of proposing a new package to the UNHCR in geneva (they've had to go over the ghanaian office because they've been so unresponsive/unwilling to compromise). they've outlined the costs for a family of 3 to repatriate and estimate that it woudl cost aboout $1000. they dont expect to get this much, but hopefully it will be a basis for negotiation. anyway. the building would cost $200. i plan to get it some how, but if anybody is interested in their cause.. again, let me know. i almost see this as being more worthwhile than education right now, only because people are moving around so much that its hard to make sure that the money you donate will make ti back to liberia/that the people will be located anywhere near a credible school (not that its not a good cause if youre interested in that). same drill as the first one though.. send me an email.. obviously i/we would appriciate anything. i'll do my best to respond as quickly as possible.. i'm meeting them again monday (after i get back from visiting a stilt village!)
anyway. thats all for now. i'm going to try and get a bit of research done while ive got this speedy internet thrill. hope everybody survives what sounds like will be a really hot weekend in canada... i don't feel bad for you at all. we lost current (electricity) today and i think we pushed 40 degrees around lunch time. it was toasty.
No comments:
Post a Comment