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World Vision Staff Member Escapes Buchanan, Most of Country Remains in Hostile Hands
World Vision Liberia staff member James Kieh September 13 escaped from the rebel-held port city of Buchanan, some 80 miles south of Monrovia, after enduring 45 days of harassment, intimidation and looting by rebel soldiers. Kieh, his wife and their three children paid $25 each to travel, via fishing canoe, 10 hours on the Atlantic from Buchanan to Monrovia.Rebels imposed a 4 p.m. to 10 a.m. daily curfew and conducted house-to-house “searches,” which often became looting sprees. “They took mattresses, shoes, clothes, money and the little food we had,” said Kieh. Prices for basic food have quadrupled, and cholera and diarrhea continue to spread.
Meanwhile, rebels from the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) maintaining control of the city turned back West African peacekeeping troops Saturday, September 13. Currently, the peacekeepers, known as ECOMIL, lack the manpower to deploy into Buchanan. As a result, humanitarian agencies have been unable to access the thousands who are in need of assistance.
World Vision is distributing food, providing health care and running supplementary feeding centers for malnourished children in displacement camps in and around Monrovia.
“Having James back at home certainly is an answer to prayer,” said communications officer Amy Turner, who recently returned to the U.S. from Liberia. “But he’s only one of tens of thousands of people trapped in Buchanan alone. Until ECOMIL has the support it needs to deploy throughout Liberia, security will remain tenuous and innocent people will continue to die.”
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